Gearbox Software has fully embraced the newest generation of consoles with its incredibly popular first-person shooter, Borderlands 3. Released in 2019, Borderlands 3 was embraced by gamers and reviewers for its fast-paced chaotic gameplay, smart humor, and a loot system that rewards exploration. Now, with the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 finally released, Gearbox has improved the already beautiful looking worlds of Borderlands 3 with its Next-Level upgrade and new Ultimate Edition.
Not only does Borderlands 3 boast 4K resolution and 60fps on the new consoles, but many users have reported that in Performance Mode, it can reach up to 120fps. Although the Next-Level upgrade is available for free to anyone who previously owned the game on past consoles, new players can get in on the mayhem with the brand new Ultimate Edition. The Ultimate Edition includes every DLC released for the game so far as well as new cosmetic skins and everything to come in Borderlands 3 Season 2.
What's Different in Borderlands 3 on Xbox Series X
Borderlands 3 looks amazing compared to the previous generation of consoles. The art style has always lent itself to be forgiving to lower-end hardware, but with the new technology, Borderlands 3 just pops off the screen. The game's visual aspects are incredibly important when there is so much going on at once on-screen, and this upgraded version of Borderlands 3 improves exponentially on the already spectacular look of the game.
The Next-Level upgrade also brings with it some new skins for the Vault Hunters in the "Multiverse Final Form" cosmetic pack, which imagines what each character would've looked like if they never became Vault Hunters. The cosmetic pack contains a head and body skin to decorate the characters and comes free with the upgrade.
Players who purchase the Designer's Cut DLC will find a new Arm's Race mode as well as a brand-new skill tree for each Vault Hunter character. Arm's Race acts more like a rogue-lite version of Borderlands 3 where players are dropped into arenas empty-handed and must extract whatever weapons they find or lose it all in death. This new mode adds a ton of replayability to the already 40+ hours of content available now. The Designer's Cut DLC comes with the Ultimate Edition or can be purchased separately as a stand-alone add-on.
What's Stayed The Same in Borderlands 3 on Xbox Series X
Aside from all the visual changes and new content added to Borderlands 3, the basic gameplay has stayed the same. The chaotic gunplay feels better than ever before and the perfectly implemented loot system still shines through. Gearbox has clearly prepared for this transition in gaming and it shows. The current generation of consoles has been good to Borderlands 3 and will likely only help increase the popularity of the game, especially once more gameplay videos of how smoothly the game runs are uploaded to sites like YouTube.
Borderlands 3 is available on Xbox Series X/S, Playstation 5, PC, Stadia, Xbox One, & Playstation 4. A digital code for the Xbox Series X version of the game was provided to Screen Rant for the purposes of this review.