Borderlands 3 is already out, and fans of the first-person shooter game are busy looking for the best character builds. So far so good, the fourth entry in the Borderlands series is performing well in terms of the player base.
Released last week, Borderlands 3 has managed an all-time peak performance which is twice that of Borderlands 2 all-time high. Another observation is that the current PC player base is quite healthy. This is according to Randy Pitchford, Gearbox Software, LLC co-founder.
But I’m afraid; things are not all good for the Texas-based developers. Borderlands 3 has a myriad of problems that ought to be fixed. Several reports on Reddit and Resetera also suggest the existence of bugs on both PC and consoles.
There are also several unfulfilled promises, including that of frame rates. While Gearbox boasts about smooth gameplay at 60fps, an in-depth analysis of the game by Digital Foundry recommends sticking to 30fps if you want seamless gameplay.
In the analysis, the Eurogamer’s experts said that Borderlands 3 played at 3200×1800p in resolution mode and 1080×1920p in performance mode. While the visual presentation is similar, the Digital Foundry experts note some inconsistencies and anomalies. Among them is the lower anisotropic filtering on Microsoft’s Xbox One X.
While performance mode overwhelms both consoles, it’s the PS4 Pro that suffers most, obviously because of the weaker CPU.
At least for the Xbox One X, the framerates dropped to the 50s during intense action and stuck to 60fps only when there is less action. You can imagine how inconsistent the PS4 Pro is. It is for this reason that Digital Foundry recommends 30fps for Borderlands 3.
The Borderlands 3 problems don’t end with the Xbox and PlayStation platforms. Things are also chaotic on PC platforms. Many PC gamers reported stuttering even when using powerful gaming machines.
This is quite an embarrassment for an AAA title that relies on the same Unreal Engine 4 which Gears Of War 5 uses. The Coalition did an excellent job with Gears 5, which has better performance.
All said and done, Borderlands 3 is still a fantastic game, and if you’ve been following the Borderlands series, these problems shouldn’t be a bother. Gearbox is in acknowledgment of the complains and has promised to address all the concerns as soon as possible.
Borderlands 3 was released on September 13 on PlayStation4, Xbox One and PC (Microsoft Windows). The sequel to Borderlands 2 is an Epic Store-exclusive until 2020 and will also feature on Google Stadia.
