We’ve already extensively covered the events of the end of Borderlands 3, where Lilith teleported Pandora’s moon, Elpis, to another part of space, but in the process, smashed it into the veiled planet Kairos, disrupting the order the Timekeeper tried to force upon the population. But in my discussions with the Gearbox team, I learned that Elpis plays a more significant role than just catalyzing the story and being an object players can sometimes see in the sky.
At the start of Borderlands 4, Elpis crashes an area of Kairos known as Carcadia Burn, decimating the region and transforming it into a wasteland biome. The series’ iconic Psycho masks rain down, and one of the Timekeeper’s underlings, Callis, picks one up. To her, the mask symbolizes rebellion and it sparks something in her, and in her moment of clarity, she rips out the Command Bolt that the planet’s dictator installed in her, reinstating her free will. She encourages others to do the same, and she becomes known as the Ripper Queen. Though Pandora’s old moon inspired this open act of rebellion and the founding of the Ripper faction, perhaps most significantly, Elpis connects the brand-new planet of Kairos to the series’ most prominent setting, Pandora, and thus, links the series’ latest story to its past.
“Elpis represents a very real link to the previous games and the history,” creative director Graeme Timmins says. “From that perspective, it puts it in, like, ‘Yup, you’re still in Borderlands! That moon that you’ve seen on Pandora that is always there, [no matter] our time of day – which doesn’t make the most perfect scientific sense – that’s here!'”
With Borderlands 4, Gearbox wanted to establish a new planet in the same way it did with Pandora over the first several games in the franchise. And as you move through regions like the Ripper-controlled Carcadia Burn, you’ll encounter enemies wearing the Psycho masks that fell from Elpis when it ripped apart Kairos’ veil upon impact. “We wanted to go back to really focusing on a single planet and establishing its history and its lore,” Timmins says. “But, we love the Psycho enemies, we love all the history, and so Elpis was that tool to create that connection of like, ‘Elpis showed up, so we now have a convenient vessel to bring Psycho masks and rain them down onto the populace.’ There are a lot of convenient things for us to do it this way as well, so we can still keep those identifiable enemies and character designs from the previous games and bring them into this whole new world that would have been hidden away from human civilization in any significant way for thousands of years.”
However, there’s much more to Elpis than just serving as an anchor to the series’ past. In fact, its presence poses various questions to players as they embark on their Kairos adventure. “We know Lilith took that from Pandora and brought it here, of all places in the universe; why would Lilith [teleport] a moon to this hidden planet?” Timmins says. “What about this place matters to either Elpis or Lilith? Who knows?”
As players move through the world and the story of Borderlands 4, Elpis remains in the skybox, constantly reminding them of its presence. Additionally, the moon will change over the course of the game, coming apart and spreading more and more, serving as a visual marker of your progression.
But it’s not just something you observe from a distance. Though Gearbox remains tight-lipped on the details surrounding the circumstances, players actually go up to Elpis to wrap up one of the story’s threads. Although Kairos is a completely new planet, Borderlands 4 should serve as a jumping-on point for new fans, while longtime players will reap the rewards of understanding the histories of NPCs and various references to the Pandora past.
Borderlands 4 arrives on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on September 12. A Switch 2 version will come at a later date.
