Borderlands 4 needs its own villain like the handsome Jack to be successful, and the Timekeeper could be the answer

Fans took a look Frontiers 4 in a trailer at the Game Awards amid other big announcements for 2025, and the game's tone appears to take the series in a different direction than other titles. It's just a first look and the trailer may not be representative of the final product; however, this new, serious tone appears to have extended to the series' latest villain, The Timekeeper. If Gearbox gets the villain this time around, it could help fill a gap the series has suffered since the departure of the iconic Handsome Jack.

Although shown with a more serious tone, the new trailer shows everything fans of the series expect to see. There's a literal explosion and a hail of weapons, with this title likely boasting billions of weapons just like its predecessor, more Psychos than fans can imagine, Vault Hunters (who admittedly look a little bland) and Claptrap (or CL4P-PT). . Despite that, the villain appears to be different from the others and does not seem to prescribe the usual jokes and comedy of his predecessorsbringing what appears to be a huge threat to Pandora.

Borderlands has a nice monkey-shaped hole

It needs to be filled in to help the series move forward

Frontiers 4The official first look trailer showed the Timekeeper, a character who appears to want to destroy Pandora's Bandit population, as well as Handsome Jack, although it appears this villain will have an association with the Vaults, rather than a corporation. The Timekeeper has big shoes to fill considering how big of a villain Handsome Jack wasso much so that game writing still suffers from his death. Half of the series is based on Jack, from his origin to his almost second coming, and it was then Borders it was undoubtedly at its peak.

Although introduced and later killed in Frontiers 2, Handsome Jack's appearance made him a fan favorite due to his extreme charisma. and status as a guy everyone loved to hate. He has an origin story with The Pre-Sequel and a pseudo-revival in the first Tales from the Borderlands, stealing the show in both. Not only was he hilarious, but Handsome Jack became a layered character that players could understand, being a great display of the twisted hero trope, and no villain in the series since has been able to live up to it.

Timekeeper needs to emulate the kind of gravitas and scene-stealing power that Handsome Jack had on the public to make the story of Frontiers 4 it is worth it. Although it can't be as funny due to the more serious tone of the Frontiers 4 trailer, The Timekeeper will need to take command of scenes, possibly through interesting dialogue or by being someone players fear. It's important that fans want more of The Timekeeper whenever it's on screen, rather than it being forgettable like Borders 1Commander Steele or annoying like the Calypso Twins from the third entry.

The Timekeeper Needs to Work Where the Calypso Twins Failed

Streamer's joke didn't help Borderlands 3

Although Frontiers 3 performed well commercially, bringing both the aesthetics and the shooting of the series, suffered from lackluster writing, which was a common complaint from many fans. There were some strange writing choices in the game, from how the returning characters were handled to giving the Calypso Twins (the villains) the personalities of exaggerated Twitch streamers. This quickly proved to be annoying and didn't help fans like these villains as much as Handsome Jack, who should be the standard for the series' villains going forward, even if he is somewhat unattainable.

The Calypso Twins tried to be as funny and charismatic as Handsome Jack, but a mix of the part the characters were based on, as well as some generally uninspired dialogue, led to the villains being hated in a way the writers didn't want. Turning to a more serious villain could be the answer to avoiding comparisons to Handsome Jack and the Calypso Twins, while also helping to give the series a much-needed big bad. Humor can always be found elsewhere in the world. Borders series, given how bombastic many of the characters are.

The Timekeeper will need to do some retroactive work to repair the damage the Calypso Twins caused, especially since there hasn't been a good villain since Handsome Jack, although it appears Gearbox has learned from its mistake. It doesn't seem like the Timekeeper can be as annoying as the Calypso Twins, though there is a danger of becoming forgettable and mediocre, like Commander Steele with a serious tone. Borders needs a great villain again and The Timekeeper will have to be that character if the series seeks to reach the same heights with its writing.

An iconic villain could make Borderlands 4 great

Gameplay improvements are practically guaranteed

While people love the series' looter/shooter combat, which has steadily improved from title to title, the first Tales from the Borderlands proved that the series can survive without shootings because of its intelligence and humor. Candid moments were plentiful Tales from the Borderlands, with one of the most impactful being Handsome Jack begging Rhys not to kill him again, saying that there is nothing left after death. The writing is almost as important as the gameplay with Bordersand although the third title has great gunfights, its story leaves a lot to be desired.

With Borders, great gunfight is practically guaranteed, but if Frontiers 4 wants to bring the series back to the heights it enjoyed with Frontiers 2, It also needs great writing, and the villain is the right place to start, given Handsome Jack's impact on the series. Perhaps expecting The Timekeeper to meet those standards is too much, but this latest villain needs to be closer to Handsome Jack's standard than the Calypso Twins to give the game a chance. Borders I might not be able to afford another game with mediocre writing.

Overall, the more serious tone of this latest game is a big gamble considering the series is known for being whimsical, wacky, and witty. The franchise has suffered from three projects with bad writing in recent years (Image: Disclosure)Borderlands 3, New Borderlands Tales, and the film adaptation) and needs a title to bring it back to its original standards. The Timekeeper is where Frontiers 4 can improve upon its predecessor the most from a writing standpoint, and filling the Handsome Jack-shaped hole should be the top priority.

Source: Borderlands 4/YouTube