On its fourth installment, the NCE gaming franchise certainly matures, though maturity isn’t typically a term tied to Borderlands, a vibrant, performance-driven shooter from Texas. Known for its blend of adolescent humor, the series takes a turn in Borderlands 4 as developer Gearbox addresses longstanding issues. Featuring a cast of returning characters, the storyline is more globally engaging and less manic than previous entries. Borderlands has reached a new level of maturity, which is long overdue.

Borderlands 4 maintains its signature thick layer of humor, although the jokes can be hit or miss. Nonetheless, the humor is now a bit more polished. It continues to showcase the beloved cel-shaded graphics and intense gameplay involving an arsenal of weapons. The game introduces an even greater variety of guns than its predecessor, allowing players to sift through many options to find the truly exceptional ones suitable for both easier enemies and more intriguing bosses. A solid storyline emerges after the initial hours, leading players down unexpected, entertaining, and sometimes surreal paths.

Set on the planet Kairos, familiar to the series, this setting feels more cohesive than previous ones. The residents of Kairos are under the oppressive rule of a tyrannical timekeeper and must rally the oppressed indigenous populace for a resistance movement. Players will work to eliminate the timekeeper and liberate tribes from surveillance implants. As the story unfolds, numerous side quests and insights reveal themselves, from dungeon-like vaults to loot and environmental puzzles.

Players can choose from one of four vault hunters: a siren with summoning abilities, an Exo Soldier known as Super Soldier, a tank armed with a hammer called Forgenight, and a high-tech graviter. Each character brings essential battlefield skills, allowing for various offensive and defensive strategies. With significantly improved movement capabilities, players can utilize grapples, hover bikes, massive jumps, and glides while exploring. This installment also embraces the series’ renowned cooperative gameplay, featuring support for up to four players.

Borderlands 4 is extensive, with the main storyline spanning 20-30 hours, plus plenty of post-story content. However, it isn’t entirely seamless; at times, traversing large distances during missions can be frustrating, and navigation indicators can be inconsistent. Some technical issues were present at launch, especially on PC, leading to crashes despite significant patches. Players have also reported various performance problems here. Nevertheless, Borderlands has come a long way in its evolution, maintaining its core charm while reducing the annoyance factor evident in earlier titles.