Borderlands 4 includes new features for the series, one of which is double-jumping. Developer Gearbox didn’t feel the need to justify the feature’s existence, because Borderlands 4 was developed with the aim of allowing players to do what they want, even if it doesn’t make sense.
“The biggest commitment we made in Borderlands 4 is to give the players what they want,” Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford said in an interview with the Epic Games Store. “We just said, ‘F**k it. You can double jump.'”
The game doesn’t take any time to provide a “rationalization” for why this is possible. “You’re literally in the air, and you hit the jump button again, and you’ll get another jump out of it. Does it feel good? Is it fun? Then I don’t give a s**t if it makes any sense,” Pitchford said.
Beyond double-jumping, Borderlands 4 adds dashing and gliding movement abilities, while players can also use a grappling hook to move around the world and pull items toward themselves.
Borderlands 4 takes players to the planet of Kairos, and the game appears to have taken some inspiration from Bungie’s Destiny series. Not only will you have a helpful droid called Echo-4 that can assist you in navigating your way across Kairos, but you’ll also be able to instantly catch a ride with a Sparrow-like vehicle.
According to Pitchford, Borderlands 4 will give players an expansive playground to explore, but it shouldn’t be referred to as a traditional open-world game. “I wouldn’t say ‘open world’ because that [term] will come with baggage. That isn’t what we are. But it is seamless, and it is expansive, and it is larger than anything we’ve ever done, and it is filled like nothing we’ve ever done,” he said.
Borderlands 4 launches on September 12 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. It’s coming to Switch 2 on October 3. For more, check out a rundown of all the Vault hunters.
