Borderlands 4 is just a few weeks away, and the hype train has well and truly left the station. Following some glowing press previews a few months ago, Borderlands 4 started to roll out a steady stream of story and gameplay trailers for the new co-op looter shooter. Some of the most memorable trailers have been Borderlands 4's 'Character Shorts', four 3-5-minute CG trailers dedicated to each of the game's new playable Vault Hunters.
Vex, the new Siren, received the first Borderlands 4 Character Short about a month ago, with Rafa's coming a week later, then Amon's, and Harlowe's rounded things out a few days ago. Most of these CG trailers have been very well-received by fans, with them being short but punchy introductions that set up each Vault Hunter's unique backstory and motivations efficiently and with a whole lot of classic Borderlands flair. But there's one Borderlands 4 Vault Hunter who hasn't quite found their audience just yet, and that puts a bit of a burden on the final product.
Borderlands 4's Harlowe Is Facing an Uphill Battle
Harlowe's Character Short Wasn't The Most Revealing
Vex and Rafa both have their entire character origins revealed in their CG shorts, with fans being shown directly how Vex's Siren powers first manifested and how Rafa ended up turning his back on Tediore. Amon's Character Short is a bit less direct with its lore reveals, but his origins as a sort of Vault monster hunter are teased, and his trailer includes an impressively animated action sequence.
Harlowe's recent character trailer doesn't really offer enough of either lore or action. In terms of backstory, it's stated that "Maliwan's ecosystem" is built on Harlowe's tech, and that she belongs to the Traunt family, a sprawling lineage who have a penchant for killing one another. Aside from those tidbits, Harlowe's personal motivations aren't really elaborated on in this trailer. And aside from a short vehicle chase, Harlowe's Character Short doesn't feature much eye-popping action, with the trailer cutting away from her fight with one of her many brothers.
Players fight both General Traunt and Captain Traunt in Borderlands 3, and the former's Echo Log makes reference to another seven Traunt siblings.
Harlowe's Character Design Isn't Quite as Strong as The Rest
Borderlands 4's Vault Hunters had a lot to live up to in terms of striking visual designs, but it's risen to the challenge well. Amon is a hulking figure with cybernetics all over his body. Vex features a fresh spin on classic Siren designs and boasts an eye-catching purple color scheme. And Rafa borrows the best parts of both Borderlands 3's Zane and Fl4k designs to deliver a new and sleek look.
Harlowe, unfortunately, stands out from the crowd again for all the wrong reasons. Harlowe's absurdly oversized pants and gloves look a little odd on her character model, and though her pants feature some orange and blue highlights, the colors look a little washed-out. Put simply, when stood next to the rest of Borderlands 4's cast, Harlowe appears a little generic.
It's very likely that Borderlands 4's unlockable in-game cosmetics will give Harlowe a more distinct outfit.
Borderlands 4 Will Need to Put in The Effort With Harlowe
Though Harlowe is far from the worst-received character in Borderlands history, she's a bit of an odd-one-out at this current moment. That's far from a major issue, though. It just means that Borderlands 4 needs to give her plenty of opportunities to shine. Harlowe's gravity-based abilities already look like a ton of fun to use, and as long as her dialogue is strong enough to cement her distinct personality during gameplay, she could easily end up being one of the series' most memorable Vault Hunters when all is said and done. She just needs to fight a little harder than the rest of the crew at launch.
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
