At its very core, a looter shooter is all about customization. In their attempt to craft the most powerful build, players are encouraged to find the best weapons, tweak their skills, and modify their playstyle on the fly in a looter shooter. That constant customization is certainly present in Borderlands 4.
No matter which of the new Vault Hunters the player chooses, Borderlands 4 will have them continually adapting their build to work with the new challenges thrown at them, whether it's picking up weapons with a certain elemental affinity, or putting skill points into abilities that better suit the enemies the player is facing. But along with tweaking these elements that affect gameplay, Borderlands 4 offers a suite of cosmetic customization options as well. And while the latest entry in the long-running looter shooter franchise goes out of its way to bring new customization features to the table, a few fan-favorite options have slipped through the cracks.
Borderlands 4 Adds Some New Customization Features
Character customization has largely stayed the same between Borderlands 3 and 4. There are a ton of Head cosmetics and Styles that players can unlock for each Vault Hunter by hitting certain story milestones or by completing specific challenges, and players can freely change their Vault Hunter's primary, secondary, and tertiary colors from the get-go. A slight improvement this time around is the inclusion of several unlockable Bodies for each Vault Hunter, something Borderlands 3 only brought to the table with its paid DLCs.
ECHO-4, the player's oft-cloaked robotic companion, comes with a few customization options of its own. Players can unlock new Paintjobs, Frames, and Attachments for ECHO-4, with many of the latter being used to give the robot a more humorous appearance, such as a pile of carp being dumped atop its head.
One of Borderlands 4's most prominent new additions in general is the Digirunner, a hover vehicle that can be summoned in most open spaces. Players can customize the Digirunner's color scheme via Paintjobs, and can swap out its Hover Drive to slightly alter the vehicle's stats. Players can even unlock entirely new Digirunners, which doesn't affect the vehicle's in-game performance, but does completely alter its visual appearance.
Players can also adorn each of their guns with unlocked Weapon Skins in Borderlands 4.
To change Weapon Skins in Borderlands 4, players need to head to the customization menu and manually apply the style they want to each individual gun of their choice.
Borderlands 4 Takes Away More Customization Features Than It Adds
As the list above shows, there are plenty of customization options in Borderlands 4. But in the process of adding new features like the Digirunner and ECHO-4, Borderlands 4 has removed some fan-favorite customization elements.
Weapon Trinkets have been removed entirely from Borderlands 4. As has the ability to select two different primary, secondary, or tertiary colors at once. And though the Digirunner comes with a nice selection of customization features, it's lacking Borderlands 3's ability to customize its vehicle's weapons, armor, or equip a mod.
These missing features aren't a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, especially in the context of Borderlands 4's current technical state on PC. But it's a shame to see these features go regardless, and it might give some fans the feeling that Borderlands 4 is taking one step forward, but two steps back, at least in terms of its customization.
Borderlands 4
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 82 /100 Critics Rec: 88%
- Released
- September 12, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Gearbox Software
- Publisher(s)
- 2K
