Borderlands 4 wants you to break free. This was especially noticeable by the loud Rage Room that they had set up on the show floor, which occasionally broke up my demo with the sound of glass breaking and pounding metal. It was a very chaotic demo because of this, and of course, very Borderlands. Which I think is a perfect way to describe Borderlands 4: it’s more Borderlands, for better or worse.
Breaking Bottles and Breaking Free
My demo had me running a gauntlet of enemies with three other players, where we got to shoot, occasionally loot, and use the new abilities on wave after wave of enemies. It feels good though, even with the sound of glass breaking in my ear.
Gunplay is nearly identical to 3’s. It still feels great to run and gun. The demo was thankfully set up with guns of the main four elements, so it was easy to break through shields and armor without issue. There was some challenge, though, and I’m not sure how much of that was from the actual game, or from the people I was playing with refusing to stick together. Which is pretty par for the course in terms of co-op shooters.
It might’ve been the demo, but I was also surprised by the lack of loot drops. Only one or two guns dropped during the entire 20 minutes I played—a far cry from the previous games and the supposed billions of guns they promised in press for the game. Again, I’m hoping this is only for the demo, but it felt odd.
The most exciting change to me was the action skills. As opposed to the one ultimate action skill you had in previous Borderlands games, this one has three! Two quick-fire ones that have short cooldowns and the more traditional ultimate-style ability. I played as Amon, a large Viking-looking fellow. His abilities allowed me to fire out fire and shock swords that then stuck around on the field as little pets doing chip damage to enemies. He also had a large gun that did a significant amount of damage on a cooldown, and an ultimate that had him throw fire and ice axes that did a ton of damage and also stuck around on the field for a while. It led to some scenarios where I had four weapon pets on the field whacking enemies, which was super chaotic and fun.
Final Thoughts on Borderlands 4
Personally, I had a great time with Borderlands 4. The gameplay loop still works, and the new action skills are a fun and chaotic new addition. I can’t wait to see the full game in a few weeks.
