Granblue Fantasy: Relink

Didn't expect much going in but I am pleasantly surprised by the artistic choices and scenic moments. The UI and controller mappings are also quite good and it has one of best quickchat and sticker mappings I've seen from a lobby based game like this.

The biggest Negative is the horrible English localization, They take way too many terrible "creative liberties" constantly and every other line is reinvented to sound quirky or just outright changed and this constantly took me away from an otherwise enjoyable campaign to the point that I would prefer a machine translation or AI translation (and I do hope we don't go this route in the future) over what we got.

One of the best games to come out recently.
Everything from the painterly anime look to the combat is great.
You can skip cutscenes.
Only thing it needs is a way to tone down the VFX because it covers the screen most of the time.

I can honestly say this is one the of the best games I have ever played! The story, the combat and the art style is absolutely excellent. I never even knew about GBF before this game and I have even started watching the anime now. If you want FUN then I highly recommend getting this game.

I would absolutely recommend this game to anybody who likes boss-fighting action games. The characters are numerous and they all feel different to play, the online stuff works well, and almost all of the fights are fun and unique.

If you're worried about there being gacha pulls for the characters, don't be. You get awarded crew tickets throughout the story (and a couple of other ways later on) and you just exchange one of those for a character of your choice instead of rolling for them or whatever. You get enough tickets to buy every character, so there's no missing out on anything.

This game is an absolute blast, and well worth the full price.

Relink kind of feels like two separate games. If you're here for a grind, you can blast through the story and stay for the postgame stuff, which encourages you to fight bosses and enemies over and over in Monster Hunter-esque fashion to grind up gear and characters in order to MAKE NUMBER BIG.

If you're just here for a satisfying singeplayer experience, you'll find the main story is a 15-20 hour affair packed with fun fights, plenty of spectacle, and great music backing it all up. For some people, 15 hours of enjoyable action RPG might not sound worth the money, but after playing through Relink's story, I can say with some confidence that I would rather have what it offers than 60+ hours of tedium occasionally broken up by long and pointless dialogues that so many JRPGs have delivered in the past. It's meat vs. fat, and Relink's campaign is mostly meat, which I appreciate.

That stuff aside, I have to comment on how much care obviously went into this game--I'm talking animation work, voice work, music, pretty much anything you can think of. Each area in the main campaign has an adaptive soundtrack that smoothly increases in intensity when you enter a fight. Some characters have little animation flairs like fixing their hair after landing from a jump. Seemingly every combination of playable characters has unique, voiced battle interactions that show off their (sometimes clashing) personalities. The characters will react in combat when you do something cool, like performing a perfect dodge. There's a huge amount of detail that didn't have to be put into the game, but was put in anyway.

Is it perfect? Hell nah. There are problems. The story is passable, but basically standard JRPG fare; start by fighting goblins, somehow end up fightings gods and saving the world with the power of friendship. Some people like that kind of thing; to me, it's old and tired and bleh. A lot of bosses in the postgame are recycled to stretch the content further; their moves are remixed each time to make them challenging in a meaningful way, but if you don't like seeing the same models, you might be disappointed. You can't apply scaling to yourself when selecting specific quests online, so if you want to play with a much lower level friend, you're just going to curbstomp all the content available to them in five seconds. Also the postgame grind can get pretty nutty. You will never have enough resources, and you will repeat quests many, many times, even raising just one character. I cannot imagine the time it would take to max out every character in the roster.

Yet despite all this, I recommend the game. Bottom line: it's fun, and it's fun practically right out of the gate. You don't have to play for 70 hours before Relink "gets good." The game wants to show you the best it has to offer as soon as it feasibly can. More games should try to be this way.

The game is fun. You can see the elements of Mobile Gacha RPG in it, from the listing pictures of items, their short descriptions, the star ranking system. It's all there. But there is no "Champion Collector" store mechanics. Neither is there a Stamina Bar to stop anyone from just repeating a grind into infinite.

There is still the suggestion of researching the First Ark of Grandblue Fantasy, as this is not a remake or retelling. There is some story in the Fate Chapters but not all of it is there. So if you are interested into more story; pick up the original game to go over what happened before hand and learn of the deeper connections and trials that your crew has gone through.

