“Isn’t it strange to ship a game where the main gripe isn’t that we botched the story?” Pitchford asked, sounding surprised.
“Yeah — that’s definitely a relief,” Winkler replied.
Pitchford then offered a rambling but revealing take: he seemed oddly reassured that most of the criticism has centered on technical issues rather than the writing. So far, technical performance — especially on PC — appears to be the primary source of player dissatisfaction.
“People are saying, ‘No, the story’s great, the characters are strong, and the gameplay is solid.’ So then it’s, ‘Alright — let’s tackle the technical stuff.’ That’s a world I’m happy to live in,” Pitchford said. His comments — including suggestions that PC problems might be overemphasized — haven’t quelled concerns, but Gearbox has been issuing patches to address many of the issues.
I won’t overinterpret a few public comments, but it’s reasonable to read Pitchford and colleagues’ remarks against the backdrop of Borderlands 3’s story, which was widely criticised.
For me, these games are a way to hang out with distant friends while blasting foes left and right, but it’s clear some series fans value a coherent narrative — and by most accounts Borderlands 4 delivers more on story than some earlier entries did.
“You and the team absolutely nailed the storytelling,” Pitchford told Winkler during the panel.
Source: gamesradar.com
