Gearbox Software has finally unveiled a look at Borderlands 3 during a panel presentation at PAX East in a new 4K trailer.
The video shows its playable heroes for its four-player cooperative action. From the looks of it, the studio retains the franchise's "cel-shaded visual style." The visual quality is better than its predecessor and it also promises over 1 billion procedurally generated guns.
Critics Are Unhappy
While some fans are pleased with the new 4K trailer, many critics are disappointed because they don't think that the new installment in the franchise is better than its predecessor.
In a recent article of Polygon, Senior Editor Ben Kuchera said that while he thinks there is a jump in visual quality and there are new characters in the game, it does not mean that Borderlands 3 surpasses its predecessor.
"And I don't see anything in the Borderlands 3 trailer that makes me think it's going to be better than Borderlands 2," he said.
While better improvements may arrive when in the finished version of the game, the trailer was a disappointment and despite there are new characters being introduced, very little reason is given "to care about them."
Kuchera is also skeptic as he recalls the release of Borderlands 2 in 2012. After its launch, it was followed by expansions, VR support, spinoff games, an adventure game, and compilations. He believes that fans were offered and sold too much content that is not a numbered sequel and he thinks this trend will continue in Borderlands 3.
Fans of the game are also worried that a battle royale mode would be included in the new game. While Kuchera welcomes the idea of a battle royale in the new game, he thinks that it should not be the major content of the game.
"This looks like another expansion, not a proper sequel to a major franchise," he said.
'Weird' Trailer Presentation
Forbes finds the 4K trailer reveal super weird. According to its Saturday article, the 55-minute presentation of Randy Pitchford, Gearbox Software CEO, is more of stalling and "literally doing card magic on stage."
Gearbox Software did not provide a release date yet Borderlands 3, but it did promise that it would share more details on April 3.
