Borderlands 4 Xbox Series X Review 8/10 *More shooty, less bang bang* 💥

I covered Borderlands 3 back in 2021, scoring it a 9/10 and celebrating the zany world of Pandora and its myriad denizens. Whilst there were hardly any immense leaps in terms of core gameplay between games, the series always delivered mindless blasting action, which ramped up gloriously when playing with friends. 

This newest instalment instead shifts the action to Kairos, a hidden planet run by ‘The Timekeeper’; a masked, golden, and seemingly immortal figure that plants chips in the minds of his subjects allowing him to control their will, or to drive them insane, if he deems necessary…which he does deem quite often, quite frankly.

I was hips deep in the initial unveiling and first couple of hours, everything that I enjoyed about the series had returned, and now it was tied to a story that - although basic - seemed slightly more serious and focused which was certainly refreshing. Starting the game off with an epic prison escape got my engine revving and my guns cocked and loaded.

Getting Back into Gaming after a Long Break 🎮

Do you feel as though you are out of gaming? Maybe you want to get back into it, but at the same time, you don’t know how or even where to start. Either way, this is the guide for you.

Play with Friends

One of the best ways for you to get back into gaming is to play with friends. Getting back into gaming is easy when you start small and play in short bursts. You should also try and focus on fun rather than focusing on goals. If you have had quite a substantial break from gaming, then you shouldn’t try and focus on getting the most points in a game. Instead, focus on trying to come out with a smile on your face, or even think about how you are going to do better next time by being a good teammate. If you focus on these smaller goals, then you will find it easier to come out with confidence from every session you play. If you can’t play with friends because you have a broken console, then now could be a time to look into game console repair, because when you do, you can feel assured knowing that you’re going to be on the same level as everyone else.

Outlaws + Handful of Missions: Remaster Nintendo Switch Review 7/10 *Some Rootin’ Tootin’ Old School Shootin’* 🤠 @NightdiveStudio #IndieGame #GameDev

First of all, the game runs gloriously on the Switch - for some reason gyro controls were turned on automatically, so I kicked those off as fast as humanly possible - but there are a lot of accessibility options for you to tweak the game to your tastes as you walk – or glide, rather - in the well-worn boots of James Anderson, a retired U.S Marshal who is out to rescue his kidnapped daughter from the casually named ‘Slim’ Sam Fulton, and his associate, the more worryingly monikered ‘Dr. Death’ Matt Jackson.

Outlaws really felt apart from other FPS of the time as the slim, stark visuals almost echo the rangy James Anderson himself. The dusty soundtrack, satisfying weapons and combat take centre stage in the relatively empty-feeling levels that you will be blasting your way through.

Yes, the stages in Outlaws feel far more dated than a lot of other titles from around this time, and I can’t quite work out if I like that aspect or not. There seems to be a lot of big, empty rooms and outside space to roam through, but with only a handful of secrets in each of the nine levels (and five extra in the expansion, bringing it to a total of fourteen overall) the sparseness of each one will either appeal or be a detraction of your enjoyment.