Borderlands 4’s Fish Grenades Make Me Wonder Just How Deep the Rabbit Hole Goes

The Borderlands series is no stranger to weird weapons, whether it’s The Bane and its infamous ear-piercing sounds or The Probe and its questionable, suggestive design. In fact, the series has thrived on having such weapons in its arsenal as part of what gives it the distinct identity it has long maintained. However, just when I thought things couldn’t get any weirder, here comes Borderlands 4 with its Fish Grenades. Just in case you missed that, let me repeat it for emphasis — Borderlands 4 has Fish Grenades.

In a recent interview with IGN at Gamescom, when asked about what weird guns players might see in Borderlands 4, Gearbox’s Randy Pitchford said, “Fish Grenades.” As anyone would, the interviewer naturally asked, “Fish that are grenades or grenades that blow up into fish?” A question to which Pitchford simply replied, “Yes.” Now, this has me rethinking my approach to loot in Borderlands 4, namely when it comes to what I want to get out of the experience. Rather than looking for the best gun in the game, I’m curious to see just how deep this rabbit hole goes by setting off on a quest to obtain the strangest weapon imaginable, even if it isn’t the most powerful.

Borderlands 4’s Fish Grenades Are Hopefully Just the Tip of the Iceberg

I’m Exhausted With Borderlands’ Weapon Grind

I know weapons are the heart and soul of the Borderlands experience, but I can’t deny how exhausted I’ve been with that being one of its main focuses. To beat a Borderlands game and then have an “endgame” that centers around trying to obtain the most powerful weapon has left the grind feeling a bit like a hamster wheel. Once I’ve conquered everything in the game, what is the point of trying to get an even better weapon than the guns I already have? That became the question at the forefront of my mind as I ventured into Borderlands 3‘s post-game, and it’s been a concern I’ve had as we approach Borderlands 4‘s release. That’s why these so-called Fish Grenades have my attention, as I see them as a potential overhaul to that grind.

Borderlands 4’s Weird Weapons Give Me a New Grind

There has to be a reason the first thing that came to Pitchford’s mind in the context of weird weapons is Fish Grenades, right? Surely, that sets Fish Grenades up to at least be the standard for weapon weirdness in Borderlands 4, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the weirdest. If these grenades really are fish flopping around in my hand until I eventually throw them, and they explode into a massive school of piranhas that eat the flesh off my enemies’ bones, then I can’t wait to get my hands on one. However, I don’t want to stop there, because Fish Grenades could just be the tip of an iceberg that gives me a different kind of grind in Borderlands 4 — one that could keep me busy for hours upon end.

Give me a Crying Onion Grenade that explodes and makes my enemies burst into tears, tanking their accuracy as a result. Or a Trombone Champ shotgun that makes the noise of a trombone when fired but changes its pitch depending on how high or low I have it aimed (a reference to the Nintendo Switch game Trombone Champ). I’ll even take a Voodoo Doll assault rifle that fires an enemy type, and when I shoot it, it deals damage to all enemies of that type. Given the fact that Borderlands 4 has a whopping 30 billion unique guns, I’d say anything is possible. With that in mind, I’m heading into the next Borderlands game on a mission to find the strangest weapon in the pile, even if it takes me hundreds of hours to do so.