The new Vault Hunter designs in Borderlands 4 are fine actually, youre all just being mean

Date:
Sat, 14 Dec 2024 14:00:00 +0000

Description:
Some Reddit users are already unhappy with the look of the Borderlands 4 protagonists - but they look just like those from the other games, if you ask me.

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Another year, another Game Awards trailer drop that gets peoples hackles up
on Reddit. This time its Borderlands 4 , a game that has the unenviable task of outdoing both the series phenomenal second installment and the highly
mixed response to Borderlands 3 . No, Im not going to discuss the movie here, I wiped my memories of it with a Neuralyzer I borrowed from Will Smith.

We already knew a fourth Borderlands title was on the way thanks to a CGI reveal trailer back in August , but this new trailer gave us both some actual in-engine gameplay footage (which, unsurprisingly, looks much like the third game) and our first look at the new titles four playable Vault Hunters. And boy, some Redditors sure arent happy about them. I actually think this might be one of the better Siren designs. I like her earrings and her weird
gauntlet thing. (Image credit: Gearbox)

The main concern, from reading through several lengthy comment chains about these new protagonists, is that theyre simply a bit generic. Not one of them has the same amount of personality in their look as anything from every game but Wonderlands, says user u/SmileJakoby, referring to the (pretty mediocre) spin-off title Tiny Tinas Wonderlands . Another user, u/k_afka_, says: Those vaulthunters look kinda bland to me, but hopefully they're more interesting than they appear.

I get it, I do. These four new heroes dont fill me with excitement purely based on their looks. Heres the thing, though: Borderlands has basically
never been good at making truly iconic player character designs. The new
Vault Hunters are cut from the same cloth as the old

Im being serious here: the Borderlands games might feature some visually striking characters here and there, but what makes most of the larger-than-life figures you meet on Pandora and beyond interesting are their stellar voice performances and unusual abilities.

Lets take a look at the earlier Vault Hunters, for example. Look at these
four right here: Come on, you can't tell me these four are the pinnacle of visually striking character designs. (Image credit: Gearbox)

Mordecai from the original game is basically just a skinny dude with a
goatee, a sword, and a tight-fitting outfit. What made him interesting and likable was his extremely angry pet bird, low-key offbeat humor, and the
extra characterization he got in the sequel as a friendly NPC. The same goes for Roland, who was essentially just ex-soldier guy in the first game before getting a starring role in the narrative of Borderlands 2 . Hell, Brick - who I love - is at first glance literally just a big muscly man in a tank top.
Not exactly world-shattering character design there, Gearbox.

Sure, weve got some fun ones: the playable Sirens Lilith, Maya, and Amara all look fairly interesting, though again, its their magical abilities that make them pop from an aesthetic standpoint. And I cant ignore Zer0 and his funky holographic faceplate, though what really makes him stick in my memory is his deadpan, exclusively-in-haiku dialogue.

The thing is, the world of Borderlands is full of characters who, in a less violent and unhinged universe, couldve probably been pretty ordinary people. Thats part of the appeal: youre not playing as the Chosen One, youre just
some random treasure-seeker who gets wrapped up in a world-saving adventure wearing whatever ragged-ass clothes you happened to put on that morning.

So Im asking you, unhappy Redditors: give these newbies a chance. Sure, were getting those same old tropes - cool guy, beefy guy, techy girl, magic girl - but lets at least see what cool ways they have to murder people before we
pass judgment on them, yeah? You might also like... The Witcher 4 officially revealed at The Game Awards 2024 with brutal trailer and confirms that Ciri will star as the titular Witcher Amazon Prime subscribers can claim a frankly absurd number of free games like with Prime Gaming right now - these are my top picks Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, a new franchise from Naughty Dog, has been revealed



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/gaming/the-new-vault-hunter-designs-in-borderlands-4 -are-fine-actually-youre-all-just-being-mean


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