The new planet of Kairos will serve asBorderlands 4’s primary setting, and based on what’s been revealed about this planet so far, it will be the franchise’s biggest planet yet. While it has been said thatBorderlands 4’s Kairos won’t quite be an open world, it will still be as close to it as the franchise has ever been. Considering how big some of the existing planets like Pandora are, this has some major implications for how big Kairos could be inBorderlands 4.
Despite not being a true open-world game, it might arguably be best forBorderlands 4to avoid a common criticism of open-world games, regardless. More specifically,Borderlands 4should take steps to avoid the planet of Kairos ultimately feeling like an empty world. One way thatBorderlands 4could make Kairos a lively world is to pack it with some massive monsters, potentially taking inspiration from memorable enemies from throughout the franchise. Not only could massive enemies makeBorderlands 4’s world feel richer, but it could also be a chance for vehicles to be more relevant in exploration and combat throughout the endgame.
Borderlands 4 Building on Borderlands 3’s Enemy Variety Could Kill Two Birds With One Stone
How Borderlands 4’s Kairos Can Avoid a Common Criticism of Open Worlds
A lack of enemy variety arguably hasn’t been much of a problem in theBorderlandsfranchise, as each new mainline game has continued to experiment with new enemy types. Still, though, as theBorderlandsfranchise continues to introduce original environments, the need for more original enemies inevitably grows. So, withBorderlands 4going big with large, seamless environments on Kairos, it should also go big with its enemies, and one staple ofBorderlands 3’s planet Eden-6may provide just the inspiration for new enemies.
Throughout the Floodmoor Basin region of Eden-6 inBorderlands 3, players can occasionally encounter massive alien dinosaurs, which make for some fun encounters if players happen to fight these enemies with theCyclone, Outrunner, and Technical vehicles. Despite only rewarding common loot, these giant dinosaurs are quite a spectacle to encounter, so it’s a shame that fights like this with massive enemies aren’t a common occurrence. Especially sinceBorderlands 4’s Kairos will be one of the franchise’s largest planets, this seems like the perfect opportunity to double down on giant enemies like Eden-6’s dinosaurs. Whether these same giant dinosaurs return, or ifBorderlands 4experiments with a new enemy type, this could be the perfect way to fill the world with fun encounters in a way that prioritizes quality over quantity.
More Enemies Like Eden-6’s Giant Dinosaurs Could Give Borderlands 4’s Vehicles a Chance to Shine
Not only could giant enemies help to fill out the game’s world, but open-world encounters like this could also giveBorderlands 4’s vehicle gameplaysome time to shine. By this point in theBorderlandsfranchise, it’s become a recurring problem that vehicles become increasingly more obsolete as the difficulty rises. This eventually reaches the point where enemies can destroy the player’s vehicle in a matter of seconds, where it’s no longer viable to use vehicles during combat.
In addition to new vehicles, theplayable characters inBorderlands 4will have access to new movement abilities, like double-jumps and a grappling hook.
Hopefully,Borderlands 4will finally break free from this curse and realize the full potential of vehicles as a unique vessel for combat, instead of just a convenient means of traversal. Instead of one-off moments in quests that aren’t revisited, likeBorderlands 3’s Carnivora boss fight, and shootouts with other cars, fights with large enemies that take place in vehicles should become a more common occurrence throughout the franchise, andBorderlands 4’s planet Kairos may be the perfect opportunity to make this happen.
