Borderlands 4marks a return to familiar ground in some ways, but it also steps into territory the series hasn’t fully explored before. Set on the new planet of Kairos, the game introduces a conflict between warring factions, a mysterious villain known as the Timekeeper, and a cast of Vault Hunters built around deeper customization. There are still plenty of guns inBorderlands 4, fun characters, and chaotic firefights, but they exist inside a structure that feels more open and more deliberate.
The systems at play seem built to rewardexploration inBorderlands 4, though the path forward is rarely spelled out. Movement now feels like a core mechanic instead of a bonus, and progression appears to branch in ways that hint at a much larger design. Kairos itself invites a slower pace, not because of limited content, but because of how it presents what’s there. Whether or not that shift will resonate across the full game remains to be seen, but the pieces are already in motion.
Game Rant recently went hands-on withBorderlands 4during two separate play sessions: one that allowed us to explore Kairos' Fadefields, and another that took us through one of the game’s Vaults. We also had access to only two ofBorderlands 4’s new Vault Hunters— Vex, the Dark Siren, and Rafa, the Exo-Soldier — both of whom had separate save files at Level 5 for the exploration portion of the preview and Level 20 for the Vault.
Exploring Borderlands 4’s Kairos
After spending around 90 minutes traipsing around the Fadefields ofBorderlands 4’s Kairosand doing whatever I wanted, it’s safe to say that the new planet is without a doubt the game’s main event. While that much has already been assumed ahead of the game’s release, it’s one thing to hear about and even look at Kairos in a showcase or trailer, but it’s a completely separate experience to actually set foot in it. By and large, Kairos is a world teeming with opportunities that aren’t thrown at you but simply beckon you from afar, and I had only scratched the surface by the time my session was over.
Venturing With Vex
For this portion of the preview, I went with a Level 5 Vex,Borderlands 4’s Siren, whose adorable pet Trouble fights alongside her and gives her someone to talk to other than herself. After loading into the game, I took a look at Vex’s skill tree, which is bigger than anyBorderlandsskill tree to date. Not only does Vex have three different Action Skills that are unique to her, but each Action Skill has its own tree filled with a variety of passives and other abilities. One column of skills rests beneath the Action Skill that eventually splits into three separate branches, making for a total of over 35 different skills in each tree.
While I certainly could have spent some time experimenting with Vex’s different skill trees, I just decided to stick with the “Phase Familiar” Action Skill because I wanted to play with Trouble at my side and Kairos was calling. With Phase Familiar active, not only does Trouble automatically assist Vex in battle, but using the skill will teleport him to a specified location. Upon being teleported, Trouble’s health is fully restored, and he deals increased damage to the area for a short duration. To top it all off, activating Phase Familiar will immediately respawn Trouble if he’s dead, as opposed to waiting for his respawn cooldown to end.
The First Firefight
Before starting the game, I was encouraged by the devs to stick withBorderlands 4’s main story until I unlocked the Digi-Runner, and that turned out to be the best advice I could have received, given how massive the new planet is. Following the main objective took me to Outbounders HQ, where I had to fight through a sizable group of Order forces — the army ofBorderlands 4’s main antagonist, the Timekeeper.
Here, I had to shake off the style of gameplay I was familiar with from past entries because, to put it simply,Borderlands 4wants you to play differently. Whereas pastBorderlandsgameslargely revolved around lots of shooting and using skills once they became available,Borderlands 4demands more movement from its players. One of the ways it does this is by being a bit more difficult thanBorderlandsgames have been known to be.
WhileBorderlandshas always encouraged movement,Borderlands 4puts a lot of pressure on players to move in different ways. Once that clicked, I was flying across the battlefield with my grapple and the new traversal abilities like double jump and glide.Borderlands 4feels a lot likeDestiny 2in that regard, where constant movement is not only key to survival but also paramount to success. But even more than the assistance these new mechanics offer in battle, it’s just a lot more engaging than any previous entry’s combat has ever been.
I had to shake off the style of gameplay I was familiar with from past entries because, to put it simply,Borderlands 4wants you to play differently.
