Gearbox’s game features a quest that parodies the genre popularized by FromSoftware and its games.

The excessive use of toilet humor in Borderlands 3 did not receive positive feedback, so it was toned down in the sequel. Borderlands 4 does just that, albeit sometimes excessively. The villains, in particular, seem to lack personality, with some of them having introductory name cards with barely enough content to fill the blank space—only their names and HP. The side quests make up for the main quest line’s lack of personality and sometimes reference memes. One example is the “Forgive Me” quest, based on a viral joke about the storytelling in Souls-like games — a joke that Borderlands 4’s lead writer, Sam Winkler, tweeted in 2022.

According to Winkler, Dark Souls revolutionized gaming in that a story is no longer necessary; all that’s needed is a guy with a big sword named Myrmidon of Loss who cries out, “Zanzibart… forgive me,” prompting twenty YouTubers to make hour-long videos about the game’s deep story. Winkler eventually had to clarify that he loves FromSoftware’s games and asked those who thought he was criticizing the Japanese studio to learn how to joke about the things they love. The Borderlands 4 “Forgive Me” mission is an extended joke about Souls-clone storytelling that clearly stems from deep knowledge and appreciation.

The mission is not marked on the map. It begins in a cave in the Cuspid Climb area of the Terminus Mountains. A waterfall pours out of a giant skull at the entrance of the cave. Near the sword stuck in the fire, a Psycho attacks us and drops a Desecrated Bolt when it dies. When we pick up the bolt, we hear, “Zanzibart…forgive me,” and an unmarked quest begins. In this quest, we must find Zanzibart’s resting place on our own. We must find another cave in the Terminus Mountains. It is located in the north, in the Stoneblood Forest, and can be reached via an anchor point. There, we must fight the Cursed Myrmidon of the Cruel Dawn.

Suddenly, Vycarias the Lore-Singer appears. He seems to be a mix of a fantasy sage and a YouTuber. He reads the background text and monologues for nine minutes about Shatterglass Plain, Nevergreen, Red Requiem, and other things we didn’t know about before. It’s like reading a dense wiki entry about a game we haven’t played yet.

This kind of commitment is what makes the side quest so entertaining.

Source: PCGamer