Are you looking for a good, solid, decently addicting monster hunter-like game that’s in the style of anime? A game you can play for 100+ hours with predicted dlc and constant update support? This is the perfect game for you. 10/10

This is a really fun game with a very responsive combat system. The main story is fairly short (10-20 hours depending on familiarity with the rpg mechanics) but in that time the game pins you against tons of monsters that will kill your whole team if you are too careless with both your decisions in a fight and neglect to upgrade your skills/weapons. Even if you fail, if you like spectacle, this game's story has that in spades.

If you are as hungry as I was by the end, there is even more post-game content that continues the main story a little further with chapter 0 and even past that, there are even more new bosses for you to discover through a Monster Hunter: World like mission system. These missions will ramp up in difficulty to the point where you will be fighting multiple bosses at the same time.

I have finally reached the end of the game and completed all missions and I am still obsessed with this and plan on coming back to try out more of the 20+ characters currently in the game. I also am looking forward to the promised future updates that will be releasing throughout this year.

Cygames knocked this one out of the park!

Small disclaimer: People have reported having issues with the game crashing and launching. I have only had a single crash and one network error in my 60+ hour career.

Love the graphics and artstyle, and the buttery smooth performance. There are sick finishing moves, colors flying everywhere and it's just fun to play.

No nonsense game. Has good cutscenes that become more and more epic as you progress. And all the characters have an interesting background story. I even got a little emotional towards the end.

The controls are pretty easy to learn but it can take a while to fully understand a rotation. I've played ~20 hours so far and still feel like I'm not playing any character to their full potential. There's also different skills to pick from and of course party compositions, so finding something in your own style can take a while (assuming you just don't copy from some guide).

At this point I finished the main story, but the game apparently also has post-game content where you just do what you want and progress your characters instead of following a storyline. Not sure how much content there is left but from what I've heard it seems to be one of those games where the story is basically just the tutorial. I'm kinda starting to understand the Monster Hunter comparisons.

Imo it's just as much Monster Hunter on crack as it is Dragon Age on steroids and a japanized version of Kingdoms of Amalur. There is no hunting (tracking) aspect, no real preparation, fights last like 2 minutes, you're constantly blasting and pushing out combos left and right like a madman. But yeah if I want to get my ass kicked constantly and wanna have 45 minute fights I play MH, if I wanna kick ass and obliterate the entire battlefield in 2 minutes I play this instead. There is room for both to coexist and imo they are very different games.

Some of the best feeling combat I've experienced in a video game. Every character feels different to play, with unique movesets and quirks and playstyles, and they all feel great. The bosses reminded me of some of the best boss fights in games like Final Fantasy XIV or Monster Hunter.

The main story isn't too much to write home about, it's a slightly above average JRPG story, with a great villain. But the combat is what will keep bringing me back. This is a very early contender for my GotY.

Add FSR/DLSS or fix the GPU performance.
Usually all these games are CPU Bottlenecked but this game is actually GPU bottlenecked lmao, having to play at a lower resolution to compensate for the game's shortcomings.
Even Vulkan or DX12 would probably improve this.

Story - 100
Characters - 100
Music -100
Graphics -100
Gameplay - 100

Maglielle not playable - -10000000
Overall score - WORST GAME EVER
Cykagames must compensate by making Maglielle playable and producing dakimakuras of her

Story is cheesy and endearing, often reminiscent of the 2000-2010's JRPG era. Characters are also quite charming and all play very differently. Endgame is the real game, though. Tons of stuff to grind, but can become repetitive for those who aren't into fighting similar enemies again and again.

The true fun comes with learning the characters and their unique play styles. Combat is fast, flashy, and fun, and playing with others is incredibly satisfying.

That said, Leveling one character up can take an extremely long time due to the number of things to grind for (their specific weapons, leveling and uncapping said weapons, character abilities, and stat boosters called sigils).

Would definitely recommend to those who love a good grind with simple, yet satisfying combat. Not recommended for those who are just in it for the story as it mainly serves as a tutorial.

