Summary
- Borderlands 4 introduces RPG elements, new planets, and manufacturers to revitalize the franchise.
- Concerns about mob density arise in a seamless exploration world showcased at State of Play.
- Combat pace in Borderlands 4 seems slower and more intentional, with conflicting signals on mob density.
Borderlands 4 is still a way out from launch, but it has already shown enough of its hand for fans to easily discern how big the leaps are that it's taking to revitalize the franchise and innovate on its long-standing but increasingly weary formula. Whether it's the heightened emphasis on RPG elements, the seamless exploration, the new planet, the Licensed Parts system, or its new manufacturers, Borderlands 4 is clearly on a streak when it comes to breaking traditions and introducing elements the series has never before seen. At the same time, not everything is quite so clear.
Borderlands 4's recent State of Play, for example, went into explicit detail about many of the game's features, and yet muddied the water with one particularly significant concern about its world design. Essentially, since Borderlands 4 features seamless exploration despite not being fully open world, it's reasonable to be concerned with the density of the game's mobs, as they might be spread too thin in a world with almost no loading screens. If that's the case, it would potentially compromise a key characteristic of Borderlands combat: high-octane, action-packed sequences that can even be overwhelming at times.
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Borderlands 4's State of Play Sent Mixed Signals About Mob Density
Borderlands 4's State of Play Mission Showed Mobs Spread Thin
There are plenty of big takeaways from Borderlands 4's recent State of Play deep dive, but if there's one thing that's a bit concerning, it's that the upcoming entry's combat seems slower and more intentional than previous installments, which frequently required players to be on their toes. While it was broken up into different segments, Borderlands 4's State of Play largely revolved around a mission called "Dark Subject," which Gearbox used as a way to show off the game's most notable elements.
Most showcases during a game's marketing phase see the player character moving at an extremely slow pace to ensure those watching can take in every detail.
Unfortunately, the mission itself shows Borderlands 4's mobs spread fairly thin, with the player taking on only around three to four enemies at once, and sometimes even less than that. The showcase saw the player moving through the mission rather slowly as well, although this is understandable from a marketing perspective. Understandable or not, however, the mission wasn't the best way to show off the game's response to concerns about mob density within the context of Borderlands 4's new planet Kairos being a seamless world for players to explore.
The State of Play Also Showed a Huge Horde of Psychos
Regardless of what the "Dark Subject" mission seemed to prove though, here is where the confusion lies. Before the mission showcase in Borderlands 4's State of Play, a brief montage of clips from the game seemed to show players tackling a huge horde of Psychos in a combat sequence reminiscent of past Borderlands games. While that's good news, it also sends some mixed signals about Borderlands 4's mob density. During one segment, mobs were spread thin, and during another, they crowded around the player.
There are plenty of big takeaways from Borderlands 4's recent State of Play deep dive, but if there's one thing that's a bit concerning, it's that the upcoming entry's combat seems slower and more intentional than previous installments, which frequently required players to be on their toes.
So, which is it? Perhaps the direction Borderlands 4 with mob density depends on the context of the player's immediate surroundings. In the more open-world-like areas, mobs will be spread out a bit, whereas the smaller locations within the game's world will feature traditional Borderlands-style gameplay where players are almost suffocated by the amount of action happening on the screen all at once. Of course, time will tell if any of these concerns are even valid, but it might not be a bad thing to hold onto hope that Borderlands 4 is just attempting to achieve some sort of balance in this area of its gameplay.
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
