Borderlands 4 Narrative Director Speaks About Its Grounded Story After BL3 ‘Sometimes Felt Like Parody’

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The narrative director for Borderlands 4, Sam Winkler, has discussed the game’s more grounded approach to storytelling, stating that Borderlands 3 at times seemed overly parodic. Fans are eager for Borderlands 4 to emulate the tone of earlier games in the series, as opposed to what was depicted in the most recent mainline installment.

In 2019, Borderlands 3 received much acclaim for its improvements in overall gameplay within the series, but its script and tone drew criticism from fans. The quirky tone and reliance on jokes have always been defining aspects of Borderlands, but it’s a fine line that writers must tread, as veering off can be unpleasant for gamers. Many believe that the first and second games got this right, while the third one missed the mark.

Borderlands 4 Dev Thinks BL3 “Sometimes Felt Like Parody”

In an interview with IGN, the narrative director Sam Winkler revealed that the storyline for Borderlands 4 will shift away from the excessive humor seen in its predecessor. Winkler expressed that they had internal criticisms regarding the tone and amount of humor in Borderlands 3. He went back to earlier games in the series to evaluate their current tone and found that the original 2009 game, “a lot of the humor stemmed from situations, often darkly comedic circumstances, as well as the naming of things, the mission text, etc. I believe this contributed significantly to players’ perception of Borderlands 1 as having a more gritty, grounded tone.

Later on, Winkler expressed his thoughts: “At times during the production of Borderlands 3, it seemed almost like a parody, and that’s where we may have overstepped a boundary for many fans and myself. To ensure balance, we aimed to explore other forms of media that could offer both humor, lightheartedness, and genuine character development without trivializing the story.” Joining Winkler in the discussion was lead writer Taylor Clark, who emphasized the importance of maintaining a grounded tone. Despite some jokes from Borderlands 3 already appearing outdated, fans can only anticipate that this recognition and change of direction could result in a superior Borderlands 4.

Given the criticisms of Borderlands 3 and the debatable Borderlands movie from last year, it’s imperative for the longevity of the franchise that Borderlands 4, set to release on September 12, be a hit. Players don’t have much longer to discover if Gearbox has found the right mix in this upcoming game.

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2025-08-25 19:51