Japanese media video game network participated in the "Borderlands 4" trial party held in Tokyo, Japan last month. The following is a trial report brought by Japanese media video game network, with video game network and IGN Japan trial videos in the middle.

The event was attended by Randy Pitchford, president of developer Gearbox Software, and Andrew Reiner, global creative executive, and a demonstration and Q&A session were also held on site. This article will summarize and share the trial content and release information.This trial was made in the English version of PC.

After the trial, Japanese media video gameplay praised it vigorously: "It's great"

Attention point 1: Enhancement of movement

The biggest impression after the trial was... Compared with the previous work of the series, "Borderlands 4" has indeed brought significant changes, and it is a positive aspect.What is particularly impressive is the greatly enhanced mobile action system of this game.

This game has added the double jump and Ground Slam actions that have appeared in "Borderlands: Prequel", and has also added new actions such as short-range sprints and air gliding that can be used for avoidance, allowing players to explore and fight more flexibly.

Although the movement system has been added to "Borderlands 3", and the mobile system has been improved to a certain extent, it is still slightly insufficient compared to today's mainstream FPS games.This time, these shortcomings were filled in just the right way - it can even be said that the addition of the new action is not abrupt, and there is almost no need to deliberately adapt, and it is very natural and easy to use.

In addition, although the newly added "grabbing hook" can only be used in specific locations, it can not only be used to chase enemies on the platform, but also pull buckets with attributes as throwing weapons. It is one of the important mechanisms in combat and exploration.

However, another new move, "Swimming", can confirm that you can swim in a pond, but there are no particularly meaningful scenes or terrain within the trial range.Considering that swimming system has always been a difficult point in FPS/3D action games, I hope it can show its greater potential in the official version.

IGN Japan Trial Video 1: Get the first experience of the main mission, swing with Exo soldiers

Point 2: More open and seamless world design

The evolution of mobile systems is also closely related to changes in world design.Although this game is not a completely open world, the map is wider overall and the structure is more open and seamless.

The system that complements this has also been optimized accordingly.For example, the vehicle system - as long as it is not too extreme, it can almost summon vehicles at any time.In addition, a function called "Echo Positioning" has been added to provide navigation for task target points.

The areas related to the mission will also be circled with a translucent wall as an "Area Waypoint" to prevent players from getting lost after the battle.

The old players in the series should have had this experience: they were having fun, they were picking up the trophy and suddenly they forgot where to go next... Now these problems have been solved very well.

At the same time, "activity" elements similar to open world games are also reasonably distributed throughout the map.For example, the stronghold will have a reward task notice board like the "Term Target" in "Borderlands 3", and various collection elements are hidden in the map, making the exploration content more rich and three-dimensional.

Details revealed by the developer: Some areas are equivalent to the size of several old works planet maps

According to the developer, the scale of some areas of this work is even comparable to the planetary maps of the previous works of "Borderlands".Some areas like the mountains also contain intricate cave systems, and the overall production is quite exquisite.

However, one of the charms of the "Borderlands" series is that the guide route contains various funny memes and performance scenes of the little boss appearing, and the more open map structure may make players miss these designs.In this regard, the developer said that although he had been confused, he ultimately believed that "even if only a few players can discover certain elements, it doesn't matter."They also buried rewards and easter eggs in rare areas that require full use of new mobile actions to reach, "If you see suspicious places, try it boldly."

Video Game Trial Video: Three pillars I feel from "Borderlands 4"

Point 3: Of course, the combat system has evolved

Pick up powerful guns and shoot wildly, cut the enemy's blood bars, defeat the enemy one by one with skill moves, and then obtain a stronger gun... The core fun of "Borderlands" is still preserved.

However, the combat system has also been improved.The first is the "reply" mechanism - it is no longer just relying on the instant blood recovery medicine dropped by the enemy, but instead picking up the "repair kit" and the player chooses when to use it. It is simple and clear.

Weapon slots have also been reorganized: throwing weapons such as bazooka, grenades, and throwing flying knives are unified into the "Ordnance" category and are independent of conventional firearm slots.

The armament system has the following characteristics:

When switching back to conventional weapons, the bazooka weapon will enter cooling according to the remaining ammunition and restore ammunition over time.

Throwing weapons have no cooling time limit, but ammunition also recovers over time.

In addition, there were enemies with multiple blood bars of "Red-Blue-Red" (physical strength → shield → physical strength) in the early stage of this trial.If the firepower is not suppressed enough, it is recommended to obtain Maliwan weapons that are good at attribute attacks.

IGN trial video 2: Early main mission display, details revealed by the witch and pet fighting developer: a promising "certified parts" system

Due to the limited trial time, the key contents of the character development system - enhanced parts (enhanced weapons of specific manufacturers), certified parts (mixed accessories that integrate the quality of multiple manufacturers), skill trees, etc., were not fully experienced.

But from the question and answer session, certifying parts is a very important new mechanism.It is said that this idea of ​​integrating multi-vendor characteristics has actually existed since the first generation of "Borderland".

For example: a gun with a "mass clip turned self-propelled turret" based on Tediore, coupled with a Hyperion scope, can add shields to the turret, and Maliwan's barrel gives fire attributes, and the magazine comes from the new manufacturer Daedalus, which can fire a variety of bullets; or allow Jacob-style SMG to jump on critical strikes... It does sound very "borderless" flavor, full of chaos and creativity.

In response to the problem of "the previous work, Jacob-branded shotgun has a good feel but poor legendary attributes", the developer also said that the combination of certified parts and reinforced accessories may greatly expand the possibility of construction.

Attached thoughts: The character is worth mentioning

Although time is limited, let’s briefly talk about the new characters you experienced during the trial.

The soldier Rafa, who wears a reinforced exoskeleton, has three skills: Arc-Knives (two-armed blade slash, switches to third-person viewing angle when activated), Apophis Lance and Peacebreaker Cannons (two-shoulder automatic turret attack).Arc-Knives brings a very high sense of coolness, but there is a risk of exposure.Peacebreaker Cannons are easy to operate and suitable for fire support.

The new "Witch" character "Vex" has three skills: Dead Ringer, Phase Phamiliar and Incarnate. Dead Ringer summons the "Reaper" that attracts enemies. Phase Phamiliar can summon the little envoy "Trouble" and teleport. Incarnate is a explosive skill, which also comes with a blood recovery effect and can release "Eldritch Blast".

It is worth noting that the "Phase Lock/Grasp" control skills in the previous work are now owned by another character, "Harlow", and are no longer exclusive to the witch.

Summary: The foundation is well laid out, and I am looking forward to the subsequent performance

In general, this trial mainly focuses on the early content.It can be confirmed that basic parts such as mobile systems have indeed evolved, which can be said to have reached the "basic level of modern mainstream games."

But the essence of "Borderlands" lies in the hunting of legendary equipment, the depth of construction and matching, as well as the crazy words and crazy boss performances among locally quirky characters - these all require a long time to play before they can be truly evaluated.

So at this stage, I can only say: the foundation is very solid, and the trial experience is good.Next, let’s see if the official version and subsequent information can bring more surprises of “borderless land”.

It is worth mentioning that this game has now opened reservations for the PlayStation 5/Xbox Series X|S/PC platform, and plans to launch the Nintendo Switch 2 version in 2025.

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