Borderlands 4's Take on Toilet humor is a good step, but it can't go too far

According to the statements made Borderlands 4 directed by Sam Winkler, the upcoming game will depart from the established comedic styles of the series. This shift is reflected in Borderlands 4 reveal trailer that conveys a more serious, less irreverent tone than previous entries in the franchise. And while everyone gets a laugh now and then, a little fun in the humor seems to be the right choice for this next chapter Border saga.

Border is a famous franchise with an ardent following, but even its biggest fans are sick to their stomachs, especially as a result of the cringe-inducing Borderlands 3. Of course, comedy is subjective, but Border” The approach to humor has received a lot of deserved criticism for being too juvenile, scatological and, frankly, gross. After so many games with the same emphasis on crass humor and immature, meme jokes, it got a little old – something that Winkler himself has been quite vocal about, stating that he would “cry real tears” if Borderlands 4 ends with the same flavor of comedy as its predecessors. But while this change in direction is smart, it should also be measured so as not to falsify the series' identity too much.

The charming features of Borderlands 4 Open World

The clarification of Borderlands 4's open-world is good news, but there is still one concern

While it has been confirmed that Borderlands 4 will not be fully open world, its presumably large world still raises concerns about its quests.

Borderlands 4 is the right step away from toilet humor, but it should stay close

Gearbox Pros Rethinking Borderlands' Writing Style

Even before widely panned Border film adaptation, the long-running heist and shooter franchise has had something of a complicated reputation. On the one hand, audiences and critics alike have praised the series for its wide assortment of unique weapons and strong combat mechanics, and its lore, while not revolutionary, certainly has enough meat for players to chew on. But the comedy tends to be more shrill than funny right from the first episode.

Aside from its questionable reliance on crudeness and randomness rather than cleverness for jokes (see: “Butt Stallion”), the franchise relies on a frustratingly meta, self-aware, and referential style. in other words Border it can channel the qualities of the worst memes, where the “joke” is just a reference to something the audience is already aware of. For example, the characters may laugh when the number 69 appears, and that's supposed to be a joke: there's no point or clever twist to it—the game is just pointing out that 69 is supposedly a funny number.

Borderlands 4 doesn't have to be overly sober

Although giving high school comedy a break will undoubtedly be a good thing Borderlands 4it would also be a shame for him to grow more sophisticated and mature than necessary. While some video games like Alice from American McGeesucceeded in taking the lighthearted source material and making it dark and gritty, many others have attempted such departures and failed. It wouldn't be too hard to imagine Borderlands 4 falling into the latter category, going too far in the opposite direction of its predecessors, replacing toilet humor with gruesome shock value, dark and gritty plot beats, or otherwise depressing themes. Such an extreme shift would perhaps not be as annoying as Borderlands 3'' with cringey dialogue and immature jokes, but it would probably be a lot more boring.

To put it into perspective, it's safe to say that slouching is the lesser evil of being blunt. The Border the series deserves better than highly specialized humor that most players will find unbearable, but it also shouldn't turn into just another run-of-the-mill, overly safe FPS – the industry has had enough of those. Fortunately, this seems unlikely, as Winkler suggested that some of them BorderThe signature comedy will return Borderlands 4. Hopefully the game will only feature a more refined version of it.