According to statements released by Borderlands 4 director Sam Winkler, the next game will move away from the series' long-standing comedic style. This change is reflected in the Borderlands 4 reveal trailer, which communicates a more serious and less irreverent tone than the previous chapters of the franchise. And while everyone likes a good laugh from time to time, diving into the humor a little seems like the right choice for this next chapter in the series. Borderlands saga.
Borderlands is a storied franchise with fervent supporters, but even its biggest fans may find its tone difficult to stomach, especially in the wake of cringe Borderlands 3. Comedy is subjective, of course, but BorderlandsThe approach to humor has received a lot of well-deserved criticism for being overly juvenile, scatological, and, frankly, obnoxious. After so many games with the same emphasis on gross-out humor and immature, meme-like jokes, it's gotten a little old, something Winkler himself has been quite vocal about, stating that he would “cry real tears” if Borderlands 4 ends with the same comedy flavor as its predecessors. But if this change of direction is intelligent, it must also be measured, so as not to adulterate the identity of the series too much.

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Even before the broad overview Borderlands film adaptation, the long-running shooter franchise had a complicated reputation. On the one hand, both audiences and critics have praised the series for its wide assortment of unique weapons and powerful combat mechanics, and its lore, while not groundbreaking, certainly has enough meat for players to chew on. But the comedy, right from the first game, tends to be more annoying than funny.
Aside from a questionable reliance on crassness and randomness rather than intelligence for jokes (see: “Butt Stallion”), the franchise leans on a frustratingly meta, self-aware, referential style. In other words, Borderlands can channel the qualities of the worst memes, where the “joke” is just a reference to something audience members are already aware of. For example, characters might laugh when the number 69 appears, and that's supposed to be the joke: there's no punchline or clever twist on it: the game is just pointing out that 69 is a seemingly funny number.
Borderlands 4 doesn't need to get overly sober
Although giving middle school comedy a break will undoubtedly be a good thing Borderlands 4It would also be a shame if it became more sophisticated and mature than it should be. While some video games, such as Alice by American McGeehave managed to take lighthearted source material and make it dark and gritty, many others have tried and failed at such departures. It wouldn't be too hard to imagine Borderlands 4 falling into the latter category, going too far in the opposite direction of its predecessors, replacing toilet humor with abject shock value, dark and brooding plot beats, or otherwise depressing themes. Such an extreme change perhaps wouldn't be so annoying Borderlands 3's awkward dialogue and immature jokes, but it would probably be a lot more boring.
To put it simply, it's safe to say that shivering is a lesser evil than boring. THE Borderlands it deserves better than the niche humor that most gamers will find unbearable, but it also shouldn't turn into another banal, over-safe FPS: the industry already has more than enough of that. Fortunately, this seems unlikely, as Winkler suggested that some of Borderlandsthe characteristic comedy will return Borderlands 4. Hopefully the game will just contain a more refined version of it.

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Looter shooter
Action
Adventure
Role playing


- Franchising
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Borderlands
- Released
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00-00-2025