The beloved looter-shooterBorderlandsfranchisehas always been about the power fantasy of killing bad guys with ridiculous guns and equally deadly abilities.
As the player characters of eachBorderlandsgame, from the Vault Hunters of the mainline games to the Fatebreaker of Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands,almost every player character is memorable in their design and specific power fantasies that they fulfill.
Borderlands: 10 Character Deaths That Still Sting
Though the games have their roots in comedy, the character deaths in the Borderlands game hit hard.
But strangely enough,most mainlineBorderlandsgames don’t put as much emphasis on the player characterdespite them being the protagonist and the catalyst of major change in the narrative.
As such,Borderlands 4will place more attention on the Vault Hunters, asthey will be more talkative and more active during cutscenes.
Borderlands 4’s Will Focus More On The Vault Hunter
Gearbox has stated many times that they have learned from the feedbackaboutBorderlands 3’smany shortcomings and flaws.
One of the community’s major criticisms about the previousBorderlandsgames is the lack of player involvement in the overarching narrative.
During major plot points of previous games,player characters would feel more like a passenger in their own story,as they would often stand motionless and helplessly while the story happened around them.
Two of the most egregious examples areRoland’s and Maya’s deaths inBorderlands 2andBorderlands 3, respectively. Both suffered tragic yet preventable deaths by the main antagonist while the player remains passive during a completely avoidable murder.
This lack of player agency is amplified by the fact thatcutscenes are almost always played from the perspective of the Vault Hunter.
InBorderlands 4, not only will players be active participants in the narrative, but they will also"appear in cutscenes, rendered in real-time with Unreal Engine 5."
Cosmetic choices will also be reflected in those cutscenes,in which the player’s Vault Hunter will play a pivotal role in the story.
This will also mean that your character’s silly heads and skins will be rendered in the cutscene;you may totally undercut a poignant narrative moment with a weird hairdo at your discretion.
This means that the player will no longer be a passive observer while the plot happens around them. WhileBorderlands 4will not feature narrative, “choose your adventure” moments likeRed Dead Redemption 2orLife is Strange, it will still put more emphasis on the Vault Hunter’s impact on the conflict between the Order and the Crimson Rebellion.
Not only that, but the Vault Hunter will be much more talkative as they can have conversations with NPCs during missions and show off their personalities more thoroughly.
During the hands-on preview, we also noticed thatthe Vault Hunters inBorderlands 4have significantly more character barks than their predecessors, which breathe more life into these new characters.
Borderlands 4will release on September 12th, 2025.
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