Granblue Fantasy: Relink, the first co-op action RPG entry of the hit gacha franchise, is finally out! Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.
Granblue Fantasy: Relink Review Overview
Granblue Fantasy: Relink Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Fast-Paced Gameplay Simple and Straightforward Progression Great Character Variety |
Background Lore Will Need Reading Might Get Forced to Play Other Characters Finicky Camera |
Granblue Fantasy: Relink Overall - 78/100
Granblue Fantasy: Relink is a stellar example of having a great franchise and broadening its horizons by putting it in a new genre. Its colorful cast of characters paired with a combat system that pairs well with co-op is a match made in heaven. It’s a great experience for solo and co-op players alike, as the story is good enough to keep you interested and the co-op is great enough to have both variety and progression.
Granblue Fantasy: Relink Story - 8/10
While it uses the same characters and their backgrounds for Granblue Fantasy: Relink, new players need not dive into the mobile game to understand its story. It’s a completely separate side story that offers a lot of options for you to familiarize yourself with the characters involved through its Glossary and Fate Episodes.
Granblue Fantasy: Relink Gameplay - 8/10
The game is an action RPG that encourages players to use different characters available in the game, as it ties in elemental weaknesses, buffing, debuffing, weak points, and all of that into the combat. It’s a fun and fast paced experience, and one that actually doesn’t forego its difficulty. Although, some of the difficulty can be attributed to the game’s camera being something you have to wrestle with constantly.
Granblue Fantasy: Relink Visuals - 9/10
The visuals look pretty great! It’s done well to bring the original art to life in a 3D environment and one that has a ton of work done regarding its animations as well. The character designs of Granblue Fantasy was one of its strong points in showing off the character, and it's no different in this game. The movesets and attacks are also animated very well as they all flow well in combat with the different enemies you encounter throughout the game. Not to mention the boss battles that have their own exclusive scenes mid-combat featuring certain attacks or transformations, which really show off the game’s visuals.
Granblue Fantasy: Relink Audio - 7/10
The audio design of the game is serviceable as well as the music. It doesn’t have the most compelling or memorable soundtrack, but it doesn’t bring down the game’s quality either. The voice acting is also pretty good, as it features both English and Japanese voice acting similar to its fighting game counterpart. It’s not the biggest draw for the game, but it does its job well enough to not become a disadvantage.
Granblue Fantasy: Relink Value for Money - 7/10
The price is a steep $59.99, but with the added replay value and progression in the game I would say that it’s worth a shot. Those who love playing action RPGs will feel right at home with this game, but that’s not to say that first-timers won’t love it as well. It has a variety of characters to choose from, all with different movesets and skills to give you a different experience every time you want to play a different character.
Granblue Fantasy: Relink Review: Gacha Brought to Life
This was an excellent game. It really goes to show that sometimes good ideas on paper are practically good ideas to pursue. Granblue Fantasy built its world around the mobile gacha game where it introduces a ton of different characters as well as a vast lore of the game’s world. The art was already eye-catching enough to cement its place as one of the more popular gacha games out there. Their execution of adapting its art and making a fast-paced action RPG was almost flawless.
First, let’s talk about the story. The game features a lengthy story of about 10-20 hours of gameplay featuring Gran (the main character) and his crew of skyfaring buddies. I won’t talk about the story so that I don’t spoil anything for anyone but the game’s story is pretty good with how it's always tied to worldbuilding. I’m more surprised about the game’s Fate Episodes which are like an introduction to a certain character as well as side stories that happen in parallel to the game’s main storyline. They even reward you for doing each character’s Fate Episode by giving them stat bonuses and additional upgrades after completing them.
The gameplay is something special as it’s not everyday you get to experience an action RPG that has great co-op elements in recent memory. While the single player experience is already good enough, the multiplayer aspect raises it way higher with the different characters available in the game. Each character is unique in how they play, as well as have their own elements to have certain advantages and disadvantages against enemies. While people may not be a fan of playing other characters due to different reasons, I for one think that it’s a great way of changing up the gameplay every once in a while. It’ll have you play a different character that plays a totally different way so that you don’t get stuck with repetition.
The grinding aspect of the game comes in the form of questing, where it’s mission-based similar to games like Monster Hunter or God Eater. You can choose a quest with varying levels of difficulty and objectives. Afterwards, you get rewards at the end depending on the completion of the side objectives during the quest. Progression in the game comes in the form of getting mastery points to level up skills in the skill tree, as well as upgrading your character’s weaponry in the form of weapon levels or modifiers that increase your damage, raises your crit rate, etc.
In a way, Cygames was able to adapt its core gameplay from the mobile game and realize it in the form of an Action RPG. I don’t dabble too much in gacha games, but I know some of the basics being having certain party compositions for specific encounters due to elemental weaknesses as well as different roles for characters with specialized abilities. All in all, this game is great. It’s a good way of utilizing a successful franchise’s strengths and creating a new experience for new and interested players to dive into the world of Granblue Fantasy.
