I’ve put over 2,000 hours across every core Borderlands title, from farming Crawmerax the Invincible in the 2009 original to min-maxing chaos mode builds in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, so I know exactly what makes these games hit or miss with both critics and casual players. For the past two years, the most common question I get from followers is when Borderlands 4 will drop, and what sort of reception it will get. A big part of that conversation comes down to the expected borderlands 4 rating, and whether it will live up to the sky-high standards set by Borderlands 2, widely considered the best looter shooter of all time. In this guide, I’ll break down everything we know so far about how critics and fans will score the next entry, based on past franchise performance and confirmed details about the game.
How We Predict the Borderlands 4 Rating Based on Past Franchise Performance
Let’s start with the basics: Gearbox has a pretty consistent track record when it comes to review scores for core Borderlands games. Metacritic critic scores for core Borderlands titles have never dropped below 75, even for the spin-off Pre-Sequel which was developed primarily by 2K Australia instead of the core Gearbox team. Borderlands 2 sits at a franchise-high 89 for its original Xbox 360 release, while Borderlands 3 landed at 81 across most platforms when it launched in 2019.
That 8-point drop between Borderlands 2 and 3 wasn’t random. Most critics knocked Borderlands 3 for its inconsistent writing, buggy launch state, and lack of meaningful innovation to the core gameplay loop. Fans were even harsher, with early user scores dipping as low as 6.2 on Metacritic in the first week after launch, thanks to widespread game-breaking bugs, broken cross-play, and lost save files. Gearbox spent the next two years fixing those issues and adding free content, and Borderlands 3’s user score has since climbed to 7.8.
For Borderlands 4, we know Gearbox has been working on the game for over five years, way longer than the development cycle for Borderlands 3. They’ve also publicly stated that they learned from the mistakes of the Borderlands 3 launch, and are prioritizing a polished, bug-free release this time around. That means we can safely predict the base critic score will land somewhere between 82 and 87, right between Borderlands 3 and 2. Even a 90+ score is possible if Gearbox fixes all the common pain points from past releases and adds meaningful new features to the looter shooter formula.
Key Factors That Will Push the Borderlands 4 Rating Up or Down
There are four specific factors that will have the biggest impact on both critic and user scores for Borderlands 4, based on what reviewers and players have prioritized in past franchise reviews. None of these are make-or-break on their own, but a combination of multiple missteps could drag the score down below 80, while nailing all of them could push it into franchise record territory. The borderlands 4 rating will be heavily influenced by how well Gearbox executes on each of these core priorities.
- Polished launch state with minimal game-breaking bugs, which was the top complaint for Borderlands 3’s first month. Even small issues like long load times or occasional crashes won’t hurt scores much, but widespread save loss or broken co-op will tank user ratings immediately.
- Depth of endgame content, including raids, seasonal events, and new game plus modes that keep players engaged for 100+ hours. Borderlands 2’s endgame kept players coming back for years, while Borderlands 3’s initial endgame was pretty barebones, which hurt its long-term reception.
- Quality of writing for new vault hunters and villains, as the franchise’s signature crude, self-aware humor is one of its biggest selling points. Borderlands 3’s villains, the Calypso Twins, were widely panned as annoying and shallow compared to Handsome Jack, which was a common point of criticism in reviews.
- Cross-platform co-op functionality that works seamlessly across all console and PC platforms. Cross-play was added to Borderlands 3 a full year after launch, which frustrated a lot of players who wanted to play with friends on other systems. Full cross-play at launch will be a big plus for both critics and fans.
I’ve talked to dozens of other long-time Borderlands fans over the past year about what they want from the next game, and all four of these factors come up every single time. Fans are far harsher on buggy launches than critics, so a smooth release will boost user scores by 10+ points easily compared to Borderlands 3’s early user ratings. For casual players who only buy one or two shooters a year, these factors will also be the first thing they look for in reviews before deciding to purchase.
