Borderlands 4 looks great, but I think Gearbox is making things too easy

Gearbox has finally shown off a substantial amount of gameplay for Borderlands 4​​​​. If you ask me, some promising features are worth diving into. On the other hand, Gearbox seems to be adding mechanics that have me worried. Overall, the gameplay looked solid, but I can't help but think that Gearbox is going easy on the fanbase by implementing mechanics that shouldn't be in the game. Those who have played Ubisoft games or any standard open-world RPG probably know what I'm talking about. Here's what I am worried about in Borderlands 4, and what I hope Gearbox changes before the game's final release.

Why do we need Echo-4?

We've never had a guide

Growing up with the Borderlands franchise, I have seen Gearbox work on the overall UI and guidance mechanics. In the original game, you had a waypoint and a compass. In Borderlands 2, this was changed to be a mini-map with markers on it. This change remained and was implemented in both Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and Borderlands 3. It appeared to be a mainstay for the series. That is, until Gearbox released the extended gameplay reveal during the PlayStation State of Play. This gave us the return of the compass and waypoint system from the original game, along with some more, Echo-4.

Echo-4 is your helper robot in Borderlands 4. He hacks into computers for you and, when you choose, he will show you the exact route you need to take to reach your next objective. Presumably, he will also show you important items in your immediate vicinity, but that hasn't been confirmed. This reminds me of games such as Halo Infinite that feel "hand-holdy," almost like the developer doesn't think you can explore on your own, so you need something to guide you. I'd like to see the UI be changed to the standard we have come to expect, which is a mini-map with a marker. This way, we can look for things on our own without the need for a little robot to guide us. This would also promote exploration of the more open environments that Gearbox is adding to the game.

Silos

They scream, "Ubisoft tower!"

While I am a huge fan of the Far Cry series, one thing has always bothered me, and that is the towers. There is always a tower to climb in a Ubisoft game. Doing this rewards you by showing you the locations of important items and locales on the map. Gearbox has taken a page from Ubisoft's book and implemented Silos. These silos house decommissioned Order tech that you can use to aid you and the resistance you fight alongside in the game.

As shown in the State of Play, these silos can be fast-traveled to immediately after interacting with them, and they even show you the location of Vault Key Fragments. For me, this is an unnecessary feature that doesn't promote exploration. Instead, we are handed the location of an important item to streamline the process. We aren't required to do any searching. Guaranteed, we will be able to use Echo-4 to quickly find the fragment when we reach the location as well.

Auto-granted missions

Because talking is too much

There was a complaint about Borderlands 3 that players needed to wait around to receive missions from NPCs who talked forever. In previous games, you could interact with the NPC and run away while they talked to you via your Echo device. This allowed you to quickly pick up missions and still be able to hear the important dialogue without needing to stick around and listen to an NPC talk when nothing important was happening on screen.

Gearbox appears to have taken this critique and gone the extra mile in the opposite direction. Instead of returning to the mission style from previous games, it appears as though the developers are just auto-granting missions whenever you are close to them. During the State of Play, the narrator stated that events and missions are auto-granted and tracked on your HUD. Why would they remove any and all interactions with NPCs that are not pertinent to the story? I would like to see more NPCs and to interact with them to find these silos or to get side missions. I just don't want to have to stand next to them for five minutes while they tell me about what it is they need me to do.

Overall, the game looks good

Gearbox has shown that it is listening to the fans. The developers have made some major changes in Borderlands 4 that are very apparent. While I do think that some of the changes make things a bit too easy for the player, the game looks promising overall, and I am excited to get my hands on it when it is released later this year. I just hope that the devs added some options to make things a bit more like the older titles.