Information revealed about Borderlands 4 has proven that the game is not afraid to go against tradition. Though it remains true to the Borderlands series, Borderlands 4 positions itself as a true evolution in the formula, cutting out the shortcomings of previous titles whilst elevating the many factors which made the franchise so beloved by many.
As new information is slowly being revealed, players are able to learn more about Borderlands 4’s new cast of playable Vault Hunters. Each of them seems to have character quirks that will be familiar to fans of the past Borderlands games, but one seems to have much more in common with the recent Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands spin-off.
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Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands Players Will Enjoy Amon
Wonderlands Introduced Melee Weapons
The Borderlands series is known for its near-endless variety of guns for players to loot and shoot throughout each game. Despite being a spin-off, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands doesn’t stray too far from this path, giving players a bevy of fantasy-themed assault rifles, shotguns, and rocket launchers to choose from. This kept the game experience similar to the mainline games in the series, while leaning further into the tabletop RPG-inspired setting.
However, there is one major change made to Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands that deviates from the rest of the Borderlands games, and that’s the addition of melee weapons. In Borderlands, players can use a single melee attack for low damage, and some characters like Athena and Amara have skills that give them more melee capabilities, but Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands’ melee weapon type gives players the chance to wield these close-ranged weapons regardless of class or build.
Amon Gives Melee Combat More Variety
Recent gameplay has emerged of Borderlands 4’s Amon, and for Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands players, he may be the perfect choice. As is Borderlands tradition, players can equip four guns at any time, with an additional Ordnance slot reserved for grenades and heavy weapons. However, Amon can bridge the gap between ranged and melee with his Action Skills, and can excel at the melee capabilities of past Vault Hunters. With the Crucible Action Skill, Amon carries two axes in Borderlands 4, which are imbued with Fire and Cryo elemental properties.
As opposed to brutish characters like Krieg, Amon players will need to be more considerate of the elements they use, as this seems like a crucial aspect of his moveset.
While Amon’s axes have been shown prominently throughout Borderlands 4’s promotional materials, this isn’t the only way he can be built. Onslaught is another of Amon’s Action Skills, forgoing the axes entirely to use his fists instead, gaining movement speed in the process.
This encourages players to be much more aggressive by getting closer to enemy swarms, further emphasized by its AoE hammer ability as Onslaught’s secondary action. Amon’s melee options in Borderlands 4 could surpass Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands from the variety alone, giving players more ways to creatively build the character to allow for more unique playstyles.
Amon also has access to the Scourge Action Skill, which has been seen in action during the Official Gameplay Trailer. Rather than an overtly offensive weapon, players gain access to a shield. While this is often used as a defensive option in most games, it seems like players will be able to use skills to unlock its combat capabilities. The Saw Shield from Doom: The Dark Ages proved that shields can be as much of a weapon as the rest of the game’s artillery, and it seems likely that Borderlands 4 will be following in its footsteps.
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What Amon Could Mean for Future Vault Hunters
On his own, Amon seems like an evolution of the melee system introduced in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, giving Borderlands players more potential to get up close to enemies in fights and deal massive damage. However, his arrival could be a trial run for how far melee builds can go in the series’ future. There are characters in past installments with melee skills, but Amon is seemingly the first to be fully built around them.
As the Super Deluxe Edition of Borderlands 4 confirmed that more Vault Hunters will be added to the game as DLC, it’s possible that Amon will not be the only melee-centric character in the game. Amon’s melee moveset makes him work a lot like a tank, being able to deal heavy-hitting attacks with his weapons whilst also shrugging off damage received. In contrast to this, another Vault Hunter could take inspiration from the Swifft swords from Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, trading slower attack for higher attack speed.
Amon could also mean that Borderlands 4 could give the melee-skilled Vault Hunter of past Borderlands games a rework. Whether this would be new Vault Hunters inspired by those of the past or breaking tradition and adding the playable characters of previous games to Borderlands 4, Amon shows that more emphasis could be given to these playstyles by reimagining their kits. A faster character like Zer0 could stand in contrast to Amon, using melee weapons differently by having players engage with the system differently.
Like Zer0, a new Vault Hunter in Borderlands 4 could give more focus to critical hit points on enemies, but use a sword instead, requiring fast but thoughtful combat.
At its core, the Borderlands franchise has been and always will be about guns. Borderlands' identity relies on its ability to provide powerful, over-the-top weaponry to take down equally strong and strange enemies. However, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands proved that it doesn’t have to limit itself, allowing players more opportunities for close-ranged combat.
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
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op, Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- Yes - all platforms
- Prequel(s)
- Borderlands 3, Borderlands 2, Borderlands
- Franchise
- Borderlands
- Number of Players
- 1-4 players
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Unsupported
- PC Release Date
- September 12, 2025
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- September 12, 2025
- PS5 Release Date
- September 12, 2025
- Nintendo Switch 2 Release Date
- October 3, 2025
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch 2, PC
- Local Co-Op Support
- Yes
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
