Borderlands 4 marks the 4th mainline entry in the series, but also the 7th game in the entire franchise. While some players might be alarmed by that fact, there’s really no cause for concern for players who haven’t played any previous games in the series or for those who tuned out with Borderlands 3. Below, we’ve explained how friendly Borderlands 4 is for players new to the series, along with story beats you might want to know about so that you’re in the loop for this epic chapter in the Borderlands series. So, check out below to see if you can jump into Borderlands 4 without playing the previous games!
Do You Need to Play Borderlands 3 & Other Borderlands Games to Get Borderlands 4?
The short answer is no, you do not need to play previous Borderlands games to enjoy and understand Borderlands 4. While newcomers might miss out on a few references and story threads, they will be familiar with the gunplay and build-crafting if they have played any first-person shooter or RPG, so gameplay-wise, this is a great first-time experience to jump into for players who want a looter-shooter that will captivate their time. The story is easy to understand for newcomers thanks to character dialogue, but Borderlands 4 can really be taken as its own game. Even outside of the story, Borderlands 4 is very welcoming to newcomers who just want a fun game to play solo or with friends, as the premise can be simplified: explore the open world of Kairos, fight for incredible loot, build your perfect Vault Hunter, and have fun.
The only thing that players might miss out on is returning characters, but even then, these characters have their backstory and purpose fleshed out and explained during the campaign of Borderlands 4, so you’ll never feel out of the loop. Borderlands 4 is designed to be its own story on the all-new planet of Kairos, where players are going to interact with new heroes and villains, thus marking the perfect jumping-in point for new players or players who skipped Borderlands 3 entirely.
Some spoilers for Borderlands, Borderlands 2, and Borderlands 3 are mentioned below to get you up to speed with the story so far for Borderlands 4.
Story Details You Need to Know Before Playing Borderlands 4
Borderlands 4 drops players into the world of Kairos, where they are tasked with picking their unique Vault Hunter. These characters are new to the series, and their motivation is dependent on the character they play as, but the premise is the same: escape the Time Keeper’s oppressive regime, free the people of Kairos, and hunt down Vaults for epic loot and the death of the monsters that lurk within them.
That’s the basics of it, and players who jump in for the first time will learn all they need to know about Kairos and the moonfall of Elpis simply by playing through the main story. However, for players who want a bit more information, it’s worth mentioning the story of Elpis and how Borderlands 3 connects to Borderlands 4.
Pandora was a wasteland planet that many treasure hunters, dubbed Vault Hunters, ventured to in search of loot, fame, and glory. One of these Vault Hunters, Lilith, was a Siren, capable of incredible mystical powers. The whole time, Elpis, Pandora’s moon, was a key that could open and tear Pandora apart to reveal the Great Vault. Destroying Pandora was a task taken up by Tyreen, a villainous Siren, whom Lilith managed to stop by teleporting Elpis far from Pandora. Elpis was teleported to Kairos, shattering the planet’s shield that hid the planet. Now, 6 years after Elpis was teleported, Vault Hunters have landed on Kairos, much to the displeasure of The Timekeeper, the planet’s dictator, who will stop at nothing to regain order through the oppressive restriction of Bolts implanted on the population’s neck, where, in removing these mind-controlling devices, they can go insane.
That’s a brief overview of the story so far, so when players do jump into Borderlands 4, they’ll know the lore about the crashed moon in the sky, and the motivations for some returning characters: to find Lilith and free the people of Kairos. With that said, enjoy the story for yourself, and have fun with the game’s epic side missions and plethora of endgame content that makes this looter-shooter franchise so beloved.
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