Borderlands 4 review: Greatness spoiled by performance problems

Borderlands 4 is a fantastic return to form for the franchise if you can run the game for longer than a few hours without crashing.

After the boring and buggy Borderlands 3, Gearbox is trying to be serious for the first time. Well, kind of… It’s still Borderlands, the bot is still an irritant, and that ‘lower Claptrap volume‘ setting was put to good use even if they’re not quite as objectionable this time.

When it finds the balance between a more serious tone and goofy silliness, Borderlands 4 thrives. However, it does miss some vital features, and after reviewing it on PC, it’s clear that an enjoyable experience is only possible if your rig has the power to handle it.

Borderlands 4 screenshots

What is Borderlands 4 about?

Playing as one of four Vault Hunters – Amon, Harlowe, Vex, or Rafa – you’re captured by the vicious dictator of the planet Kairos, who is intent on controlling the population using Bolts, which are painfully forced into the top of your spine.

Luckily, you’re saved by Arjay, a member of the Crimson Resistance (population two), who breaks the bolt and temporarily frees you from the Timekeepers’ clutches. In this unforgiving landscape, you have to destroy Kairos’ ruler and free its people. But you have to take down his lieutenants and gather a much larger resistance before you stand a chance.

A familiar yet welcome adventure

Borderlands 4 marks a major tonal shift, but it’s still got that Borderlands feel. Sure, you might be completing a story where the entire planet is at stake, but you’ll still find Psychos being stupid and quests about sentient missiles who just want to explode.

You also meet some familiar faces that you’d prefer to keep around (at least most of them), like Zane, Moxxie, and Lilith. Claptrap is still around, but doesn’t appear half as much as expected. Bonus points to Borderlands.

Dexerto

And underneath that craziness is an impactful story. These villains feel truly evil as they mess about with free will, godhood, and perform disgusting experiments on people, making it easy to hate them. It is one of the best stories in Borderlands history, with a perfect balance of chaos and consequence.

Unrivaled combat chaos

The combat is also perfect. It’s addictive and fluid, especially when you’re gliding through the air while raining radiation bullets down on a Psycho’s head, as Harlowe wonders what this will do to the environment.

Complementing that is the stellar movement. I often found myself zipping through the air with my grappling hook, firing a magazine of bullets into a larger enemy, and then slamming down for the killing blow. It was incredibly satisfying, and once I’d found the perfect weapon, it became my favorite part of the game.

It all comes together in the boss fights, which feel challenging while still making you feel heroic and powerful. That is, until you’re met with the game’s biggest boss, and the biggest frustration, the performance.

Lost in performance

Randy Pitchford claimed that if you can’t play Borderlands 4 on PC smoothly, you need a better PC. Well, no, Randy, my PC does not run like a lawnmower.

I review games for a living, and I’d like to think it’s a pretty decent computer with high specs (RTX 3070, i9 12900KF, 32GB RAM at medium settings if you’re interested!). But even then, the game crashed every two to three hours. 

Borderlands 4 has a major performance problem. Any large battles saw a considerable framerate drop, and exploring the map forced me to stop occasionally, as the game would have a breakdown and either crash or send me through the floor.

The performance is one of the primary issues, but the lack of a mini-map and its UI left me wishing for Borderlands 3 (which is impressive).

Dexerto

Now, I’m a geographically challenged person. You give me directions or an objective, and I’ll stare blankly. You tell me to go to a specific place in the Fadefields, and I will be following the mini-map in the top corner of my screen. 

Except that doesn’t exist, so instead, you have to head into the menu, navigate to the map, get told you’re going the wrong way, turn around, go the wrong way again, and do this about 10 times before you finally figure it out.

The lack of a mini-map feels like a missed opportunity for Borderlands 4, especially given the expansive world.

Another missed opportunity is the game’s UI. Whether you want to compare weapons, see what you’ve got in your skills, or perfect your build, you’re left navigating between countless different tabs and sifting through a variety of features.

Dexerto

It’s overly complicated, feels incredibly outdated, and is hard to navigate, meaning it’s a chore to become stronger after a level up or picking up loot.

Verdict

Borderlands 4 could have been great. Its storyline and gameplay are the strongest they’ve ever been, and its tonal shift is a smart move.

Its characters, villains, and bosses are expertly written, and its combat ensures that destroying them or fighting alongside allies is some of the best we’ve ever seen.

However, Borderlands 4 is plagued by performance issues, missing features, and outdated UI’s that almost drag it down to the murky depths of its predecessor.