Gaming News “We’re taking it to a new level” Borderlands 4 shows up at the Game Awards! We spoke to the creator of this episode: it will drive players crazy!
Last August, just a few days after the official release of the Borderlands film, the license also made its comeback during Gamescom's big evening, Opening Night Live. After almost five years of absence, if we leave aside the release of Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, it's time for 2K's crazy and irreverent saga to return to action. For our part, we were able to preview the Game Awards trailer and ask a few questions to Randy Pitchford, founder and president of The Gearbox Entertainment Company, and Graeme Timmins, creative director of Borderlands 4.
Borderlands 4 is causing chaos in the middle of the Game Awards 2024
This happens on the occasion of a new major ceremony, in this case the Game Awards Borderlands 4 resumes its communication campaign. After a first excerpt that is as explosive as it is mysterious, which ends with a robot hand pulling a psycho mask from the flames, We were able to discover the rest of this teaser a few days in advance Borderlands 4. As you may have noticed, the Game Awards trailer picks up where the teaser left off and starts off very strong with a huge battle Avengers: Endgamea brief overview of various environments in the game and a quick look at the quartet of characters we get to embody. The trailer multiplies the surprises at a rather hectic pace : new vehicles – including one that can be summoned almost anywhere – the return of familiar characters like Zane Borderlands 3small taste of the gameplay – for example the new movement mechanics – and a cliffhanger about a character who is mysterious to say the least… Despite all this, nothing changes: be prepared for a lot of loot ! For his part, Randy Pitchford was very proud to let us discover all this exclusively, explaining: “ that he panicked a little » before you start playing the trailer.
It's true that releasing a trailer is always an important step, even more so when it's the very first one. Randy Pitchford is aware of this, just as he knows: “ that they have raving fans who will analyze them » each of these first pictures and that these last “ will go crazy » as this new chapter seems great. Because yes, during this interview Randy Pitchford introduced us Borderlands 4 as a new chapter of the license on the ” You have been working for a long time », i.e. before marketing Borderlands 3 ! It was necessary this long gestation period brings “ fresh ideas »to use the words of Randy Pitchford during the interview. As Graeme Timmins also explains, the franchise has always tried to evolve and expand with each episode. And on this topic: We discussed with them two very important points: the freedom that this new chapter offers, both in terms of exploration and expression through gameplay.
Borderlands 4 will drive players crazy, this episode aims to expand the boundaries of the saga, and not just a little!
Developed using technologies embedded in Unreal Engine 5, complemented by a handful of tools from Gearbox Entertainment. Borderlands 4 is described by Randy Pitchford as “ the most free and expensive experience they have ever created ». It must be said that Unreal Engine 5 and its capabilities allow the Gearbox teams to remove quite an eyesore. Now, thanks to new technologies, the limitations are less important and teams have gotten used to them bring border areas on a whole new level. As Randy Pitchford and Graeme Timmins told us, the idea was “ not to rest on their successes “, then a new page opens border areas. With this fourth part “ the ideal entry point » As Pitchford says, the license reaches new audiences while being a production that will delight fans. « Everything we see has never been seen before » tells us Pitchford, but the fans will ” recognize how everything is connected (within the license)”. Apparently the teams thought of her and therefore planned a big surprise, because the famous character behind the name ” timekeeper », never seen and only mentioned in the games, will play a central role in this title. After vaguely hearing about him, This ruthless dictator will have a place of choice Borderlands 4especially since the heroes of the game will have fun sowing chaos on his planet: Kairos, new and dangerous in the universe!
Borderlands 4 Therefore, on the one hand, it starts again on new foundations, but takes up the work that has been done up to that point in order to climb to a new level. The ” big deal » According to Randy Pitchford, this game is evolution in terms of exploration. At one point, Gearbox's general manager returns to a passage in the trailer, stops at one of the shots and tells us: ” whatever we see on the screen at that exact moment (the shot in which the four heroes look into the distance together) is a playable room that can be entered and explored without loading times ». Borderlands 4 makes this breakthrough a key feature of its adventure, encouraging players to answer the call of exploration and discover what it has to offer (Events, side missions, rewards, etc.). Beyond this progress, Graeme Timmins explained to us that he also wanted to give something more ways for players to exploit the different battlefields, different approaches when the heavy artillery was brought out. Per se ” Traveling around the world will be more fun ” and especially: ” we will be able to experience it undisturbed “. Speaking of fun: This of course also applies to ego combat.
Our two interlocutors have not yet introduced us to the four new classes or told us their nicknames. However, each of these is a promise of more gameplay. expressive “, more specific to each player. A lot of work has been done on the skill trees to be able to offer them more opportunities for players to express themselves and build unique builds (« It is very important for us to ensure the diversity of builds this time (…) It will be deeper and more diverse than ever before “). In an online lobby, the same character may appear four times, and yet none are played the same way (” You can play any of the classes and your version of the character will be completely different from any other version on the planet “). The variety of skills, interactions with the environment and movement in space will make the experience much more entertaining than in the past.
Since for us it was a question of gameplay and playing with others, we couldn't resist the urge to ask Pitchford about the cooperative features, a question that immediately made him smile. Let's not beat around the bush: yes, there will always be the famous local cooperative that players join border areas appreciate it so mucheven in a time when this functionality is becoming increasingly rare because it has always been there an important place and that's it an original family dimension in the eyes of Pitchford and Timmins. « We support collaboration in all its forms and are committed to embracing it “, although, as Pitchford points out, ” p… hard “, from a technical and design perspective. Now it's time to be patient. Although the teams have been working on this work for several years, the title is not quite ready for a short-term release.. In any case, the appointment has been agreed 2025 And the title is just waiting to be on your wish list.
