After hundreds of hours with the first three Borderlands games, TechRadar’s James Pickard had grown tired of the series—especially Borderlands 3. A three-hour preview session with Borderlands 4 changed his mind, thanks less to a wholesale reinvention than to a fresh way of moving through the familiar mayhem. That is one writer’s reaction to a preview build, not a guarantee that every lapsed fan will feel the same.
Why the familiar Borderlands formula had stopped working for him
Pickard describes a long relationship with the series: hundreds of hours in Borderlands, Borderlands 2, and The Pre-Sequel, followed by a sense of having had enough by the time he played Borderlands 3. That history matters. His response to Borderlands 4 was not a newcomer’s first impression, but a change of heart from someone who felt franchise fatigue.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
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| 1 |
![Borderlands 3 Ultimate Edition (PS5) [video game]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/510vIObt2KL._SL160_.jpg)
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Borderlands 3 Ultimate Edition (PS5) [video game] | $36.21 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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PRAGMATA - PlayStation 5 | $59.88 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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The Thaumaturge PS5 | $29.98 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Borderlands 4 - PlayStation 5 | $27.98 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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Marvel's Wolverine PS5 | $69.00 | Buy on Amazon |
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The series’ recognizable ingredients were still there in his preview: an abundance of guns, elemental projectiles, explosive loot drops, and the irreverent humor. What shifted was how he could engage with that familiar loop.
Traversal was the change that made combat feel fresh
Pickard’s clearest example comes from an enemy-held factory. Playing as Rafa, an Exo-Soldier, he used a grappling hook to swing through the space, shooting and dodging before charging in with dual energy blades. The hook gave him another way to approach a fight, rather than simply adding a new weapon to the old routine.
#1 Best Overall
Other hands-on sessions described a broader movement toolkit that includes double jumping, climbing, swimming, grappling, and gliding. Push Square’s June 2025 preview covered Fadefields exploration and side activities before a 45-minute Vault Mission, and described the game’s movement as an expansion of how players navigate its spaces. Its account also noted that Vex and Rafa have distinct combat identities.
These abilities matter because Borderlands’ combat spaces are built around encounters and loot. More ways to cross a battlefield can make the familiar shoot-and-loot rhythm feel more active: reposition with a grapple, take a different route, or close distance for a more direct attack. That is the promise suggested by the preview accounts, not proof that every encounter or character will transform the formula.
Rank #2
- Out-of-This-World Adventure – Stranded on a lunar space station, Hugh encounters Diana, a mysterious android resembling a young girl. While searching for a way back to Earth, they fight to survive against Bots directed to “neutralize” intruders.
- Hack & Shoot – Use each character’s distinct abilities to take down enemies. In combat, Diana can hack foes to expose weaknesses so Hugh can blast them with weapons. This unique fusion of gameplay offers an action-packed experience like no other.
- Space Exploration – Teamwork also extends to traversing the station. Utilize the thrusters in Hugh’s futuristic suit to dash and hover around while Diana hacks security systems to solve puzzles. Only together can they overcome all obstacles.
- Collect and Customize – Gather materials while exploring the station to unlock upgrades, build out a diverse arsenal of weapons, obtain new outfits, and more. Once you’re ready, use the new gear in battle and take on even greater challenges!
The loot-and-shoot loop remains the point
Borderlands 4 is not presented in these previews as a departure from the series’ central appeal. Guns, loot, bosses, and character builds remain part of the experience. Stevivor’s June 18, 2025 session included Fadefields exploration and a Vault and boss encounter; its writer discussed Vex’s spectral feline companion. Co-op was available in that preview session, though the writer played solo. That describes the build and session, not necessarily how every player will experience the finished game.
Push Square likewise characterized the design as an iteration on familiar looting and shooting. The useful distinction for a lapsed player is that Borderlands 4 appears to add movement options around the established loop, rather than asking players to leave that loop behind.
Rank #3
- Shape your story – as a full-fledged RPG, it allows you to alternate your choices and make you deal with the aftermath
- Develop your character – creating your own version of the Thaumaturge will allow you to approach situations in different ways
- Experience unique turn-based combat and defeat your foes using human attacks and skills as well as psychic strikes delivered by Salutors
- Influence and manipulate the temperaments of other characters to bend their will to your liking
- Tame the power of Salutors – use the unique set of their skills to gain an advantage while exploring the world
What the developers mean by a seamless world
In a GameSpot interview, senior project producer Anthony Nicholson discussed larger seamless zones, mission replay, dynamic events, manual healing kits, and drop-in/drop-out co-op. Explaining the team’s use of “seamless world,” he said: “So for us, it means multiple things. It’s not just the world, it’s not just the map itself. There’s no loading when you’re transitioning from zone to zone or the big landscape pieces.” That is Nicholson’s description of the design intent, not an independent measurement of performance or loading times.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A three-hour preview is a reason to be curious, not a complete verdict
Pickard’s session is compelling precisely because he approached the game already tired of the franchise. But three hours cannot establish whether its new movement and familiar loot loop stay engaging across a full campaign, or whether they will work for every returning player.
Rank #4
- BE A BADASS: Become an unstoppable force of battle, blasting through enemies with an all-new arsenal of outrageous weaponry. Move across the Borderlands like never before—double jumping, gliding, dodging, grappling, and more—dealing death from every direction. Explode each encounter with devastating Action Skills that unleash your Vault Hunter's unique abilities. Craft your perfect build with branching skill trees and a deep, rewarding loot chase full of wild weapons and powerful gear.
- FIGHT SOLO OR CO-OP: Wreaking havoc across Kairos is awesome alone and even better with friends in 2-player splitscreen or up to 4-player online co-op.* Borderlands 4 is designed for co-op from the ground up; whether you're hunting for loot, tackling missions, or wandering freely, level scaling and individual difficulty keeps the party together and having fun.
- LESS BORDERS, MORE LANDS: Freely explore a vast and dangerous world rife with warring factions. Hop on your hover bike and ride through lush fields, towering peaks, and deadly deserts full of fearsome enemies, dynamic events, and engaging quests with unforgettable characters. Unite the people of Kairos and ignite a revolution, tackling this adventure however you see fit in a seamless Borderlands experience.
PC Gamer’s September 2025 review offers a useful post-release counterpoint: it praised the absorbing core loop and said the open-world structure suited the shoot-and-loot cycle, while also reporting stuttering, slowdown, and interface frustrations on the reviewer’s PC, equipped with an RTX 3060, Ryzen 7 5800, and 16 GB of RAM. Those are dated observations from one system, not a statement about current patches or performance across all PCs.
For someone who thought they were finished with Borderlands, the clearest reason to take another look is the grappling hook and expanded traversal. In Pickard’s preview, they made a familiar kind of chaos feel newly inviting. Whether that is enough to bring you back depends on how much you still want the guns, loot, and humor that make up the series’ core.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Marvel’s Wolverine is a new action-packed adventure from Insomniac Games
- Play as Wolverine and Ravage enemies with explosive brutality and unleash razor-sharp adamantium claws to deploy fast, fluid attacks and overcome impossible odds
- An Original, Emotionally Charged Story. Beneath Wolverine’s gruff exterior and violent temperament is a man fighting for a cause greater than himself
- A Global, Adrenaline-Fueled Journey where you slice into enemies across detailed locales such as the frosted Canadian Wilderness, the narrow streets of Tokyo, and the high and low districts of the island nation of Madripoor
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