The plot of "Borderlands 3" is probably the worst in the series. Developer Gearbox Software admitted in an interview with IGN: The third generation feels like he is joking about himself, while the fourth generation will correct the direction and tell a more down-to-earth story.

The narrative and humor of "Borderlands 3" sometimes goes too far, with jokes, memes and exaggerations too dense to be like telling stories seriously, but more like "imitating" or even "mocking" the existing routines of its own series.This is exactly what the Borderlands 4 development team is determined to improve.

"I think we actually have a lot of criticisms about the tone and humor of Borderlands 3. We have already started to deal with this in the DLC of Borderlands 3, but in Borderlands 4, we want to make it the core focus."

Winkler explained that the process was accompanied by a lot of self-reflection and self-question: “‘What stage are we at now? What does that mean? Why do we make a huge sequel with the title “4”?’… ‘How can we evolve narratives, humor, characters, and what we want to achieve in it?’”

The statement from Chief Screenwriter Taylor Clark is even more straightforward: "When I talked with Sam, he made it clear that 'a more down-to-earth tone is a priority'. Humor must be rooted in this world. He also emphasized that if I dared to stuff a network meme into the game, he would knock on my door with a baseball bat."

Lin Joyce, director of narrative content, said the team would keep doing what is called a “intuitive check”: “‘Is this content equally funny to the characters and their experiences, just like the players? Can we take into account both?’ This situational humor and context not only helps us maintain the reality of the story, but also makes the jokes more purposeful.”

Overall, Winkler's statement seems to indicate that he wants to find a balance - both funny and quirky plots and occasionally create jokes, while the characters can take them seriously.He compared it to Star Trek: The Underworld: “(that show) was very successful – it just won the Hugo Award – because it took the characters seriously and the plot seriously.

This project is clearly out of love for Star Trek and its characters in the story, rather than some form of imitation.I think in the production of Borderlands 3, it sometimes feels like it’s spoofing itself at the worst, and that’s where we touch the red line.The team intends to “balance between humor, relaxed and serious and authentic character narratives.”