After watching Borderlands 4’s most recent trailer, I am convinced that I will enjoy the game a lot more if it goes light on the story and heavy on the action. I’ve been a fan of the Borderlands franchise from the beginning, and I've played every mainline game, as well as Tales from the Borderlands. Despite being a big fan of the series, its attempts at storytelling have never really grabbed me that much. Borderlands 3’s overbearing narrative elements in particular are part of why I’ve only played through the game one time.

Warning: The following article includes spoilers for character deaths in previous Borderlands games.So far, we’ve gotten two looks at Borderlands 4. The trailer appeared at State of Play 2025. Initially, I wasn’t all that excited about the game based on the first trailer’s emphasis on story elements, but the more recent one did a good job reminding me why I fell in love with the franchise in the first place. My hope is that the new game does a better job than Borderlands 3 at capturing what makes the games so much fun.

Borderlands' Story Has Never Been Its Selling Point

Borderlands’ Appeal Is Its Wacky Tone And Fun Gameplay

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I think the only Borderlands game that perfectly balanced its narrative and gameplay elements was the first game. I love a lot of story-heavy games, but I’m not looking for too many narrative elements in a looter-shooter like Borderlands. I’m looking to find cool weapons and use them to make enemies explode into bloody chunks.

While I may not be a big fan of Borderlands’ story, I do love its tone. Its irreverent sense of humor is perfectly suited to a game where I spend most of my playtime popping heads with my sniper rifle. The first game mostly relied on its style and environmental storytelling to teach players about the world of Pandora, and it kept the tone lighthearted and fun more often than not. Unfortunately, every game since has felt the need to make the story bigger and more dramatic, to the point where it has begun to compromise this playful tone.

Stories In The Borderlands Games Happen At The Player

Players Witness Big Events They Have No Impact On

I think one of my biggest issues with the stories in the Borderlands franchise is that they often feel like they are happening around me, but that I’m not very involved in them. A good example of this is when Lilith warps you away from Sanctuary right before it takes off in Borderlands 2. Sanctuary is being bombarded by Handsome Jack’s satellite, he and the characters from Borderlands 1 are exchanging verbal barbs, and the heroes are delivering cool one-liners. However, this is all happening while I’m just standing on a cliff, watching from far away like a human camera.

The Borderlands franchise leans too heavily on trying to center big dramatic moments around the death of the series' best characters.

Probably the worst example of the player feeling like a non-entity in Borderlands’ story is Maya’s death in Borderlands 3. The game’s main antagonists murder Maya while your character is in the same room, and the game basically pretends you don’t exist. The moment would feel a lot more earned if I fought the Calypso Twins first, was somehow incapacitated, and then Maya was killed. It would make me feel guilty and inspire me to want to make up for letting her die. Instead, I’m left questioning why my character even exists in this narrative.

In general, the Borderlands franchise leans too heavily on trying to center big dramatic moments around the death of the series' best characters, like Roland in Borderlands 2 or Maya in 3. These moments always feel forced, especially since the franchise’s respawn mechanic is a canonical part of the game’s world. I’ve watched Roland die hundreds of times throughout my many Borderlands 1 playthroughs, so instead of getting teary-eyed when he dies in the sequel's story, I’m wondering why he didn’t just pop back out of the nearest New-U Station.

Borderlands 4's Newest Trailer Was Exciting Due To Its Lack Of Story

An Emphasis On Gameplay Reminded Me Why I Love This Franchise

Borderlands 4 's original trailer felt like it belonged to a different franchise. The tone felt very somber, and as someone who likes Borderlands least when it’s trying to take itself too seriously, I was pretty put off by this. It also featured one of the most boring and generic action movie tropes: two groups of nondescript characters (to whom I have no emotional connection) running at each other in a big empty field. It felt so distant from the Borderlands 1 trailer’s absurd promise of “87 Bazillion Guns,” but luckily, the latest trailer feels a lot more on-brand.

The Borderlands 4 Release Date Trailer was all gameplay tied together by some slick editing and hip-hop courtesy of Joey Valence & Brae. Not only did the trailer do a much better job capturing the style and tone of Borderlands, but it also reminded me why I like the games in the first place: they’re a lot of fun. I have complaints about Borderlands 2’s story, but I’ve still played the game multiple times because I just really enjoy the gameplay loop. Borderlands 4 looks beautiful and seems to have some interesting new gameplay innovations that I’m eager to try.

Borderlands 4 Needs To Emphasize Fun Gameplay Instead Of Getting Lost In Its Own Mythology

Borderlands Is Best When It Isn’t Trying To Be Overly Dramatic

Borderlands 4 looks like a lot of fun, so I'm simply hoping that the game can that fun is its main prerogative. Since there are a lot of video games much better suited to tugging at my heartstrings, if Borderlands wants to compete for my attention, it needs to rely on what makes it special: its gameplay and its unique style. I don’t want to be sitting on my couch, rolling my eyes as the game tries to make me care about FL4K’s death scene, or whoever it decides to kill from Borderlands 3 to force an emotional moment.

I don’t necessarily hate the concept of Borderlands 4 or any other game in the series including narrative elements. I laughed pretty hard the first time I got to the end of Borderlands 2 and saw Claptrap being denied his retribution by a flight of stairs. I have fond feelings towards characters like Tiny Tina and even Lilith, despite her often being closely tied to the series’ failed attempts at drama. I can see myself enjoying Borderlands 4’s story, so long as it stays in its lane and doesn’t rely on cheap tricks to try and force dramatic moments.