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As a franchise arrives at its 4th chapter, it’s typically mature – but seriousness isn’t a word associated with Borderlands, the bright and performatively rowdy looter-shooter from Texas. The series features a constant and polarizing helping of unapologetically adolescent humor. However in the new game, developer Gearbox tackled this aspect: it boasts a number of classic characters in its narrative, although this time they are noticeably world-weary and less irritatingly hyper. Borderlands has finally evolved, partially. And not before time.

Refined Jokes & Classic Action

BL4 keeps hurl one-liners your way, which are frequently uneven, however fortunately its overall humor is a bit smarter than previously. It keeps the iconic comic-book art direction and weapon and explosive-filled mechanics that audiences have always enjoyed. In fact, it offers even more guns over all of its previous entries, and with some effort curating top-tier weapons, you’ll discover loads of real gems to use and battle waves of straightforward foes and more interesting mini-bosses. An engaging plot emerges after the formulaic opening act, later sending you through various unexpected, enjoyable and at times gratifyingly surreal diversions.

Fresh Setting & Engaging Story

The action unfold on a new world, a location new to the franchise, that seems more coherent than earlier of Borderlands’ earlier settings. The planet’s residents are living under the authoritarian yoke of the dictator this new antagonist, so you must rouse the downtrodden locals and recruit them for your uprising, freeing groups of individuals by eliminating the Timekeeper’s brutal lieutenants and extracting monitoring chips from their heads. Further into the game, the greater number of optional content and exploration are available, such as challenging vaults stashed with rewards to environmental challenges.

Playable Characters & Enhanced Mobility

Your options include one of four heroes – including a Siren with summoning powers, an enhanced warrior, a melee-focused bruiser referred to as a Forge Knight and an ability-based Gravitar. Every one boasts active abilities that are essential when you’re up against it, giving you the opportunity to summon reaper-like ghostly allies, automated guns, or protective barriers. The series’ high-quality shooting is fully intact, and movement has been greatly improved: you get a swing mechanic, a hover-bike and a huge double-jump and glide option, each of these come in handy amid frenetic battle and when you’re free-roaming. They also translate well to the game’s famed multiplayer, which supports as many as four friends.

Large Campaign & Minor Problems

This game is a large experience – the central narrative will occupy around 25 hours to finish, with plenty to do post-game. It is not entirely flawless: at times you must traverse vast expanses in its quests, plus the directional indicator that assists you during travel is unreliably erratic. And it has been buggy since release: tested on PC, it has occasionally crashed during play, post a huge fix, and players experienced issues with stuttering and other stability concerns. Yet Borderlands needed to evolve a bit, and that’s precisely what it accomplished, without losing its essential charm. The game’s top-quality shooter action might be comfortably classic, yet it’s additionally significantly less irritating than it was before.