I just started playing Borderlands 4. One thing I really like is that they brought back some of the old enemies and NPCs from Borderlands 2. It definitely gave me a nice sense of nostalgia. The gameplay has also improved compared to Borderlands 3.
But, I'm the type of player who plays Borderlands mainly for the atmosphere and overall vibe. Borderlands 3 absolutely nailed that for me. The lighting, the sky and clouds, the unique themes of each area, and even the way NPC towns and buildings were laid out all felt perfect.
Unfortunately, I don't get that same feeling in Borderlands 4.
- First, the new volumetric clouds. While they're technically more advanced, I feel like they actually hurt the atmosphere. When I look at the sky, all I see are similarly shaped cloud blobs that honestly don't look much different from fog. It just doesn't have the same visual impact or personality that Borderlands 3 had.
- Second, the day/night transitions often feel abrupt. It'll suddenly jump from bright daylight to evening or nighttime without a smooth transition. It's pretty distracting and honestly gets tiring on the eyes after a while.
- Third, the sound of rivers is way too loud. Whenever I'm near water, it completely drowns out the ambient sounds like NPC conversations or small wildlife, which makes the world feel less immersive.
- Fourth, I assume swimming is a new feature in Borderlands 4. However, when your character is fully swimming and you move the camera downward, the camera feels a bit awkward. Your character's arms follow the camera direction while the rest of the body is still floating on the surface, so the animation looks pretty strange.
**One more issue:**
During missions like "Eliminate the Rippers," there's often one enemy that never shows up. It seems like they're either stuck in collision, frozen in a T-pose, or somehow trapped inside hidden geometry. I've had several missions take much longer than they should because I had to spend time searching for the last enemy.
I really hope the developers continue improving the game in future updates. Borderlands 4 has a solid foundation, and with some polish and fixes, I think it could become a much better experience.