The story legitimately surprised me at certain points and was a thrill to play. It's not very long, especially for a JRPG, though for someone with a full time job I consider that a feature, not a bug. I also suggest that hard mode makes the story a lot more interesting to play through.

fun game with lots of cool characters and boss fights. story is mediocre but its mostly just a long tutorial until endgame, which is my only real con but even then the boss fights in the story are really fun. can easily get hundreds of hours of hours into the game min/maxing your ai teammates or having fun with friends.

It's basically like:
Wow boss fights without the time investment
Genshin impact without the gacha money sink

The other fun parts of those games remain in here:
Deep character building
Fun boss battles
Beautiful characters and art style
Fantastic combat mechanics

It has a story but I would put it on par more with a mobile game in terms of story arc and pacing

It also has an emphasis on grinding which I enjoy in a jrpg but not everyone may

I would recommend it today and even more so in the future depending on how much additional content drops

Cheers

Great game. It's like Monster Hunter lite. All the characters are interesting and simple to learn. Some are difficult to master. The game doesn't force you to grind too much as there are lots of mechanics that allow you to bring other characters up to the level of content you are on with your main. The game loop is hella fun and addicting.

Main negative is that there aren't enough monsters to fight and the matchmaking can be a little awkward (like let me move around when I am searching for a match wtf). I also am not a big fan of the damage cap that this game implements. Because that means in the very end game when every character is running against their damage cap, damage buffs become useless and support characters become less useful/fun.

This game is fantastic. Looks great, sounds great and plays great. I've been waiting for this game for a LONG time and I would say Cygames has delivered on all counts. Thank you for taking the time to get everything right.

Gameplay-wise I would say this game sits somewhere between PSO2 and Monster Hunter. The game feels less rigid and more forgiving than Monster Hunter as you are free to use the dodge or guard button to cancel out of a lot of attacks. You also have dedicated buttons for your character's skills rather than the MH approach of making them combo based. A lot of characters also have parry or counter moves that reward skillful play in various ways. The game also employs a stagger system where you can create your own openings by staggering bosses and eventually stunning them for about 10 seconds or so. When you counter a boss into a stagger and then knock them into a stun? It feels SO goooood! The hit feedback in this game is so CRUNCHY. I love it SO much!

I found the story, while short (roughly 10-15 hours), to be very enjoyable thanks to the excellent, highly entertaining, very cinematic boss fights. The game doesn't end after you beat the story though. There's an additional post game story chapter with more bosses and more difficult versions of what you fought during the story and there's even harder stuff after you're done with that. All the while collecting stronger equipment and materials to upgrade your characters.

That's the other neat thing this game does. It gives you a roster of around 20 characters and lets you make a party of any 4 you want. They're also all playable, fully featured characters each with their own gimmicks and distinct playstyle. It was hard to choose what 4 characters to build first because every single one of them seems cool and interesting. The AI itself for your party members is also very good. I find myself getting outscored by the AI when I play badly. Coop and matchmaking is also available for non-story quests too if you'd rather run with other players instead.

There is also a complete lack of live service features, and micro-transactions. You pay once and get the whole game with no restrictions.

I fully believe this will go on to be one of the most fun ARPGs released this year. I hope Relink gets a big expansion because I am 100% willing to pay for more of this game.

The game is all-around fantastic, just not optimized for higher-end systems imo. I have a ryzen 9 7900x and a 7900xtx, and in order to play the game without it crashing I have to set it to 1080p windowed mode. Hopefully a fix comes for this, because the gameplay itself is genuinely great and I have enjoyed the time I've managed to put into it so far.

the "Lock On" in this game doesnt actually lock on if you move or targets move around it changes targets constantly. INCREDIBLY annoying when doing the later boss fights where there is 3 bosses at once and yoru trying to focus 1 boss. when the other rolls in and your "lock on" switches them like a total derp.

then there is the camera. in many fights Id fight comes to mind first, as well as Bahamut Versa the camera is just awful. looking at the sky when you need to see things on the ground. or constantly whipping back in forth giving you motion sickness.

does the sigil to make Zetas loop window bigger even work? waste of time the looping is so inconsistent and annoying to play, duno if its a problem with the pc port or if the character itself is just janky. to much other shit going on in this game to bother with that crap. please make the sigil ACTUALLY do something

oh and dont get hit by ANYTHING in this game at all. you get punted like a football from any attack from anything.

