New stories from the borderlands is designed as a game that can be enjoyed by those who have not played any other entry in the series. As a result, while there are small moments to theorize about, like Zer0’s Vaultlander and Athena’s unknown company, the story ends with almost no loose ends and doesn’t change much within Borderlands universe. However, the use of ECHOdexes is one thing that can be carried over to the main series.
Much of Octavio’s gameplay revolves around his ECHOdex, a fancy piece of technology that essentially is Borderlands equivalent to an Apple Watch. ECHOdex functions much like a traditional ECHO, used to record messages and call other ECHO users. It also has some additional features like hacking, background checks and the ability to control certain technology. By being smaller and more compact, this New stories from the borderlands gadget can be a fun way to shake things up Borderlands 4 SKIN.
What a Borderlands 4 ECHOdex can do to stand out
At the very least, an ECHOdex could serve as a nice visual change from the ECHO units players have seen for years. If Borderlands fans were to pull up an ECHOdex in a first-person setting, the animation could show them lifting up the character’s arm to examine the device’s screen. Once there, they could manage their inventory, look at challenges to do, or see a picture of the character talking to them as with Metal Gear Solidits codec calls.
Some of the apps that played a role in New stories from the borderlands, like the background checks, can be entertaining options for comedy. Just like in New stories, Borderlands 4 could allow players to inspect various NPCs, with some of the zanier characters sure to come with some memorable descriptions. Other apps may include an audio log vault, allowing players to listen to any ECHO recordings they found on their journey. A Vaultlander checklist or viewer could also be included should the feature return.
Photo mode can be accessed through the ECHOdex, with players holding their watch against the creatures or characters they want to take a photo of. It can also provide a visually interesting version of a map, with players able to inspect their ECHOdex instead of entering a separate screen. If implemented well, Borderlands players could seamlessly manage their skills and loot through this ECHOdex, without having to leave the game world and scroll through external menus.
Similar to how the ECHOdex used by Octavio i New stories from the borderlands, the device can be integrated into the gameplay to hack different machines. While Gearbox needs to do some work to make hacking puzzles fun to play, as they go against the usual looter shooter style, they could perhaps be limited to specific missions or crew challenges. Additionally, hacking can only be held to a short animation so that the normal gameplay loop is not slowed down at all.
Ultimately, ECHOdex will be a more advanced menu system, but the extra level of personality will be welcome. Although Gearbox would lose out on the customization options that the larger, traditional ECHO offers, franchises like Duty calls has shown that there are many possibilities for unique watch designs. With ECHOdex able to do so much in New stories from the borderlandsand seems like a natural upgrade over the old school ECHO, it might be fun to see the next batch of Vault Hunters use the sleeker tech.
New stories from the borderlands is now available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One and Xbox Series X.
