Borderlands 4 is almost here, bringing four new playable Vault Hunters to the 16-year-old looter shooter franchise. Earlier this year, I went hands-on with Borderlands 4 and got a chance to play as the exosuit-wearing Rafa and fall in love with the delightfully dark Siren, Vex. As we approach the game’s release, I spoke with lead character designer Nick Thurston to delve into the abilities, creation, and play style of Amon, a warrior-poet and Viking-inspired warrior who offers a little bit more gameplay complexity for fans who want that in a Borderlands game. Our conversation is detailed below, edited for both brevity and readability.
Like its predecessors, Borderlands 4 is all about stopping a world-ending threat and uncovering the location of a treasure-filled Vault on an alien planet as one of four Vault Hunters. Along the way, you’ll run across a truly enormous number of unique firearms and fight through hordes of monstrous creatures, vengeful dictators, and murderous machines, all while befriending (or growing increasingly exasperated by) a network of quip-loving characters. Borderlands 4 adds several long-requested features that fans have wanted in the series as well, like mission replay and a seamless world.
Borderlands 4 is set to launch for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC on September 12, with a Switch 2 version slated for release on October 3.