The new Borderlands 4 Vault Hunter that I knew the least about suddenly looks like one of the most interesting characters, and I didn't expect him to remind me of the modern God of War games

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Axes, fire, ice, beard – I'm catching a vibe here

Borderlands 4 character art of Amon
(Image credit: Gearbox)

The latest Borderlands 4 trailer in Gearbox's ongoing Vault Hunter showcase stars Amon the Forgeknight, and I'm more than a little surprised by how much I like the cut of this guy's jib. Amon had largely slipped by me until now, but his mix of melee, shielding, and elemental damage has now landed him squarely on my radar.

Amon is described as a "resilient and highly customizable frontliner" who commands "weaponized drones" as well as forged weapons including axes, a shield, twin swords, chain blades, and a gigantic hammer. Melee builds have been hit or miss in Borderlands games for me, but there's something about Amon that smacks of the modern God of War games, and not just superficially, that's caught my eye.

Borderlands 4 - Official Gameplay Overview - Amon - YouTube Borderlands 4 - Official Gameplay Overview - Amon - YouTube
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Depending on how you build him, Amon can specialize in swinging or throwing his forged weapons – also including a regenerating spear, and now that I've had the God of War thought I just can't shake it – as well as fire or ice damage. Sound familiar?

Look, all I'm saying is that if you mentioned a bearded warrior who could throw a frost axe to freeze enemies in place before shattering them with fiery weapons, Kratos would be the first guy I would think of. Amon seems to support a remarkably similar gameplay loop, and it looks and sounds like a good time.

There's a 0% chance I'm the first person to draw this comparison, and I'm not complaining about or dismissing anything, to be clear. I don't know if Gearbox has actually taken cues from Sony Santa Monica – a more likely inspiration is the Brr-Zerker from Tiny Tina's Wonderlands – and Amon obviously exists in a radically different game and combat sandbox, but it's a fascinating parallel. I'll give Gearbox one thing: I'd written Amon off as a Vault Hunter who's definitely not for me, but now I'm at least considering him as a secondary character.

Randy Pitchford said Borderlands 4 on Switch 2 would require a download, but it's worse than that – it's a game-key card.

Austin Wood
Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.

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