Borderlands 4 is already looking to make some changes to the formula we know from past games. There are additional ways to traverse the world around us this time, and we’re finally departing from Pandora entirely for a new planet.
However, we’ll have to rely on our own wits to explore this world, as Borderlands 4 is doing away with the minimap that featured in past games. Randy Pitchford confirmed this at PAX East (via PCGamer), where he said that a local map wasn’t a good idea for this game.
“We made a big freaking world,” Pitchford said. “And a lot of the things you do can be local space, but a lot of the things you do or want to do are out there [in the larger world], and a local space map is not a good way to navigate when you’re thinking about objectives and opportunities—several at the same time that might be miles away—and a compass really helps us do that.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvsx1FzIKEg/
“We want you to play the game and not play the map,” Pitchford said. “So we made a commitment, and we put all of that investment into this compass system, and you still have the big map. It’s one click away. And we put more cool stuff in there than we’ve ever done before.”
Despite not having a minimap, there will be ways for you to tell where you’re going. A compass will be available as mentioned, alongside the bigger world map. Also, a new GPS will allow you to see what paths you need to follow to reach your objective on the world map.
Borderlands 4 releases on the 12th of September for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.