The new traversal mechanics are indeed a big help in combat, butBorderlands 4’s new Ordnance slotis a game-changer. Rather than having grenade and heavy weapon ammo, these are now tied to a cooldown, which means players can use them as often as they want without needing to hoard ammo. I did exactly that for the full extent of the preview, and not once did I feel held back by the new system.
Keeping myself alive took some getting used to as well, since health vials only drop from defeated enemies. The best way to stay alive inBorderlands 4now is to make good use of its new Repkit, which essentially shows the player character putting a stim into their arm. The whole system really increases how active you are in combat and how diligent you need to be in order to stay alive, especially coupled with the new traversal mechanics. All in all, it makesBorderlands 4’s combat feel more exciting than some of the community has been concerned it might be with everything so spread out in the world.
And there’s absolutely no shortage ofguns inBorderlands 4either. What’s interesting about this particular entry, however, is that it didn’t necessarily feel like a loot chase alone. While there are an unbelievable number of guns in the game (and the new Licensed Part system makes them even more fun to experiment with),Borderlands 4seems to be less about getting the perfect weapon and more about using what you get. It’s still a loot chase, as the series has always been, but it’s almost like that chase is now more seamlessly integrated into a bigger picture of story and exploration rather than being the picture itself.
Heading Out Into the Vast Unknown
Once all the enemies were cleared out, moving to the next objective introduced me to Rush, the charismatic leader of the Outbounders on Kairos, before advancing even further to meet Conway and unlock the Digi-Runner. After scanning it withBorderlands 4’s Echo-4, the Digi-Runner can be summoned anywhere at any time — again, echoingDestiny 2and its Sparrows. Without hesitation, I went outside and finally started to explore Kairos and get a feel for all it has to offer on the back of my new vehicle.
Initially, I decided not to open the map just yet and instead let my curiosity propel me forward until I eventually arrived at an optional location where a group of enemies awaited me, as well as an Evocarium puzzle that awarded some Storage Deck Upgrade points upon completing it. With those points, I could increase my ammo capacity for various weapon types, my bank and backpack size, and the maximum amount of Lost Loot I could hold. The Evocarium system effectively replacesBorderlands' Eridium as currency for SDUs, though I get the feeling Eridium may not be totally gone.
Moving on from there, I pursued a distant blue exclamation point on my compass that indicated an available side quest. It turned out thatBorderlands 4’s Claptrapwas waiting for me there with a special mission to retrieve a “highly-sensitive, mission-critical portrait.” While I pursued my new objective for a moment, it wasn’t long before I was distracted by a massive Order airship in the sky. The dev behind me then informed me that it was a random airship event I was looking at and that I should pursue it, so I did.
The tutorials were disabled for the preview, so the dev explained that these Airshipwreck events are some of the most rewarding events on Kairos — but they can also be some of the most challenging. Across several rounds, players rack up points during Airshipwreck by defeating enemies and destroying certain objects both outside and inside the airship. Once the event is complete, they will earn rewards according to their score. It’s incredibly fast-paced and demands that players use every skill and new traversal mechanic inBorderlands 4at their disposal, and once again, it’s similar toDestiny 2and its public events.
Airshipwreck took me about 15 minutes to complete, although I could have left at any moment. After that, however, I finally openedBorderlands 4’s mapand the dev behind me suggested I move to the northeastern part of the map because no one else was going there, but I ended up being glad they encouraged me in that direction because of what I found. Waiting for me at the end of the line was just one of the many Vanguard Drill Sites that populate Kairos. These essentially function as mini boss arenas, though players are required to clear out several waves of enemies before facing the boss.
What’s so special about these activities, though, is that, upon completing one, players can simply exit the arena and visit a Moxxi station near its entrance to purchase another boss fight for a small amount of money. This causes everything in the arena to reset, including the boss, meaning players can farm these bosses as often as they have the money to do so if they’re looking for a particularlegendary inBorderlands 4. There’s also an option to purchase a “True Boss Fight” that appears to require Eridium, but the dev behind me wasn’t willing to spoil what that entailed.
