Borderlands 4 continues the epic story, picking up six years after the shocking conclusion of the previous game. For the fourth main entry, Gearbox promised a shift in tone, stating that Borderlands 4 would be moving away from some of the more over-the-top meme-based comedy and antics that made BL3 more than a little divisive. The latest installment does successfully pivot in this direction in many ways, but it still has much of the offbeat humor and silly strangeness that has always been part of the series' DNA and charm.
Borderlands 4 sees the latest batch of Vault Hunters stranded on a mysterious and hidden planet ruled over with an iron fist by a new villain, the Timekeeper. He, along with the main campaign, are indeed much darker and serious, raising the stakes and making for a compelling tale. But during my time on Kairos, I began to feel the absence of one of the franchise's most beloved characters quite strongly, and wished that BL4 would have found a way to include his legacy in some form.
Borderlands 4 Not Having an Homage to Scooter Is Incredibly Sad To Me
Scooter's History in Borderlands
Introduced in the first entry and returning in Borderlands 2, Scooter was Pandora's resident expert mechanic, and the owner and proprietor of the iconic Catch-A-Ride stations that provide vehicles for the Vault Hunters. He was also a quest-giver, and fans could learn more about him and his place in the world, including interesting details such as being the son of another fan-favorite figure, Mad Moxxi. Over the course, I, like many other fans, came to greatly appreciate Scooter's endearing demeanor. In a setting replete with murder-happy maniacs and crazed weirdos, he is one of the relatively normal, nicest, and well-meaning characters. It was always comforting to hear Scooter's enthusiastic and soothing southern drawl spurring me on.
Thus, it was quite heartbreaking when Scooter was killed off in the fourth episode of the Tales From The Borderland s spin-off. The reason for this decision was that his voice and motion capture actor, Mike Neumann, unfortunately suffered a serious health issue, and was no longer able to perform the role. Neumann, who was also a writer and creative director at Gearbox, actually had a hand in crafting Scooter's ending, giving it his blessing and putting at least a glimmer of a silver lining on the situation.
Scooter's send-off was perfectly appropriate and touchingly funny, as he rides a malfunctioning rocket to his doom, shouting his signature slogan all the way. Afterward, players could choose to install a satellite that memorialized him in the skies. Then, in the Commander Lilith and the Fight for Sanctuary DLC, they could also help his sister Ellie erect another memorial on Pandora itself to cement his memory.
How Borderlands 4 Could've Paid Tribute to Scooter Again
Given the above and its story setup, I wasn't expecting Scooter himself to be in Borderlands 4. And while I'll concede it's certainly mechanically more convenient to summon a vehicle basically at will, Scooter had such a distinct presence even within the eclectic world of Borderlands that I was still hoping there would be another heartfelt reference, even if it was a more hidden Easter egg. But there are no side quests or NPCs that seem to mention Scooter at all, which is sad to me that Gearbox didn't find a way to honor his legacy again in BL4, if only in brief passing.
The only concession it offers in the way of acknowledging Scooter is an achievement for unlocking all vehicles in Borderlands 4.
I think there were some good ways it could've done so that also would've been easily enough narratively justified. Perhaps one of the stranded survivors remembered Scooter and his ads, and maybe had ECHO recordings of them. An aspiring entrepreneur might've then tried to recreate Scooter's presence on Kairos in an attempt to make it feel more like home (and earn a profit.) But par for the course of Borderlands' general goofiness, this likely would have ended up failing spectacularly and humorously, possibly resulting in a knock-off poor man's version of Scooter that was widely disliked, and reminding everyone how great of a character and person he was. In my opinion, though, it would've been most welcome if BL4 had a loving reference to Scooter somewhere along the line, and gave him one more metaphorical ride.
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
