Release Date: September 12, 2025 (PlayStation 5, PC, Xbox Series X|S) and October 3, 2025 (Nintendo Switch 2)
Platforms: PlayStation 5, PC, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2
Developer: Gearbox Software
Publisher: 2K
It's been six years since Borderlands 3, the most controversial game in the series for a variety of reasons.
For some players, the tone and writing pushed the zany aspects of the franchise too far. For others, the loot was too generous and diluted the impact of a legendary drop.
Borderlands 4 represents an intended swing back of the pendulum, offering a more grounded approach that brings the title closer to its earlier roots.
Overall, the gameplay itself accomplishes its mission as a return to form, but its launch has been marred by technical problems across both PC and console versions.
Our review for Borderlands 4 was conducted with the PC version.
The Highs
Top-Notch Vault Hunter Cast
The four starting Vault Hunters are among the best in the franchise, both in flavor and play. Each is incredibly versatile, with virtually endless ways to build them.
Vex, the goth Siren, can focus on pets, life steal, or clones.
Rafa is a suave Exo-Soldier with a wide arsenal of knives and cannons.
Harlowe, a gravitar, offers potent options for CC and explosive bursts.
Amon is essentially a Viking wielding Forge-shields, axes, and fists.
These are their core archetypes, but there is a lot of nuance in the Skill Tree to really tailor them to your playstyle.
What makes this roster shine isn’t just the mechanical flexibility, but also how alive they feel in the story. Their voicelines, banter, and integration into cutscenes make them more than just avatars — they’re genuine characters with presence.
Compared to earlier Vault Hunters who sometimes faded into the background, this cast feels like a leap forward in both writing and gameplay identity.
Combined with their build diversity, they make replaying Borderlands 4 with a new character feel fresh in a way few looter-shooters achieve.
Dynamic Movement Mechanics
For gamers who love micro movement and skill expression, Borderlands 4 makes a potent leap forward.
Now, you have access to a double jump, crouch slide, glider with air dashes, and even a summonable vehicle to maneuver around the battlefield.
It's incredibly satisfying in combat and can really make an impact in tense situations as you evade enemy attacks and abilities.
The one misstep is the grappling hook, which is admittedly disappointing when you compare its expectations to its reality, but overall, it's a massive upgrade.
Open World fits the franchise perfectly
Borderlands 4 marks the series’ first true open world, and we hope it's here to stay for future editions. The broader scale serves the spontaneous spirit of Borderlands,and it's paced surprisingly well. There's always something fun around the corner without overwhelming you with choice paralysis.
That freedom isn’t absolute — invisible walls sometimes break immersion, and routes that look viable can suddenly dead-end, pushing you back toward the intended path.
The campaign itself runs about 25 hours, but between side quests, collectibles, and exploration, you can easily double or even triple that playtime without it ever feeling padded.
You've likely heard by now that Borderlands 4 has had a rocky launch on the optimization side. Frame rate dips, stuttering, and heavy CPU/GPU usage are among the reported problems on PC.
While the visuals are a step up from earlier entries, the performance cost feels disproportionate compared to other modern releases.
To be fair, plenty of players are enjoying the game despite its reported problems, but there are a significant number of issues out there, so heed caution if you have an older machine.
If you're trying it on Steam, remember that there is a two-hour refund policy that will allow you to get a good feel for it. Otherwise, waiting for patches (and perhaps even a price drop) may be the smarter play.
UI Has Taken a Step Back
One of the main headscratchers of Borderlands 4 is the redesign of the UI, especially navigation and weapon management. For one, in a game that has a vast open world, the mini-map is removed for some reason. You can improve your experience by activating the radar option but it feels like a bandaid.
Another example is that no matter what you set your weapon filters to, it will automatically return itself to Manufacturers as a default. In the big scheme of things, it's more of an annoyance than a hindrance but it does happen many times during a normal playthrough.
Plays it safe
While Borderlands 4 is certainly a step forward for the general franchise, many of its upgrades are post-Borderlands 3 realignments or improvements that catch up to what other shooters have been doing.
There aren't really any innovations or surprises that push the boundaries of the genre. We're not expecting every game to have the aims of evolving a genre, but it does put it more toward "great game" territory rather than Game of the Year candidacy.
That said, it’s also unfair to dismiss how well it pulls together what works: the game is polished, fun, and familiar in all the right ways.
Our Score
7.5/10 (Great game held back by a rocky launch)
If not for its rough optimization at launch, Borderlands 4 easily would have earned an 8.5 from us. The game does so many things right — the core gameplay feels sharper, the open world delivers, and the progress in movement, exploration, and character design is undeniable.
Still, performance issues on both PC and console drag things down. We know thatit will make the necessary optimizations with new patches, but since our Reviews stress making it clear when a game is worth your time and money, it's hard for us to do that for everyone in its current state.
For those of you who can run it, it will be an epic time, especially with friends. If you enjoyed Borderlands 3, you will love 4. If 3 left you wanting, 4 delivers.