Blasting Through One of Borderlands 4’s Vaults
The next portion of the preview allowed me to get a feel for whatBorderlands 4’s Vaults will be like, and they’re quite a bit different from anything the series has done with Vaults thus far. Repeatedly, the devs warned us that this is some ofBorderlands 4’s most challenging content, and they weren’t lying about that one bit. These encounters are immensely tough, though going in with some experience ingames likeDestiny 2can really help. There were even some players near me that gave up at one point and went back to exploring Kairos instead, if that’s any indication.
Rolling With Rafa
For this segment of the preview, I went withBorderlands 4’s Rafa, the Exo-Soldier, and had his “Peacebreaker Cannons” Action Skill equipped. When activating the skill in combat, Rafa’s Peacebreaker Cannons automatically fire at enemies in his crosshairs. Once an enemy is killed with the Peacebreaker Cannons, they immediately find a new target. In short, this makes Rafa great for scenarios where there are a lot of enemies around. I had no idea what I was getting into withBorderlands 4’s Vault, but it turns out that he was the perfect choice for it on account of that skill.
Rafa started out at Level 20 with this save file, and he already had some great weapons equipped that were a lot of fun to use. One of my personal favorites was a Vladof assault rifle called “Amassing Buzzymuzz” that functioned similarly toDestiny 2’s Sweet Businessin that it initially spits bullets out slowly but increases its fire rate the longer the trigger is held down. Apart from that, he also had a Jakobs grenade that was actually a throwing knife, and it was a blast to make use of.
Conquering the Vault
Then came tackling the Vault itself, which was no easy feat. Each Vault run inBorderlands 4takes place across several different platforms, with each of those platforms seeing players take down a sizable group of formidable enemies before moving onto the next. Upon reaching the final platform, a mini-boss appears that has unique mechanics too interesting to spoil here. Once that is taken care of, players can then move onto the Vault’s main boss, which is most definitely the hardest content I played during the preview.
What I enjoyed most about this Vault boss is how many different mechanics there were to be mindful of. In many ways, it reminded me of aDestiny 2Dungeon boss, as it required me to make use of every tool available to me and to find unique ways to exploit the boss' weaknesses. It was so refreshing to fight a boss that was more than a mere bullet sponge and to actually have to think about what I was doing. I don’t know what the other Vault bosses are going to be like, but this one gave me a run for my money.
The boss, called “Primordial Guardian Inceptus,” had several different skills it would rotate that all required different tactics on my end. Grapple was needed, Glide was necessary, and Fight for Your Life was triggered at least 20 times per fight as I almost died attempting to learn the mechanics. Fortunately, it took me only two attempts to finally take down the boss, and not only did it drop loot for me to pick up, but I then entered an area where some red chests awaited me with valuable loot in them as well.
What I enjoyed most about this Vault boss is how many different mechanics there were to be mindful of.
From there, just as was the case with the Vanguard Drill Sites, I could pay for another round with the boss using a Moxxi station just outside the arena. I wasn’t required to fight through all the enemies again either, so I just kept fighting the boss from there until my session was over and I had defeated him twice more. The whole experience was exhilarating, and I could find myself easily sinking dozens more hours into that grind alone.
Borderlands 4 Hands-On Preview: Final Thoughts
All in all,Borderlands 4leaves a strong first impression.Kairos stands out as a world that feels worth exploringon its own terms, with the environment urging you forward. Movement plays a much bigger role than it ever has before. Double jumps, glides, and grapples all contribute to a faster and more reactive style of combat. Vex and Rafa each bring unique mechanics to the table. Their skill trees are bigger and more layered, even early on, and they seem designed to support a wide range of builds.
What surprised me most was how interconnected everything felt. Activities like Airshipwreck and Vanguard Drill Sites aren’t just filler. They push you to use every mechanic the game introduces, and the Vault encounter tested that the most. It was difficult but fair, and it respected the tools I had been given. I still have questions about pacing and variety across the full game, but what I played was focused, well-structured, and full of potential. If that holds up,Borderlands 4could mark a turning pointfor the series.
Borderlands 4releases September 12 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. Game Rant was provided travel and lodging for the purposes of this preview.
