Borderlands 4 on consoles: a technical nightmare from Digital Foundry

Experts from Digital Foundry published the long-awaited video with a breakdown of the technical state of the shooter Borderlands 4 on consoles. It was about four consoles of the new generation: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 5 Pro, Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X. And, unfortunately, their verdict sounds gloomy: at the moment the technical state of the game on consoles can be safely called a complete nightmare.

A visual marvel with an expensive price tag

First – about good things. Borderlands 4 is built on the powerful Unreal Engine 5 engine – the visuals are impressive. Lumen global illumination and highly detailed Nanite geometry technologies work to the fullest, providing believable light, detailed shadows at all distances and incredible density of objects. For the first time in the series, players will be able to see a full day and night change, making the world of Pandora and other planets even more lifelike. Overall, the visuals are a big step forward for the franchise.

However, along with the power of UE5 came serious technical problems, which are already familiar to players on PC, and now fully manifested on consoles.

60 fps mode: stability for only half an hour

The main problem was the performance mode, which promises a stable 60 frames per second. At first the game runs perfectly smoothly, but after 30-60 minutes of continuous gameplay the catastrophe begins. The frame rate gradually drops: first to 50 fps, and then to the critical 35-40 fps. In some particularly busy missions on PlayStation 5, the performance drops to 30 fps, while on Xbox Series X there are also noticeable image tearing.

This problem has a specific symptom: it can be temporarily resolved by exiting to the main menu of the game and returning back. This is a direct indication of a possible memory leak, where the game gradually “clogs up” the console’s RAM, resulting in a catastrophic drop in performance over time. The developer, Gearbox Software, has already acknowledged the problem and promised to release a patch, but in the meantime, the need to regularly restart the game ruins the immersive experience.

The only stable but non-ideal solution

The alternative is the quality mode with a limit of 30 frames per second. This mode is much more stable and, as a bonus, offers improved graphics: better lighting, reflections and generally higher settings. However, for a fast-paced first-person shooter like Borderlands, 30 fps is often considered insufficient for a comfortable game, especially in intense fights.

The difference between the consoles

• PlayStation 5 Pro: Has a higher resolution interface and textures, and provides a slightly sharper picture in combat. But it doesn’t solve the fundamental problem with performance degradation.
• Xbox Series S: As with many projects, the weakest console of the generation got the most stripped down version. The game is limited to only a quality mode with 30 fps and even lower visualization settings.

Conclusion: a great game that needs to be fixed

To summarize, Digital Foundry’s verdict is clear: Borderlands 4 is a visually impressive project that can set a new bar of quality for the series. However, at the moment the pleasure of gameplay on consoles is seriously spoiled by technical shortcomings. Experts, as well as millions of fans, are eagerly awaiting patches from Gearbox, which should fix performance issues and return players to the ability to enjoy a chaotic shooter without interference. For now, it’s too early to recommend the game for purchase to console owners.