New Tales 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, though there are small moments to theorize about like Zer0’s Vaultlander and Athena’s unknown company, the story wraps up with nearly no loose ends and does not change all that much within the Borderlands universe. However, the use of ECHOdexes is one thing that could carry over to the main series.
Much of Octavio’s gameplay revolves around his ECHOdex, a fancy bit of technology that is essentially the Borderlands equivalent of an Apple Watch. The ECHOdex functions a lot like a traditional ECHO, which is used to record messages and make calls to other ECHO users. It also has some additional functionality like hacking, background checks, and the option to control certain technology. With it being smaller and more compact, this New Tales from the Borderlands gadget could be a fun way to shake up the Borderlands 4 HUD.
What a Borderlands 4 ECHOdex Could Do to Stand Out
At the very least, an ECHOdex could serve as a nice visual change from the ECHO devices 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 their character’s arm to examine the device’s screen. Once there, they could manage their inventories, look at challenges to do, or see an image of the character speaking to them like with Metal Gear Solid’s codec calls.
Some of the apps that played a role in New Tales from the Borderlands, like the background checks, could be entertaining options for comedy. Just like in New Tales, Borderlands 4 could allow players to inspect various NPCs, with some of the zanier figures sure to come with some memorable descriptions. Other apps could include an audio log vault, which allows gamers to listen to any lore-building ECHO recordings they picked up on their journey. A Vaultlander checklist or viewer could also be included if the feature were to return.
Photo mode could be accessed through the ECHOdex, with players holding their watch at whatever creatures or characters they want to snap a photo of. It could also provide a visually interesting version of a map, with players able to inspect their ECHOdex instead of going into a separate screen. If implemented well, Borderlands players could seamlessly manage their skills and loot through this ECHOdex, never needing to exit the in-game world and scroll through external menus.
Similar to how the ECHOdex used by Octavio in New Tales from the Borderlands, the device could be integrated into gameplay to hack various machines. Though Gearbox would have to do some work to make hacking puzzles fun to play, as they go against the usual looter shooter style, perhaps they could be limited to specific quests or crew challenges. Additionally, hacking could just be kept to a brief animation so that the regular gameplay loop is not slowed down at all.
Ultimately, the ECHOdex would be a fancier menu system, but that extra level of personality would be welcome. Though Gearbox would lose out on the customization options that the larger, traditional ECHO provides, franchises like Call of Duty have shown that there are plenty of opportunities for unique watch designs. With the ECHOdex able to do so much in New Tales from the Borderlands, and seeming like a natural upgrade over the old school ECHO, it could be fun to see the next batch of Vault Hunters utilizing the sleeker technology.
New Tales from the Borderlands is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
