Borderlands 4 is the Destiny 3 We Never Got, and Gearbox’s Best Move Yet

Sure thing, here’s my reworked version:

—

So, last night, like everyone else apparently, I sat through the Borderlands 4 State of Play. Honestly? It was a roller coaster. Imagine a buffet but instead of food, it’s jam-packed with new gameplay twists. It kinda yanked me back to the OG Borderlands more than anything recent. But here’s where it gets wild: it feels more like Destiny 3 than the Borderlands 4 I dreamed up in my head last year. Crazy, right? Yet, maybe that’s what it needed.

Borderlands has always been this double-edged sword. On one hand, you’ve got the epic FPS shenanigans — guns that shoot rockets, rockets that explode into bees, I dunno — pure magic. That’s what hooked people, yours truly included, since day one. Even the first game, which is, let’s face it, a bit vanilla now, was a major vibe then.

But then, there’s the humor. Ah, the humor. Not gonna lie, some folks are diehard Claptrap fans, living for every cringy joke and bizarre crossover, like that trippy Spongebob nod in the Borderlands 3 Krieg DLC (yes, that happened). Some love it. Others, well, they cringe. Now, Borderlands 4? It’s doing something different. Gearbox, bless ’em, seized the chance to switch things up real hard, and boy, have they.

Take the tone shift, for instance. During the State of Play, I could literally count the jokes on one hand — almost. Quality > Quantity, right? A joke here, a snide remark there. Not a Sigma joke in sight (praise be). For once, I’m not 100% about to roll my eyes. It’s a whole new beast, and honestly, it’s refreshing.

This fits the new look, too. Still chaotic, don’t worry, but toned down a bit. Less clown fiesta, more edgy weirdness. They ditched the old formula of “find vault, defeat boss, collect loot avalanche,” inching towards more of a Bungie-esque setup. World bosses, spontaneous events…you get the picture. Now vaults are more like dungeons instead of treasure chests on steroids. Oh, and a drone that tells you where to go, cars you can just call up? Destiny vibes hard. It’s like Gearbox did a remix with Destiny 2.

Some might call it a bold move. Destiny’s got its own dramas, shifting focus, offloading content — yikes. Bungie’s been laying off people, not exactly a recipe for longevity. Enter Borderlands 4, ready to swoop in like a hero. Marathon’s still a meh for many alpha testers, lacking that oomph. If Borderlands 4 were to drop the same day as Marathon, hoo boy, there’d be fireworks.

My brain is buzzing with all this, like bees swarming (no, not the rocket kind), but it’s exhilarating. It’s a new chapter for Borderlands, and people are buzzing too. For now, it feels right. Who knows if this hype will last forever? But right now, it’s got us all fired up. Nice one, Gearbox!