Borderlands 4 on Steam has received mixed reviews, with a strong divide between critics and players. Critics generally praise the game for its excellent and refined gameplay, with improvements in combat, endgame content, and open world design making it the best in the series. However, many players on Steam report serious performance problems, including low framerates, stuttering, frequent crashes, and issues with the game not loading properly.
Critical Reception
- Borderlands 4 is praised as the pinnacle of the series’ gameplay, with exceptional gunplay, engaging endgame content, and a well-executed open world.
- The game offers a rich grind experience with plenty of activities and challenges to keep players engaged for months.
- Review scores from critics are generally favorable, with some reviews highlighting the game's addictiveness and polished systems.
Steam Player Reviews and Performance Issues
- On Steam, the game initially launched with a "mostly negative" overall user rating due to widespread performance issues.
- Players report frame rates as low as 20-30 FPS even on high-end PC hardware at reduced graphic settings.
- Problems include graphical stuttering, frequent crashes, and difficulty even launching the game past the main menu.
- Some users say the game runs worse than Borderlands 3 despite newer hardware.
- Steam user approval rating is fluctuating but was around 41-49% positive shortly after launch, improving somewhat over time but still mixed.
- The performance issues seem to be the main cause of dissatisfaction among PC players on Steam at launch.
Platform-Specific Notes
- The game struggles heavily on handheld PC devices like the Steam Deck, running at very low framerates and not recommended until patches arrive.
- It performs somewhat better on PC handhelds like the ROG Ally with lower settings but still has performance limits.
Summary
Borderlands 4 offers the best gameplay experience in the series so far with extensive endgame content, but the Steam PC version suffers from major performance issues affecting many players. These technical problems have led to mixed reviews on Steam despite positive critical reception. Players who enjoy deep looter-shooters and can tolerate or wait for performance fixes may find much to love in the game. The game is available for purchase and play on Steam.
This review summary synthesizes multiple sources of both critical and user feedback from the launch period of Borderlands 4 on Steam.
