Borderlands 4’s bold reinvention of looting and shooting makes it feel like the game Destiny 2 has spent years trying to become. Where Bungie’s MMO-shooter often stumbles under monotonous grind and a lack of meaningful innovation, Gearbox’s latest takes risks that pay off. The result is a looter-shooter that feels both fresh yet familiar, and one that highlights Destiny 2’s biggest shortcoming: loot itself.
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For years, Destiny 2 positioned itself as the face of the looter-shooter genre, blending MMO-style systems with Bungie’s signature gunplay. The promise was immense, yet over time, the experience settled into a predictable cycle of power creep, recycled content, “sunset” content, and loot that, quite frankly, rarely inspired excitement. If you’re unfamiliar with Destiny 2’s trend of “sunsetting”, it refers to a system where older loot is intentionally undervalued into uselessness, something many fans have not been a fan of. Borderlands 4, in contrast, immediately revitalizes the thrill of discovery, reminding players what it means for gear to be both powerful and imaginative.
Borderlands 4 Understands What Makes Loot Exciting
Loot defines the genre, and Borderlands 4 treats it as more than just a stat increase. Weapons and gear are designed with creativity in mind, each carrying a sense of personality that encourages experimentation. A pistol might ricochet into chain lightning storms, while a shotgun could suspend enemies midair before shattering them with a follow-up blast. Even lower-tier drops often come with quirks that spark curiosity, making them worth trying in combat.
This is a sharp contrast to Destiny 2’s approach, where new drops frequently feel like slight variations of older weapons. Bungie’s philosophy has leaned heavily on incremental upgrades and minuscule perk re-rolls that fail to differentiate one gun from another most of the time. The result is a loot pool that too often feels hollow, more about efficiency than excitement, which misses the point of having ‘loot’ as one of your main progression mechanics.
Borderlands 4, meanwhile, thrives on unpredictability. Every boss fight or treasure chest holds the potential for game-changing gear, creating an atmosphere where loot is never just filler. The game understands that the heart of the genre lies in surprise and variety, ensuring that players remain hooked by the sheer possibility of what they might uncover.
Destiny 2 Forgot the Golden Rule of Loot
The golden rule of loot is simple: it must feel meaningful. Destiny 2, unfortunately, has drifted away from that principle. Too often, the grind results in items destined for dismantling before they ever see use. Seasonal gear pools rarely justify the effort, and even exotic weapons, once the pinnacle of the game’s looter shooter identity, have lost much of their former spark.
Loot that fails to change how a player approaches the game ultimately undermines the core loop. Destiny 2’s incrementalism turned the chase into a treadmill, stretching content longevity by watering down rewards rather than making them more exciting. Players continued grinding not out of joy, but out of obligation. Each new drop often felt like a minor variation of gear already in hand, offering little incentive to experiment or adapt strategies. Over time, the cycle became predictable, stripping away the thrill of discovery that should define a looter-shooter. The sense of achievement was diluted, leaving progression feeling more like a deadened checklist.
Borderlands 4 flips that equation. Weapons frequently and dramatically alter playstyles, opening new strategies or amplifying chaos in ways that redefine how combat is even approached. The design respects time invested by making each drop feel like a potential breakthrough rather than a disposable sidegrade. This return to loot that inspires joy is what Destiny 2 once promised but has struggled to deliver for years.
Why Borderlands 4’s Risks Pay Off Where Destiny 2 Plays It Safe
Bungie’s caution with Destiny 2 has long been both a strength and a weakness for the title. The game’s balance-focused approach created a controlled sandbox that worked well for competitive play but left little room for wild experimentation or crazy, unbelievable factors that garner interest. Weapons are reliable, yes, but rarely are they surprising. Rarely is a weapon picked up and does something totally outside of its design specifications. This design philosophy fostered stability at the cost of excitement, and for a game as active as Destiny 2 has been, that cost has now become outright disappointment.
Borderlands 4 takes the opposite stance. Gearbox embraces chaos, designing weapons and abilities that border on excessive, and that is exactly what makes them fun. A single new drop can transform combat encounters, encouraging players to adapt on the fly and revel in unpredictable destruction. The series’ willingness to let players feel overpowered is not seen as a flaw but as a feature, keeping the experience lively rather than sterile.
This willingness to take risks highlights why Borderlands 4 feels like the game Destiny 2 should have been from the start. Gearbox has created a looter-shooter that values creativity over control, surprise over predictability, and fun over caution. And while balance is certainly more of a conversation for Borderlands 4, at least the game sparks that discussion to begin with. Talk around Destiny 2 is often around issues far more grating than whether or not a gun should be floating and shooting in mid-air.
In the end, Borderlands 4 showcases that the genre thrives best when loot is ultimately exciting and when risks are embraced. Destiny 2 may still carry its strengths of consistency, but its most glaring weakness has been laid bare by Borderlands 4’s approach to the genre. Loot is supposed to inspire joy, and Borderlands 4 proves just how powerful that joy can be when developers are bold enough to pursue it.
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image courtesy of 20th Century Studios
