I Sure Hope The Next Borderlands Is A Lot Like Borderlands 2

The long-running Borderlands franchise by 2K has solidified its position as an exceptionally enjoyable set of first-person shooters, with various iterations in the series getting recognized across the globe for boasting either high-quality gameplay, a storyline, or all of the above and then some.

And with Randy Pitchford, the CEO of Gearbox Software, which is the frontline developer of Borderlands games, letting out an intriguing tease in recent times that brings forth the possibility of a new rendition in the franchise, I cannot help but talk about some of the expectations tied to the latter and what the community right now is actually hoping from the new Borderlands.

In simple words, whatever Gearbox is cooking up behind the scenes, it has to borrow everything that Borderlands 2 is made of.

Seriously. 

The Storyline Of A Lifetime

The devs just went ahead and made one titan of a first-person shooter with remarkable gameplay and a storyline that will keep you hooked to it for months on end. The replayability value of Borderlands 2 aside, which too by the way is nothing but fantastic save for the end-game sequence which is a bit debatable, there’s just a lot going on with the looter-shooter RPG that makes you want to have more of it. 

Thankfully, more did arrive in the name of Borderlands 3, unanimously sporting the best gameplay quality in the Borderlands franchise, but in the story department, it still fell short to the second mainline installment.

Here’s a quick rundown of Borderlands 2’s greatest achievement, and how it’s managed to stick its impression in the heart of every Borderlands fan and player, starting with the story. 

Fact: borderlands 2 is the best borderlands game ever
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First off, it bears noticing that Borderlands 2’s depiction of Pandora — the in-game world — is vibrant and full of life, which automatically sets the premise in the right direction, and keeps the player motivated in terms of exploring more. Speaking of which, one of the best traits of the game revolves around its rewarding gameplay, especially if you get a group of friends together and experience the shooter cooperatively. 

With the initial impressions settled in well, Borderlands 2 really takes off with its enthralling storyline that grips you hard and fast as soon as you step foot in Sanctuary, trying to recover from Handsome Jack’s brutal betrayal. In an interview with Game Informer, Gearbox Concept Designer Scott Kester said that during the development process, the team emphasized on environmental storytelling instead of highlighting the story in cutscenes. 

It was kind of on purpose, but the last game had a very desolate feel to it. Not to say that there’s not some desolation inside of Borderlands 2, but we really wanted to make sure that there was character not only in the characters themselves but in the environments.” 

As a result, players would feel more engaged in taking an interest in Borderlands 2’s plotline as opposed to simply skipping lengthy cutscenes. Couple that with meaningful character deaths later in the game, and you’ve got yourself one thriller of a story that you can’t help but feel wholly immersed in. No other Borderlands game makes you involved on that level, period, and it’s a reason why Borderlands 4 — or whatever Gearbox ends up calling the next Borderlands game — needs to draw inspiration from one of its best predecessors.  

Borderlands 2 Mixed With Borderlands 3 Gameplay Would Be Flat-Out Perfect

But you know what, the story isn’t the only thing the next Borderlands could borrow from a previous iteration. Now this is very well in the line of wishful thinking, but it calms my heart to put it out there that Gearbox already has the formula and recipe for the perfect Borderlands game. All they have to do is combine 2’s storyline quality and 3’s gameplay together, and voila! 

And if by some magical miracle sent down from the heavens, Borderlands 4 gets to have the first Borderland’s atmosphere as well, that’s pretty much game over for the rest of the industry proponents trying to make it big in the looter-shooter genre.

Whats the best borderlands?
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That’s because anyone who’s played multiple iterations of the series knows that when it comes to gunplay and combat, Borderlands 3 far surpassed other entries by a mile, although falling a little short in terms of featuring a solid plot. 

When Is The Next Borderlands Coming? 

“Sooner rather than later,” thankfully. As mentioned earlier, the next iteration in the Borderlands franchise is real, with an official announcement to drop sometime later this year expectedly. Randy Pitchford, the CEO of Gearbox, told GamesRadar the following in recent times, so we’ve really got to start counting the days from here on out. 

I haven’t been perfect at hiding the fact that we’re working on many things, and that we’re working on big things,” Pitchford tells GamesRadar+. “I’m confident that our fans are going to be very, very happy with the next video game project when we are ready to announce it. And I will tell you that we’re not going to be making people wait for a long time before we announce it.”