Borderlands 4 takes place on Kairos, a planet with a different environment and populace than Pandora. There are new weapons manufacturers, new techniques, and new elements to play with. The Timekeeper’s opposition also has a few tricks up their sleeve to stop you from overthrowing their rule. Old and new characters from the series make an appearance to support Kairos’s opposition or pursue their own goals.
I had the opportunity to play two sections of Borderlands 4 and give two of the new Vault Hunters a try. The first section took place in Fadefields, the starting area where you meet Kairos’s resistance faction. After getting some experience, I jumped into the second section, which was an optional Vault with a boss fight at the end. Part of the experience also had some time for co-op, and I teamed up with another person to confront Kairos’s threats.
I chose Rafa the Exo-Soldier for my trip into Fadefields. The start was hectic as I immediately rushed to the scene of combat to fight the Timekeeper’s forces. Rafa has a unique ability to dash around the battlefield with melee strikes, and I used that in the beginning. It quickly became apparent that Rafa was taking too much damage, and I switched back to ranged combat. Combat wasn’t different from other Borderlands games, and once I found a decent weapon, defeating the enemies wasn’t too hard.
Getting used to the skill tree was difficult because there was a level cap, and Rafa’s skill tree demanded investment into one aspect. I tried making melee combat more feasible through some upgrades, but it still required a lot of work. If I had more time with Rafa, it would be nice to test out different builds or skill configurations. But for the preview, I stuck to ranged combat as that was more consistent.
The weapon manufacturers of Borderlands make a comeback with three new additions. I got lucky with an epic-level Tediore rifle, but I also tried out the new Daedalus manufacturer. Throwing my spent gun was a great offensive addition in the early game, but the Daedalus rifle took some time to adjust. I didn’t have enough ammo types to fully utilise its feature of multiple ammo usage, but it made a great backup weapon. Having more options for combat and expanding the capabilities of guns was an exciting prospect to work with. Unfortunately, I never found any Timekeeper faction weapons despite my best efforts.
The world opened up, and I was able to take on a few side quests. Something I enjoyed was travelling the world with a Digirunner that I could summon whenever I wanted. That sped up travel time significantly, cutting down the time spent looking for a Catch-A-Ride station. While some parts of Fadefields were blocked off for the preview, I could find several quests and locate large enemy groups in a fraction of the time it would take in previous games.
Meeting up with Claptrap for a side quest was a familiar blast from the past, even as he sent me on simple errands. It was a great introduction for Claptrap if you haven’t met him before, but a familiar sight for a veteran. This was a great example of letting fans feel right at home in Kairos but giving new players a chance to experience the world for themselves.
For my second session with the Vault boss, I went with Vex the Siren. Her ability involves summoning spectral beings to assist her in combat. The difficulty spiked up during the Vault battles, and there were many times Vex’s abilities weren’t enough to save me. I knew we were thrown into the deep end, but it wasn’t easy adapting to Vex’s distinctive playstyle. Fortunately, reviving wasn’t difficult, and I could whittle down the numbers over time.
The Vault boss was a difficult battle, moving around and frequently hiding its weak spots. I was constantly worried I’d run out of ammunition, but thankfully, there was always a weak enemy that dropped more. The most unfortunate part was that the boss was down to a sliver of health. I was just about to win, but a bad attack hit me and I was unable to maintain Fight For Your Life. A few people in the room saw that moment as well, and it was one of the more unfortunate gameplay instances.
Fortunately, I did get the chance to go for an interview with Randy Pitchford and walk through the emotions. After I came back, the co-op started, and I teamed up with another person to fight the Vault boss again. It was still intense even with an ally covering me and providing support. We could communicate and coordinate, but the boss fought hard. Thankfully, the combined efforts of Rafa and Vex brought down the Vault boss, and we enjoyed a good loot split.
“Not having to worry about dividing up the loot was a big relief and something we all appreciated when we tested our newfound bounty.”
Something that I also appreciated after the boss fight was that it wasn’t a free-for-all when it came to the loot. My partner and I got the same number of drops, right down to the rarities. While some of our weapons weren’t identical, the differences weren’t major enough to warrant cries of unfairness. Not having to worry about dividing up the loot was a big relief and something we all appreciated when we tested our newfound bounty.
Towards the end of the co-op session, we did return to Fadefields for a short adventure. Despite the amazing teamwork against the Vault boss, my teammate backed away from me as I was in Fight For Your Life. Frequent calls for them to move forward a few steps were not heard, and I respawned elsewhere. It was a bit frustrating, but it was also one of the more hilarious and memorable events during the preview.
Borderlands 4 had its intense moments, and while mistakes were made, the experience was fantastic. Getting a chance to experience some of the new changes and how they integrate with features from the past was nice. I had a lot of fun encountering new wildlife, testing new manufacturer weapons, and completing side quests with Claptrap. If I had more time, I’d have adjusted to characters and possibly refined my strategies more. But from what I saw of Borderlands 4, if you wanted more Borderlands content after 3, you won’t be disappointed.
Checkpoint Gaming was flown to Sydney as a guest of 2K ANZ for this preview.
About the Author
Victor Tan
He/Him
Victor spends his time trying to help players out of tricky situations and give them the guidance they need to succeed. Outside of the video game world, you can find him training at the gym or doing simple improv activities.
