Borderlands 4 is said to offer the most open world of all installments so far. It is intended to incorporate the best features of open worlds, but likely not the ones that annoy players the most.
What is the world of Borderlands 4 supposed to be like? In an interview with Gamespot, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford clarified that Borderlands 4 is moving more towards an open world than previous installments.
- In Borderlands, players could previously enter separate areas and worlds individually. To travel between them, players had to use terminals or take fast travel to reach the terminals.
- In Borderlands 4, every backdrop that can be seen should be a playable space. There should be no loading times when switching between areas. Even the transition between individual planets should be seamless.
- Within an area, players should be able to explore even more. For example, there will be a grapple hook that allows players to pull themselves up vertically. New vehicles are also planned.
Anthony Nicholson also emphasized to GamesRadar+ that Borderlands 4 is more inspired by open-world titles. Some features from open worlds will be included, such as seamless travel between individual areas. More dynamic side missions and events are also expected to be elements that will be adopted.
You can watch the trailer for Borderlands 4 here:
Borderlands 4 only takes the best from open worlds
What is it not supposed to be like? However, it is more interesting to know where the Gearbox team draws its line. While the world is supposed to be more interconnected since areas don’t need to be loaded in, there will also be some things missing that we know from open worlds, as Nicholson confirms:
“We did not set out with the intention of developing an ‘open-world game’ in the traditional sense.”
Nicholson did not elaborate on which features from open-world titles will not be adopted. However, looking closely at typical open-world games makes it clear which features likely won’t make it into the game.
What could be missing? Those who know typical open-world titles from developers like Ubisoft or Bethesda know that numerous side activities await on the map. Whether it’s the towers in Assassin’s Creed or the caves in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: The events keep players occupied for hours, which can take away the enjoyment of the game because the focus shifts away from the main story.
In Final Fantasy VII Remake, this was even taken to the extreme. Here, players must complete a stealth mission in each new area to unlock a Chocobo as a mount. This costs additional time and nerves when players want to travel faster across the maps.
Since Gearbox has only mentioned the side missions and events that have been present in the Borderlands series, it can be assumed that the map will not be cluttered with numerous symbols. The developers promised that there would be missions to discover. There has been no talk of symbols cluttering the map so far.
MeinMMO editor Niko Hernes is a big fan of the Borderlands series. Nevertheless, he avoided playing a particular installment for 3 years. How he enjoyed the excursion into a fantasy world from Borderlands is revealed in his own article: I avoided a part of the Borderlands series for almost 3 years, but now I regret it
