There’s a lot to say about Borderlands 4‘s opening hours, but the game’s first proper raid and boss act as a microcosm for the entire experience. I played the first several hours leading up to this climactic mission, engaging in various side missions, activities, and world events, but I still have dozens more to go. However, it wasn’t until I played this setpiece mission that all of Borderlands 4‘s systems came together in a short but sweet symphony of a mission that proudly proclaimed that the series is back and better than ever.
It wasn’t that I wasn’t having fun before this mission, only that it gave me a taste of what the best of this style of game can be and awakened a craving for more. What’s more, I can’t wait to experience them again with friends.
I can’t — and wouldn’t want to — spoil any of the story details leading up to this major mission. For context, though, all you need to know is that it takes place a few hours into the game and has my Vault Hunter teaming up with the first region’s resistance group to overthrow one of the Timekeeper’s lieutenants called Idolator Sol.
After reaching the interior of Sol’s fortress, which is an instanced zone cut off from the seamless world, I begin my solo assault. I chose to play as Vex, the new Siren character with the ability to summon spectral ghosts to aid me in battle to compensate for my lack of co-op partners and didn’t feel like I was missing out on too much going it alone. Of course, playing with friends is what Borderlands 4 is built for, which is yet another reason the mission-replay system is such a great addition.
But I digress. The interior of the base is standard FPS hallways at the start, with some basic mobs to blast through until I reach the hangar. My first objective before facing Sol himself is to disable his ship so that it can’t take off and obliterate what’s left of my new resistance friends outside. Here, the level designers start to flex their muscles
Gearbox has been ringing the bell about Borderlands 4‘s more advanced movement systems from the start, and rightfully so. Beyond just feeling great to have more mobility options, they’re expertly integrated into both combat and exploration. The hanger, for example, is a multi-tiered chasm with disconnected catwalks littered with cargo. I’m constantly changing up my weapons based on the range of my foe, but also never standing still. Slopes encourage my slide, which transitions perfectly into a jump to catch an angle. From there, I can correct into a more defensive position or push my attack with the double jump and glide.
Borderlands 4 always pushes me to think and express myself during combat, which is its greatest strength. Even the grapple, which is contextually useful in some arenas, is still given utility as a way to pull environmental objects to then throw as an explosive. Sure, I could sit back and rely on a single gun to pick away at enemies, but every part of the level and combat design pushes and rewards me for being fast, aggressive, and using all the tools at my disposal.
Disabling the ship requires me to disconnect three clamps with my grapple, juggling the need to push forward with increasing waves of enemies. With that part done, I’m given one last respite before facing off with Sol.
Sol is your quintessential first raid boss, but in the best possible way. It ups the complexity from any other encounter I faced thus far, without going overboard.
Initially, Sol is covered in an impenetrable armor, but one I’ve been introduced to in missions prior. I know that I need to hit him with a special element to erode it, but the circular arena is empty save for me and the hulking boss. His first or second attack, of course, reveals the answer. A row of AoE indicators appears on the ground before Sol summons spears from the sky, one of which is green and targetable with my grapple. I snag it and hurl it at the boss to erode his armor. That’s a simple but fun system, but it is a little more interesting than that because it doesn’t just completely expose Sol to damage. Instead, depending on where I tag him with the projectile, only a portion of this shield will evaporate.
My first hit exposed Sol’s left arm, part of his chest, and head. Later, I hit him on a lower portion and opened up his legs to damage. It’s a small bit, but again emphasizes how much Borderlands 4 wants me to think just a bit more than usual.
Ads in boss fights are usually annoying, and they still are, but are a bit more essential in Borderlands 4. Should I go down with no co-op partner to save me, killing an enemy gives me a second wind to get up and keep fighting. But this fight puts a twist on that, too, by giving Sol a way to suck the life from one of his minions and restore some of his own. It is well telegraphed, giving me time to kill his target myself and deny him the heal.
There’s also your typical area denial moves where portions of the arena are marked for AoE damage, and I have to reposition to the safe zone to break up the combat, and these zones move faster and get larger with each phase.
Of course, the battle ends with a beautiful piñata explosion of loot to really set off my dopamine receptors.
While straightforward as far as raid bosses go in the grand scheme of things, Sol was a great first taste of what future big raid missions in Borderlands 4 could build on. It upped the complexity of a simple DPS race without overwhelming me, but left the door open for far more complex and challenging fights with future bosses.
I’m already itching to dive back in to see how future bosses build upon the promise of what Sol’s fight showed me.
Borderlands 4 launches on September 12 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, with the Switch 2 version coming on October 3.
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