Gearbox has been connecting people through the Borderlands series for over 20 years since the release of Borderlands in 2009. However, despite the massive success of Borderlands, it still took six years for Gearbox and 2K to announce and release Borderlands 3 after Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel released in 2014, so it wouldn’t come as a surprise to many people if the next Borderlands game took just as long to release. While we aren’t done with Borderlands content, as the Borderlands movie starring Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Cate Blanchett is set to come out sometime in 2022 (which means we should hopefully get a trailer here pretty soon!), we still have yet to hear anything about the next installment in the series…Borderlands 4. It’s certainly inevitable that Borderlands 4 will be a thing, but what exactly do we want from it?
Gameplay
The classic Borderlands gameplay has remained pretty much the same throughout the series (with the exception of Borderlands 3), with some minor changes between each game, but nothing that really changes the feel of the game in a way that makes it seem like something other than Borderlands. While I definitely would like to see a few changes to spice things up a bit and make Borderlands 4 feel unique, I would definitely like the core of the game to stay pretty much the same. It just works. There isn’t much about the Borderlands formula that needs changing, and in all honesty, I feel like Borderlands 3 changed too much. I appreciate the fact that Gearbox made sure they switched things up a bit to help the game stand out, but I just don’t enjoy playing Borderlands 3 nearly as much as I enjoy playing Borderlands 2. I’m hoping that Gearbox takes a step back and take more from Borderlands 2 than anything else.
Graphics
Borderlands has one of the most unique and recognizable art styles in a video game that I’ve really ever seen. You can see a frame of Borderlands and immediately you’re like “that’s Borderlands” without even thinking twice. The incredible cel shading animation has become synonymous with the Borderlands series, and while I don’t think that Gearbox would ever think about changing it, they have shown that it’s possible to update it and – in a way – remaster it for modern consoles, like how they did in Borderlands 3. While I’m still not entirely a fan of how Borderlands 3 feels, I have to give credit where it’s due, because the game looks phenomenal. This is definitely something that I would love to see be done again with Borderlands 4.
Loot
We can’t talk about a Borderlands game without talking about loot – it’s just against the rules. Borderlands has always been the mother of all looter-shooters, even towering over Destiny in some ways, because the loot has always been something that players wanted to chase. Borderlands has some of the most insane, deliberately destructive, and wacky weapons in any game ever, and that is what makes players keep coming back. Unlike Destiny, something that Borderlands doesn’t have to think about (too much) is weapon balancing, because there isn’t a dedicated PvP mode in Borderlands, so the weapons can be as overpowered as Gearbox wants them to be, and when you’re playing a looter-shooter, you want to feel as powerful as you can, so the more overpowered weapons, the better. I think that Borderlands 4 can still go even further with these weapons, and make them just jaw-droppingly broken and make them shoot snakes out of a cowboy boot, or something. There are so many endless possibilities that Borderlands 4 can take advantage of, and I can’t wait to get my hands on all of them.
Handsome Jack
Okay, look, I understand that Gearbox is trying to move away from Handsome Jack, and yes, I understand that he’s dead. However, there’s still no denying that he is the best Borderlands villain of all time, without a doubt. The Calypso Twins don’t even hold a candle to the greatness of Handsome Jack and Butt Stallion. Do I seriously think that Gearbox will somehow find a way to revive Handsome Jack and put him in Borderlands 4? Actually, now that I think about it, they definitely could, but I don’t think they would. I’m not saying that he has to be brought back from the dead, but it would just be nice to have some references throughout the game. Maybe we can get his voice as the new Claptrap?
I could go on for hours about what I want to see in Borderlands 4, but I suppose that will have to wait until we actually get confirmation from Gearbox that the game will exist sometime in the future. I have no doubt that it will, but you never know.
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