As somebody whose job includes conserving observe of how nicely video games are doing and what everybody’s taking part in, I am very used to watching participant counts bump up and down as updates and expansions arrive. It is all a part of the pure circulation. But regardless of Gearbox dropping a free Borderlands 4 DLC on us this week, there’s been completely no change in its Steam numbers. Whilst somebody who’s actually loved my time with it to date, I am discovering it troublesome to pluck up the motivation to return for the brand new story occasion, and it appears the group is feeling a lot the identical.
Earlier than I sound too unfavorable, I actually like Borderlands 4. It is an enormous enchancment on the third entry in nearly each method, constructing on each the great and unhealthy components of its divisive predecessor. It is positively top-of-the-line FPS video games I’ve performed this 12 months, and probably even my primary amongst them. However I have not come speeding again for the brand new free story DLC, and I am not alone; its Steam peak this week sits at simply 15,887 concurrent customers, nearly precisely the identical as final week’s excessive and a bit down from the beginning of the month.
The preliminary drop-off from its large launch excessive is not too stunning; whereas Borderlands 4 actually makes extra concessions to the endgame grind for gear, it is by no means going to enchantment in the identical method that full-blown, Diablo-style ARPGs do. The quantity of people that maintain going after rolling credit is a comparatively small proportion, and 2025 has been a 12 months that is completely stacked with all method of nice choices, large and small, to maneuver on to subsequent.
Exterior of a distinct segment, devoted crowd, Borderlands is a recreation most play by way of for the story, with replayability usually derived from attempting out new characters. With the transfer to an open world and facet missions which can be extra entertaining than its essential narrative, the affect of revisiting the marketing campaign feels considerably lessened, which Gearbox appears to have acknowledged by letting you fast-track characters into Final Vault Hunter Mode. There’s been a push in the direction of the gear grind in B4, however why would I am going again now when upcoming expansions are going to ramp up the UVHM cap and certain outpace my current builds?
Then we have now the brand new DLC itself. ‘How Rush Saved Mercenary Day’ is a festive story following the chief of the Outbounders, and I am glad to see him getting a bit extra character work. It isn’t an particularly substantial add-on, nonetheless; Gearbox determined to offer it out totally free as a result of it “realized that there was extra mayhem than time when it got here to getting as a lot into Bounty Pack 1 as initially deliberate,” as a result of quantity of labor wanted for optimization and stability modifications.
This can be a barely lighter-than-planned outing, then, though it nonetheless features a new boss combat, legendary loot, and cosmetics alongside the story missions. In case you purchased the deluxe version, don’t be concerned; you may now get an additional fifth bounty pack to compensate for this one. Nonetheless, it is not essentially the most compelling purpose to return, and Gearbox hasn’t achieved a very good job of shouting about the truth that everybody’s getting it for nothing. Add in the truth that the PC model nonetheless suffers from efficiency struggles in case you’re not on a high-end machine, and the listing of minor caveats begins to outweigh the slight temptations.
Maybe I am going to make an effort over the vacation break, when the Rush story will really feel extra thematically related than proper now, however I am extra more likely to maintain off till the primary full Story Pack DLC arrives. I am way more enthusiastic about that; Mad Ellie and the Vault of the Damned is delivering a cosmic-horror journey alongside certainly one of BL2’s most iconic solid members, and new Vault Hunter C4SH appears like he’ll be rewarding to play as nicely. Hopefully it delivers; I might actually like a very good purpose to come back again to Kairos.
