Gearbox Software has shown off quite a bit of its upcoming looter shooter sequel Borderlands 4. While there’s a good mix of gameplay and cinematics, there are still a lot of unanswered questions, observations, and points to bring up from part 4’s big reveal at the end of 2024 -the good, bad, and not-quite-ugly.

Here are our thoughts on the Borderlands 4 official trailer, featuring a lot of returning elements and newfangled upgrades to our favourite antagonist group in the series….

The New Planet Is Called Kairos, And Features Cyber Psychos

At the start, you see a bunch of robotized Psychos all gathering as an army, ready to fight another yet-to-be-revealed group. The battleground they’re on is Kairos, a new planet that’s described as a “powder keg ready to explode”.

This new Psycho group might be SCAV, a reformation of the old Elpis-homed Psycho group from Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. They’re all jacked up with robotics and cybernetic augments, and probably harder to kill than their full-fleshed cousins.

This group is most likely led by this prominent female Psycho with the two extra big robot arms from the trailer.

All of them look damn cool if I’m being honest, and hopefully would be a blast to fight against. Speaking of big bads….

The Timekeeper Is The Next Big Bad Guy

The next faction you will have to deal with is one led by an ominous figure called the Timekeeper. His army has distinct orange masks. With such a name, there’s a good chance we might see some time-travelling elements or alternate universe nonsense in the game’s main storyline.

Your First Look At The Four Playable Vault Hunters

The new Borderlands 4 gives us a first look at the new Vault Hunters, and they all sport a cyberpunk-kinda look.

Admittedly, they don’t look as impressive or as colourful when compared to the bad guys in this trailer, but that’s purposely done so that Gearbox can do individual trailers for each of them. Still, we get a glimpse of their possible main abilities.

For instance, the left-most Vault Hunter male wields two blades and may be the melee-focused class.

The left female Asian Vault Hunter is the Siren of this installment – similar to the past game’s characters Lilith, Maya, and Amara. I could be reaching here, but perhaps that creature behind the Siren is a “companion” of sorts? After all, the past Sirens have filled up the roles of DPS and Tank (Lilith and Maya for the former, Amara for the latter), so maybe it’s time our new Siren takes over the “pet” class previously championed by Gaige/DeathTrap and FL4K.

[Update: 16/12/24] There is a slight possibility that the Siren is a character named Emily Swan who is referred to by name in an ECHO recording in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. Check out this discovery from EpicNNG for more:

– The new Siren has wings that activate when her tattoos glow

– They have an Eridian/Guardian-esque look to them.

– Her tats are a magenta color

It is very possible that this new Siren is a healer named "Emily Swan" – a girl saved by The Watcher in Borderlands The Pre-Sequel pic.twitter.com/pi7DVLroz5

— EpicNNG (@EpicNNG) December 14, 2024

There’s even an extra clip where the melee Vault Hunter pulls out a Fire Axe and a Cryo Axe that you can throw at enemies; these two elements are returning in Borderlands 4.

The third Vault Hunter (big guy) looks like the heavy tank of the group (like Brick, Salvador, and Amara), with that ground-pound AoE move.

The fourth Vault Hunter (the non-Siren female) is an ex-Maliwan soldier (via KillerSix and Lazy_Data). Borderlands has its fair share of ex-corporation army types (Roland is ex-Atlas, Axton is ex-Dahl, Moze is ex-Vladoff), so Maliwan’s probably the next company with an ex-employee-turned-Vault-Hunter.

Grappling Hook Action

You can now use grappling points to grapple and hook your way upwards on a level. Very cool!

Laser Weapons Are Making A Return

The space weapons from Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel are making a return in part 4. Lasers are a separate weapon type that have the highest ammo storage capacity of any type, serving as a sort of universal power source. Unlike most weapon types in Borderlands, lasers that use more than one round per shot are the norm rather than the exception, dramatically adding to their variety and versatility. So it’s great to see this classic weapon type making a big return.

You Can Digistruct Vehicles Anywhere

You may not need to head to a Catch-A-Ride stop to summon vehicles anymore; Borderlands 4 will be giving you the ability to summon your ride anywhere at any time on the open world.

Two Previous Borderlands Characters Are Returning In Part 4

First, we have Zane from Borderlands 3. He’s one of the fan-favourites from the series, so it’ll be great to see him in an NPC role.

Next, we have ClapTrap, the staple comedy foil in every Borderlands game. He has a toolbelt now, so maybe he’s planning on reviving the ClapTrap line in part 4? In any case, we’ll probably have more returning cast members from the last game.

Your Two New Borderlands NPCs So Far

We have a big buff guy and a possible oracle-like female as our new characters in Borderlands 4 who may be the Vault Hunter’s allies. Little is known about them at this point.

All in all, there’s a more futuristic look to Borderlands this time around, which is a good thing since fans are clamouring for something different. I’ll have to see more Vault Hunter gameplay for me to judge further, but so far this trailer does what it’s meant to do: showcase a new looter shooter in the Borderlands universe, adds a new spin on the status quo, and hopefully spark some conversations.

Borderlands 4 will be out for PC and consoles on 12 September 2025.