Borderlands 4: Mixed Reviews, Promising Handheld Play, and a Rocky Endgame

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Borderlands 4 has launched to a mix of critical acclaim for its story and gameplay, but significant technical issues have plagued its release. While the core experience is praised, players are encountering bugs, performance problems, and a disappointing endgame. Early reports also suggest potential compatibility with upcoming handhelds like the Xbox Ally X, though with caveats.

Key Takeaways

Gameplay and Story: The game is lauded for its engaging narrative, well-developed characters, and innovative gun mechanics, surpassing previous entries in many aspects.
Technical Issues: Widespread bugs, crashing, and performance drops, particularly on PC, have marred the launch experience. Console versions also suffer from issues like memory leaks.
Handheld Potential: Early testing indicates that Borderlands 4 might be playable on devices like the Xbox Ally X, albeit on low settings and potentially requiring the device to be plugged in.
Endgame Concerns: The post-story content is criticized for being underdeveloped, repetitive, and lacking meaningful progression or incentives.

A Tale of Two Experiences: Critical Reception

Borderlands 4 has been met with a polarized reception. Reviewers highlight its strengths, with many calling it a significant improvement over Borderlands 3. The narrative, set on the new planet of Kairos, is praised for its mature tone and compelling characters. The revamped gun licensing system, allowing for unique combinations of manufacturer parts, is a standout innovation. However, these positives are heavily overshadowed by the game’s technical state at launch.

Navigating the Technical Storm

PC players have borne the brunt of the game’s issues, with persistent crashing and stuttering reported even on high-end hardware. Console versions are not immune, with memory leaks causing performance degradation over extended play sessions. While some players have reported a smoother experience on PS5, the overall sentiment points to a game that launched in an unacceptable state, leading to a delayed Nintendo Switch 2 release.

Handheld Hope: Borderlands 4 on the Xbox Ally X

Despite the performance woes, there’s a glimmer of hope for handheld PC gamers. Unscientific testing on a mini-PC with hardware similar to the upcoming Xbox Ally X suggests that Borderlands 4 could be playable. By running the game at 720p with low settings and utilizing FSR, frame rates between 40-50 FPS have been achieved. While not ideal, this indicates potential for the game to run on future handhelds, especially when plugged in and running at maximum performance. The new Windows 11 gaming handheld mode on devices like the ROG Ally X is also enhancing the user experience for these portable PCs.

The Disappointing Endgame

Beyond the main story, the endgame of Borderlands 4 has been a significant point of criticism. Players find the current offerings—Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode tiers, weekly "Big Encore" boss fights, and replayable story missions—to be repetitive and lacking in substantial rewards or clear progression. The lack of a Chaos Chamber-like roguelite mode and account-wide progression systems like Specializations further contribute to a feeling of a "messy start" for the game’s post-launch content.

Looking Ahead

While Borderlands 4 offers a strong core experience, its launch has been marred by technical issues and an underwhelming endgame. Developers Gearbox Software face the challenge of addressing these problems to unlock the game’s full potential and satisfy a community that has been waiting for a truly polished entry in the series.