- Digital Foundry concludes that Borderlands 4 runs worse than a typical Unreal Engine 5 game.
- They’ve suggested users not play the game at Badass settings since it pushes even the RTX 5090 to extremes.
- Borderlands 4 utilizes the heaviest Unreal Engine 5 features in the least efficient manner that producers subpar visuals and being quite hardware taxing.
The Borderlands 4 fiasco has been the headline of the gaming industry over the last few days. The game currently holds mostly negative reviews on Steam, with all of them complaining about the game’s subpar performance that takes a toll even on high-end setups.
Digital Foundry has now analyzed all the technical issues surrounding the game. They concluded that Borderlands 4 runs even worse than a typical Unreal Engine 5 game, which is really absurd considering the looter-shooter isn’t even known for its visuals.
Why it matters: Unreal Engine 5 undoubtedly has a bad reputation among gamers, but developers still opt for it. However, some studios have shown that the engine isn’t as bad as people claim it to be and requires effort from developers in terms of optimization.
Borderlands 4 is not just a hardware-demanding game, but it also has numerous visual problems. Despite the game requiring shader compilation before gameplay, it still encounters notable hitches and stutters due to shader issues.
Even though Borderlands 4 may not look quite demanding on paper due to its cartoony aesthetics, several demanding processes occur behind the scenes, including realistic textures that players may not realize at first sight.
Borderlands 4 runs worse than usual for an Unreal Engine 5 game.
The reason for this is that the game relies on Software Lumen, and on top of that, it also uses Nanite and Virtual Shadow Maps, which are some of the most resource-heavy features in Unreal Engine 5.
Digital Foundry also noted that Borderlands 4 runs at a stable 60FPS on the PS5 Pro in open areas but falls to 30-40FPS in combat-heavy sequences.
Even on the highest-end PC, featuring an RTX 5090 and a Ryzen 7 9800X3D, the game outputs 60-70FPS on 4K badass settings. This is quite intensive for a flagship GPU, and Digital Foundry advised against maxing out the game.
Gearbox CEO has responded to the fan backlash regarding performance, telling them to code their own engine. Moreover, he also denied any need for a patch, yet the studio has shared an optimization guide that may take users 15 minutes to implement.
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[Staff Writer]
Shaheer is currently pursuing a Business degree while also working as a part-time Content Writer. With his deep passion for both writing and video games, he has seamlessly transitioned into a role as a Journalist. Over the past two years, Shaheer has contributed as a freelancer to various websites and landed positions on acclaimed platforms like Gamerant. Currently, his role at Tech4gamers is as a Features Writer, but he also covers News occasionally. Shaheer’s favorite gaming franchises are Assassin’s Creed and the God of War series.
Get In Touch: shaheerzahid03@gmail.com
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