I was one of the many outspoken gamers who had enough ofBorderlandsfranchise’s incessant poop and fart jokes and pithy humor, and I’m someone who LOVES poop and fart jokes. It was too much, even for me.
But after flying out to playBorderlands 4at 2K Games last month, my experience with the game revealed a tonal shift within the title. I can’t say that there won’t be any poops or farts or ridiculous meme jokes within the game, but from what I played, the humor was way more subtle and still quite funny.
Gearbox heard the feedback about the game’s humor loudly overBL4’ssix years of development. I spoke with senior project producer Anthony Nicholson, who explained thatBL4has an “evolved tone and narrative” with “dry and grounded humor” that players would come to expect, but now with way less of the over-the-top and sometimes annoying toilet humor that the games previously went all-in on.
“I mean, obviously, we hear those types of things andwe see that feedback, but we’re really proud of what we’ve done on each of the stories for all of the different reasons for each of the individual titles in the franchise,” Nicholson said.
“Our writing team is exceptional. They do a really good job. Our writer’s room is very experienced and they understand what it is to be able to take the approaches and they keep humor as one of those pillars of theBorderlandstitle for sure. And so, I think what ends up happening with this game is you see the stakes of what they are.”
Nicholson said the stakes ofBL4’splot are different, which helps shape the game’s new tone. The primary antagonist, the Timekeeper, shifts the tone “both environmentally and narratively” to create that more grounded experience, but not without some laughs sprinkled in.
“Whenever you have a planet that’s been veiled in secret for thousands of years, now a moon out of nowhere has crashed into it and disrupted everything,” Nicholson said ofBL4’ssetting of Kairos. “All of these people have been under his hand of power and subjugated for their entire existence, that changes how people approach it and how the tone kind of comes out throughout the narrative. But not without its wittiness, the banter that goes back and forth, or the side missions that have a lot of the zany and crazy stuff, too.”
Inmy time with the game, I audibly laughed out loud a few times at some legitimately funny quips and jokes, along with the ever-present combat chatter between the Vault Hunters and their enemies as you fight. It’s definitely stillBorderlands, but with the maturity knob turned up a bit, and it’s making for a very promising entry so far.
Borderlands 4launches on Sept. 12 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
Lodging and travel for the Borderlands 4 hands-on event was provided by 2K.
