Borderlands 4 may have launched with some technical difficulties, but outside of that, fans were quite pleased with the game upon release. Sure, some Vault Hunters needed nerfs while others required buffs, but the combat itself was and is incredibly satisfying, the loot remains consistently rewarding, and the storytelling has been a step in the right direction. While Borderlands 4’s open-world and Ultimate Vault Hunter tiers take some work to fully clear, by now many players have done all there is to do and are patiently waiting for something new. Unfortunately, Gearbox’s first stab at significant post-launch content is a major miss, especially when compared to the series’ past success.
For those looking for a meaty post-launch experience to dive into, Horrors of Kairos certainly doesn’t tick that box. In fact, it’s so limited in scope that most players will not even notice that there’s an event going on, with the new features limited to a minuscule “weather” change and two pieces of Legendary gear. Sadly, both of these additions are largely disappointing, and taking part in the event will feel more like the worst part of the iconic General Knoxx DLC from the original Borderlands than anything else. Considering how much better Borderlands 3 handled its Halloween celebration, it’s almost shocking how weak Borderlands 4’s spin on the holiday is, and it’s a worrying sign for some future additions to the game.
Borderlands 4’s Horrors of Kairos event also brought an unlockable weapon skin and a Jack-o-Lantern head for all 4 Vault Hunters. Some criticized the head as a missed opportunity, as each character could have had a unique head, while tying the cosmetics to a Shift Code is divisive since it means there’s less to grind for in the event.
Borderlands 4’s Horrors of Kairos is a Boring Grind For Weak Rewards
Instead of featuring new bosses, basic enemies, or locations, the only way to progress the Horrors of Kairos event is to face world bosses. These fights work exactly like they normally do, with bubbles randomly appearing in the open-world and players killing a boss within them. When entering the bubble, players experience the “seasonal weather variant” teased for the looter shooter, which is just some bloody rain and a fairly underwhelming orange sky. This is the extent of the “newness” within the event, as all the world bosses players fight are the exact same as the ones they’ve been battling since launch. Normally, world boss bubbles are an exciting distraction between activities or quest destinations. However, needing to farm them constantly sees players driving around the entirety of Kairos waiting for a bubble to show up, with so much downtime between the action that the event becomes a bore almost instantly. If franchise veterans hated driving 10 minutes at a time in "The Secret Armory of General Knoxx," this content isn’t for them.
Worse, while said Borderlands expansion had great payoffs between all that driving, whether it be the timed red chest opening at the end of the story or the Pearlescent drops from Crawmerax the Invincible, the two new Legendaries in Horrors of Kairos are painfully lackluster. The first is the Skully grenade, and while a throwable skull seems cool in theory, it’s incredibly weak and will do nothing but sit inside players’ Borderlands 4 safes. The Murmor Tediore Assault Rifle is also quite weak, with its damage output not matching the neat bloody weapon skin, though it could theoretically be decent if players get it to drop with the right parts. Unfortunately, these two Legendaries don’t drop all that often from the world boss bubbles, with players needing to open several reward crates before they get just one drop. Farming world bosses for hours in the hope of getting the right parts means the Assault Rifle is also a miss, as players are better off going for better Legendaries than either of these limited-time unlocks.
Borderlands 4’s Golden Chest can drop the Horros of Kairos Legendaries, so splurging on Golden Keys may be preferable than the boring world boss bubble searches.
Borderlands 3 Already Got Halloween Events Right
What’s so frustrating about this new content is that Borderlands 3’s Bloody Harvest was very well received. In that seasonal event, players fought through a special spooky map full of themed enemies, with a fun boss battle against Captain Haunt waiting at the end of the location. The map included a secret puzzle as well as a few genuinely good Legendaries to chase, and though Revenge of the Cartels was a far better event, Bloody Harvest was still a strong first outing for Borderlands 3’s free updates. How Borderlands 4 managed to fumble the concept so heavily after the previous mainline game nailed it is anyone’s guess, but it’s impossible not to compare the two given their similar themeing.
While it may be unfair to say this content is worse than the Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands DLC, as players had to pay for those controversial content packs whereas Horros of Kairos is free, the lack of a price tag doesn’t excuse the event from criticism. Players now have a legitimate reason to worry about future post-launch updates to Borderlands 4. Additional seasonal events could be just as lackluster as Horrors of Kairos, with players fighting the same world bosses for a few pieces of mediocre (or worse) gear to collect. The "How Rush Saved Mercenary Day" DLC has been described as something resembling Borderlands 2’s Headhunter Packs, so it should provide at least an hour or two of genuinely new content, though that won't keep fans busy for too long. With Borderlands 3 doing seasonal events better in addition to having the hugely enjoyable endgame Takedowns, the pressure is on Borderlands 4’s Mad Ellie expansion to right the ship, as the game’s free updates just aren’t worth looking forward to if Horrors of Kairos is anything to go by.
Borderlands 4
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 82 /100 Critics Rec: 88%
- Released
- September 12, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Gearbox Software
- Publisher(s)
- 2K
