Borderlands 4 includes a feature the series should have had from the beginning: a Claptrap-only volume slider that means you never have to hear a word he says

News
By published

If you're not a fan of the talkative bot, Borderlands 4 might be your new favorite in the series

Claptrap in Lionsgate
(Image credit: Lionsgate)

Personally, I love little robot sidekicks. BB-8? Adorable. R2D2? Sassiest droid in the galaxy. Clank? Maybe the most useful piece of metal ever made. But some of you soulless gamers hate our adorable tin buddies, so that's why Borderlands 4 has a volume slider that specifically lets you adjust the decibels on Claptrap's dialogue.

One Twitch partner shares a screenshot on Twitter showing the slider labelled 'Claptrap volume.' I bet there's a PR out there who wishes Randy Pitchford had a similar slider so he'd stop starting controversies.

Borderlands 4 narrative director Sam Winkler shares some additional insight, writing, "I wrote some lines just for this feature and it includes maybe the dumbest most niche reference to a certain terrible accent in a certain classic immersive sim."

I'm not 100% on which game or terrible accent Winkler is referring to, but my money would be on Deus Ex. You can throw a dart at a Deus Ex game and land on a bad accent, but he could be referring to the character of Letitia, who is widely regarded to be a racist stereotype, although Square Enix denied any racist intentions.

I'm also curious what kind of lines have been added for this feature. Will Claptrap acknowledge the change and start speaking in a whisper, rather than his dialogue simply being quieter? Will he be sad when you turn him down, happy when you turn him back up? We'll have to play to find out.

Fans are already loving the feature. "As a claptrap hater I will be using this feature immediately," writes one. "This is genuinely already the funniest bit you guys have ever done," adds another.

One had a more meta idea: "It would be hilarious as an Easter egg if you put all the other volumes to zero, it puts an Echo on claptrap and you can hear him from miles away just yapping."

This is what I love about video games; their interactivity offers so many unique ways to add depth to the experience. So, will you be shutting Claptrap's trap or letting him yap?

In the meantime, check out our list of the best FPS games you can play today.

Issy van der Velde
Issy van der Velde
Contributor

I'm Issy, a freelancer who you'll now occasionally see over here covering news on GamesRadar. I've always had a passion for playing games, but I learned how to write about them while doing my Film and TV degrees at the University of Warwick and contributing to the student paper, The Boar. After university I worked at TheGamer before heading up the news section at Dot Esports. Now you'll find me freelancing for Rolling Stone, NME, Inverse, and many more places. I love all things horror, narrative-driven, and indie, and I mainly play on my PS5. I'm currently clearing my backlog and loving Dishonored 2.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.