Borderlands 4 has been one of my most anticipated games of 2025, and I'm glad it's finally here. I've been sinking as many hours as I can into it since launch, but unlike those who have already reached the endgame and spent dozens of hours on it, there's only so much time I can devote to it. This is ultimately because between my coverage of Borderlands 4, I have also been playing Dying Light: The Beast for review, another game I've been looking forward to for some time now. What's most interesting about playing both of these games at the same time, though, is that I didn't expect my experiences to overlap or affect one another — but they have.
These days, it's not uncommon for me to be playing multiple games at once. As a fan of just about every genre there is, pretty much every new big game that comes out is one that I'm looking forward to and plan on playing at some point. My Steam library is chock-full of games I haven't finished for that reason, but it is nonetheless nice having multiple titles to choose from depending on what mood I'm in. For the most part, hopping back-and-forth between games isn't really an issue, as they are generally different enough that my experiences with one don't affect another. Borderlands 4 and Dying Light: The Beast, however, are the exception.
Whereas Borderlands 4 Demands Chaos, Dying Light: The Beast Encourages Caution
Playing Borderlands 4 and Dying Light: The Beast at the Same Time Threw Me for a Loop
I was playing Dying Light: The Beast before Borderlands 4 launched, so I grew familiar with its mechanics to the point of muscle memory. Like its predecessors, Dying Light: The Beast requires plenty of caution as you make your way through the zombie-infested Castor Woods, especially at night when the Volatiles come out to play. Its combat can be chaotic, most often during fights with a chimera, but more often than not, you're encouraged to maintain your composure, lest you get swarmed by a horde of infected very quickly.
But that's precisely why swapping over to Borderlands 4 in the middle of my Dying Light: The Beast experience threw me for a loop. After starting Borderlands 4 and getting back into the swing of things as a longtime fan of the franchise, its fast-paced gameplay once again felt like second nature to me. If that weren't enough, Borderlands 4's similarities to Destiny, with its emphasis on movement, made the gameplay even hastier and more chaotic. The problem, though, is that trying to play that way in Dying Light: The Beast is a recipe for disaster, so every time I switched from one game to the other, I really had to reorient myself.
Recklessness Feels Right in Borderlands 4, But It'll Get You Killed in Dying Light: The Beast
It doesn't help that Borderlands 4 and Dying Light: The Beast have a lot in common from a gameplay standpoint, but thankfully, I've been playing the former on mouse and keyboard and the latter on controller — so that helps. However, the biggest adjustment has been the pacing. If you slow down and play more cautiously in Borderlands 4, you'll end up dead. On the flip side, if you rush recklessly into the fray in Dying Light: The Beast, you'll end up being torn apart by a zombie. As I went from Borderlands 4 to Dying Light: The Beast, this is the one thing I had to remember.
There have definitely been times I went from playing Borderlands 4 to playing Dying Light: The Beast, and rather than remembering I'm in a world that wants to eat me alive, I just start rushing through, trying to double jump and glide as though it isn't the grounded zombie apocalypse that it is. Of course, that quickly got me into trouble, and I had to be more thoughtful every time I booted up one of the games. Fortunately, I've finished Dying Light: The Beast now though, so Borderlands 4 finally has my undivided attention.
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
WHERE TO PLAY