Pros of Granblue Fantasy: Relink
| Things Granblue Fantasy: Relink Got Right |
|---|
|
Fast-Paced Gameplay Simple and Straightforward Progression Great Character Variety |
Fast-Paced Gameplay
The game is very fast when it comes to combat. Even its whole gameplay loop is fast enough where grinding isn’t immediately unfun. You’ll have to learn how to dodge and block attacks from enemies to create opportunities for your offense. The difficulty of the game also doesn’t suffer too much as while the early parts are a breeze, the boss battles and quests become increasingly difficult to reward the player for using the game’s mechanics.
Simple and Straightforward Progression
The progression in the game isn’t rocket science. You can strengthen your character via upgrading your weapons and "Sigils" which are similar to modifiers. You can also strengthen them by doing various "Fate Episodes" which are side stories that increase that specific character’s stats. Lastly, you gain Mastery Points by doing quests in order to upgrade and unlock your character’s exclusive passive and active abilities.
Great Character Variety and Character Design
The skyfaring crew already has six different characters to choose from, but what if you add even more to the mix? The result is a wonderful mix of vastly different characters with different abilities to round out your party composition. With more than 15 characters to choose from, there’s no shortage of having someone to choose and main. Each character has a different moveset, and learning how a character plays is both satisfying and fun as they play vastly different from one another. Some characters are quick and light on their feet, while others are heavy and come across as a juggernaut in the battlefield.
Cons of Granblue Fantasy: Relink
| Things That Granblue Fantasy: Relink Can Improve |
|---|
|
Background Lore Will Need Reading Might Get Forced to Play Other Characters Finicky Camera |
Background Lore Will Need Some Reading
While I did say that the Fate Episodes were a great way to introduce a character’s personality and how they tie into worldbuilding, they’re mostly just voiced expositions of the character’s backstory and motives which may not be everyone’s cup of tea. It’s good that they reward people for reading these with stat upgrades as I understand it may get boring for other people to sit through these.
Might Get Forced to Play Other Characters
If you’re someone who wants to play just a single character, you might want to learn a different one when it comes to harder difficulties as well as for elemental advantages. The damage increase for using an advantageous element is huge, and will make certain encounters a breeze to get through. However, you can still use your favorite character, albeit at a reduced capacity since you’re doing suboptimal damage.
Finicky Camera
One gripe I had about the gameplay was the camera and the lock-on jumping around. While the latter could be fiddled with in the settings, the camera was something I had to wrap my head around quite a bit. There were some moments where you’d want to turn your camera in big encounters since it tends to move around with you or get stuck in a certain place. This could definitely be just a skill issue, but I can’t deny it being an annoying part of the game.
Is Granblue Fantasy: Relink Worth It?
Great with Friends, Wait For Sale If Solo.
The game’s co-op aspect lets you just mess around with your buddies and whack some monsters. It has a variety of content that you can play ranging from quests, characters, and the story to keep you busy. However, playing alone might get you bored after finishing the main storyline and personally I don't think it's enough to justify buying just for the story. It’s a great game to have mindless fun, which is the most important thing in video games.
| Digital Storefronts | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Steam |
 Playstation |
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| $59.99 | |||||
Granblue Fantasy: Relink Overview & Premise
Granblue Fantasy: Relink is a world where floating islands are scattered across the ever-expansive blue sky, appropriately dubbed the "Sky Realm." A skyfaring crew is on an adventure to discover the fabled island, Estalucia, which is said to be far beyond the edge of the known skies.
Eventually, they come across the Zegagrande Skydom, a group of islands protected by creatures with powers unimaginable. The plot gets thicker as the skyfaring crew gets tangled in a web of mystery and conflict within the Zegagrande. Together, they must fight for their survival and for the Sky Realm’s fate.
Granblue Fantasy: Relink FAQ
How Many Playable Characters Are There in Granblue Fantasy: Relink?
It’s confirmed to have more than 15 characters at launch, featuring Gran’s crew as well as the additional characters that you have to purchase using an in-game ticket to add them to your party.
How Do You Unlock the Other Playable Characters in Granblue Fantasy: Relink?
To unlock these characters, you must have a "Crewmate Card" to trade to Siero and choose a character from the list. To get more of these Crewmate Cards, you will need to progress through the story or farm some from specific quests as rewards.
Granblue Fantasy: Relink Product Information
 | |
| Title | GRANBLUE FANTASY: RELINK |
|---|---|
| Release Date | February 1, 2024 |
| Developer | Cygames Inc. |
| Publisher | Cygames Inc. |
| Supported Platforms | PC(Steam), PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 |
| Genre | Action, Adventure, RPG |
| Number of Players | Single-Player (1), Online (1-4) |
| ESRB Rating | ESRB Teen |
| Official Website | Granblue Fantasy: Relink Official Website |