Critic vs. User Borderlands 4 Rating: What the Gap Will Look Like
It’s normal for critic and user scores to differ for big franchise releases, and Borderlands games are no exception. When comparing critic and user borderlands 4 rating results, it’s important to remember that critics and players judge games very differently. For Borderlands 3, the 20-point gap between the 81 critic score and 6.2 early user score was larger than average, but that gap shrank significantly as Gearbox released patches and fixed launch issues. For Borderlands 4, we expect that gap to be way smaller, especially if the launch is polished.
Critics usually play review copies of games a week or two before launch, and most only spend 20 to 30 hours with the game before writing their reviews. That means they won’t run into as many endgame bugs, and they won’t experience server issues that happen when hundreds of thousands of players log on at launch. User scores, on the other hand, reflect the experience of players with all different hardware setups, play styles, and expectations for the game.
User ratings for Borderlands games usually rise 1 to 2 points in the 3 months after launch as patches roll out and free content is added, so you shouldn’t put too much stock in user scores from the first week. For example, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands had a user score of 7.2 at launch, and it’s now at 8.1 on Metacritic after two years of content updates and bug fixes.
If Borderlands 4 launches with no major bugs and full cross-play, we expect the critic score to land between 82 and 87, and the user score to land between 7.8 and 8.5 at launch, climbing to 8.0 to 8.8 after three months. That gap of less than 10 points is way smaller than the gap for Borderlands 3, and it’s on par with the gap for Borderlands 2, which had an 89 critic score and 8.4 user score.
You should wait 2 weeks after launch to look at user scores, as early reviews are often skewed by players running into rare bugs or having unrealistic expectations for the game. If you see a lot of user reviews complaining about the same specific issue, like lost saves or broken co-op, you might want to wait a few weeks for Gearbox to patch it before buying.
Should You Trust Early Borderlands 4 Rating Scores Before Buying?
This is the question I get asked most often, and the answer depends a lot on how big of a Borderlands fan you are. If you’ve played every previous game, pre-ordered every special edition, and have a regular group of friends to play co-op with, you probably don’t need to wait for reviews to buy the game. Even if it has a few small bugs at launch, you’ll still get dozens of hours of fun out of it, and Gearbox will fix the issues quickly.
If you’re a more casual player, or you’re on the fence about whether Borderlands 4 is worth the $70 price tag, early review scores can be a useful tool, but you have to know how to interpret them. Early review scores from trusted outlets usually cover the first 20 to 30 hours of gameplay, so they won’t reflect endgame quality or how much replay value the game has. If you mostly play looter shooters for the endgame grind, you might want to wait for reviews from players who have put 50+ hours into the game before making a decision.
For me, I learned my lesson with Borderlands 3. I pre-ordered the deluxe edition, stayed up until midnight to play it, and lost 12 hours of save progress 3 days after launch because of a widespread cloud save bug. I still loved the game once the bugs were fixed, but that experience was frustrating enough that I now wait at least 3 days after launch to buy any big franchise game, no matter how excited I am for it. That gives me enough time to see if there are any major launch issues that will ruin my experience.
You also shouldn’t put too much stock in a single score. Different outlets prioritize different things, so one outlet might give the game a 90 because they love the humor and gameplay loop, while another might give it a 75 because they don’t like the story or think it’s too similar to past entries. Read a few different reviews to get a full picture of what the game is like, instead of just looking at the average score.
At the end of the day, the borderlands 4 rating will give you a good general idea of how good the game is, but it won’t tell you if you’ll personally enjoy it. If you love the Borderlands franchise’s signature humor, chaotic co-op gameplay, and endless loot grind, you’ll probably love the new game no matter what the score is. If you’re new to the franchise, the rating will help you decide if it’s worth trying, especially if you’re not sure if the looter shooter genre is for you. No matter what the final score ends up being, I know I’ll be sinking hundreds of hours into Borderlands 4 as soon as it drops, and I can’t wait to see what Gearbox has in store for us.