After yesterdays announcement of a release date for Borderlands 4, the promised PlayStation State of Play confirmed via the PlayStation Blog has exploded into being – delivering twenty tasty minutes of new era Borderlands action.
With developer commentary and a hyper focus on what players can expect, the entire video is all killer and no filler in relation to just what is Borderlands the Fourth:
Looking like the very definition of an iterative sequel, it is absolutely more Borderlands – which is not a bad thing. As a series, Borderlands came out the gate with a solid set of systems that arguably solidified the LOOTER+SHOOTER genre, so seeing it’s latest incarnation tighten those screws once more is a great thing.
The item of contention from entries past however was the story and writing – with Randy Pitchford himself essentially starting the video with a promise that the story and writing will be more grounded this time around; A big win.
There are even some new movement options, which have always felt like a great addition to Borderlands – and with new ways to get around, the planet of Kairos can deliver some awesome environment design to make the most of the promised loading screen-free landscapes. Some of these seem so massive it justifies the new personal skimmer vehicle that has been added to the game (and seems overtly similar the Sparrow from Destiny).
There are also some great skill tree changes to stop the endless need to fill out superfluous crap to get to the fun stuff – so you can start feeling like a “Super Badass” sooner. One change that has me curious is the switch up of heavy weapons, as they have now been relegated to a cooldown ability rather than just another ammo-hungry boomstick. From a design perspective, this could mean that heavier weapons will get a massive power increase as they now serve as a ‘sometimes’ ability. If it all works out that way, I mean.
Speaking of weapons, the familiar “manufacturer/brand” system of games past has had a big shake up. While all the familiar names and effects are present – like Maliwan doing great elemental damage or Vladof shooting MORE BULLETS to make up for dogshit accuracy – there is now a more micromanaged level of specifically branded weapon parts, so you could have a gun shooting tons of bullets Valdof style; but it has a Maliwan switch for elemental damage also. Sounds bonkers.
There was also mention that Legendary items will be more scarce. Being a looter shooter, people do love their shiny things: but if they drop too much, their value diminishes. This may be an attempt to reign in some of the craziness of modern loot-based games, and make the super valuable weapons more interesting – but it’s up to the players to decide if it feels good or not.
Overall, it’s a magnificent showcase of what Borderlands enthusiasts can expect from the game when it launches on its shiny new release date of September 12. If you have a spare 20 minutes, grab the popcorn and take a look and see what tickles your trigger finger’s fancy.
Are you amped up for a new age of bullet-based mayhem? Let us know in the comments or on our social media.
Known throughout the interwebs simply as M0D3Rn, Ash is bad at video games. An old guard gamer who suffers from being generally opinionated, it comes as no surprise that he is both brutally loyal and yet, fiercely whimsical about all things electronic. On occasion will make a youtube video that actually gets views. Follow him on YouTube @Bad at Video Games