Good game. Story is kinda weak, but presentation and spectacle are superb. Sometimes the camera is a little weird, but 98% of the time it's no problem. Abilities and normal attacks feel impactful and when it all comes together as a chain burst it feels really good.

8/10

An excellent action rpg with a focus on single player content early, and cooperative content later. If you enjoy cooperative rpgs, this is a must purchase. The art, music, and effects are all superb, and while there is some questionable design choices sometimes, all positives far outweigh any negatives.

I am a great fans of GFB on mobile before and the GF-Relink this time is even better than before. Recommend everyone to play. The whole game gives players a sense that they pay attention to what the players want and they continue to build a very good story~

This is one of the best RPG games I have played in the past decade. Thrilling fights that got my adrenaline going with next gen looking combat and amazing combat scenery. Art is stunning, and music is phenomenal. Please make another GrandBlue Fantasy, i'm already throwing money at the screen for the sequel. This game is better then Final Fantasy 16, Monster Hunter, and Xenoblade (Xenoblade has boring combat bro, but good story). Absolute breath taking bosses man, like I couldn't have ask for more. This is probably going to be game of the year for RPG games this year. Please Mr Fix it dude we need you to come back!!! All we have is Todd Howard that makes bad games.

Id say them game is a 8/10 the combat is pretty cool and the story is OK as well cut scenes were good too...i like how its not p2w like a lot of these type of games (besides getting a lvl 50 weapon which is noting for endgame) but love the chain burst tho good concept

**Read Important Note below**
I will say, this game is my favorite game yet in 2023-2024. As a player who specializes on FPS Shooters, I will say I enjoy the game a lot. The grinding is a lot and have some cute anime girls in it, my fav is Cagliostro... don't judge me. As a person who got extremely disappointed with Gensh*t, this game is definitely leagues better than that game. Definitely requires way more skill to play compared to Gensh*t.

The best part of this game that it is not a gacha game, so not much "immoral" practices of draining your wallets out for a chance to get a character. Definitely a money worth and I am willing to spend money on DLC where you are guaranteed to get certain characters, and doesn't require you to slave everyday (but you can do so, because I did). I am hoping that they plan to add more characters from CyGames universe (Please Kasumi Kirihara... please come home...), and hoping this game will last years to come by them adding DLCs.

For context, I play very limited amount of RPG games. The RPG games I have played and enjoyed are Monster Hunter World & Rise and Pokemon (already stopped playing). I played a couple of gacha games (Gensh*t & Arknights) and was fan of Princess Connect from CyGames. Just a big fan of their character designs over most other franchises so far.

For me, it is worth to get the full price tag (it is cheaper at my place because regional pricing). But if you do not want to dish out as much money, wait for it to go on sale (I doubt it will come any time soon though). I am planning to support game companies that support good practices like selling premium games and having DLCs to add more extra stuff like cosmetics and more story/game modes.

IMPORTANT!!!
I do want to give a word of warning. I would RECOMMEND turning off Steam Cloud Save and turn off auto save. The reason is if you are somehow saving and a blackout happens that causes your PC to turn off... or just a BSOD, your save file WILL GET CORRUPTED and lose your save. This will cause you to start from beginning or find out another solution (using saves).
Ask me how I find this out...

Your save file will be located in AppData\Local\GBFR\Saved\SaveGames
The easiest way to access this is to type "%AppData%" in the directory. Then go to Local after clicking AppData in the directory.

I hope this review can help you make a decision whether to buy this game or not.

its like monster hunter many jobs charcters I can easily spend 1000 hrs 0n this game tooo many weapons the story to is irrelanvent the game begins when you finish the story the co up is instant its like playing ffxiv btw the devs for this game are former final fantasy team