| GUNDAM BREAKER 4 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gameplay & Story | Release Date | Pre-Order & DLC | Review |
GUNDAM BREAKER 4 continues the series’ gunpla-building gameplay with an entirely new story and various other improvements. Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well , and if it's worth buying.
GUNDAM BREAKER 4 Review Overview
What is GUNDAM BREAKER 4?
GUNDAM BREAKER 4 continues the franchise’s hack-and-slash looter roots, this time with a fresh coat of paint and Diorama Mode to boot. Players can customize their gunpla to their heart’s content and take them out for a spin against hordes of enemies just begging to get mowed down. And when all the fun is done, why not pose your nifty new robot for an awesome action shot using the game’s new Diorama Mode?
GUNDAM BREAKER 4 features:
⚫︎ Real time action combat
⚫︎ Clan battles
⚫︎ Parties with up to three players
⚫︎ Hundreds of different gunpla parts to collect
⚫︎ Independent control over left and right armaments
⚫︎ Seasonal events
⚫︎ Online co-op
For more gameplay details, read everything we know about GUNDAM BREAKER 4's gameplay and story.
| Digital Storefronts | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Steam |
 Nintendo eShop |
 PlayStation Store |
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| Price | $59.99 | ||||
GUNDAM BREAKER 4 Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Entry Friendly Great Gunpla Assembly Experience Farming Isn’t Tedious At All |
Tiresome Stages Abilities Take Time To Learn It's A Gauge Management Simulator |
GUNDAM BREAKER 4 Overall Score - 68/100
GUNDAM BREAKER 4 is a shockingly acceptable and genuine sequel to the acclaimed Gundam Breaker 3. However, that does not mean it is exceptional by any measure. In fact, the entire product feels too risk-averse to warrant any special attention. The only aspects in its favor are the Gundam Breaker series’ Gunpla assembly feature and its commendable audio. Otherwise, it is an unremarkable mecha game that feels more suited to the past than as a modern sequel to one of the best Gundam games released in the past decade.
GUNDAM BREAKER 4 Story - 7/10
Most of GUNDAM BREAKER 4’s early game is narratively driven. The story itself is quite decent with ample Dot Hack and AVENGER (the anime by Bandai) vibes, along with the usual "friendship is power" cliche. And while the themes used in the story are all of the same, predictable ones you would normally encounter in games that want to take no risks, they do their jobs well enough to make the experience decently entertaining.
GUNDAM BREAKER 4 Gameplay - 7/10
While GUNDAM BREAKER 4 has done a lot of work in order to make its gameplay feel that much more dynamic, the limitations it imposed on itself unfortunately makes the entire experience feel subdued at the very least. Sure, the freedom of being able to use your arsenal independently makes you feel as if you have more control, but the terrible mobility controls and all the gauge management seems like it’s trying to force you to keep your feet on the ground. And by then, what’s the point of playing a mecha game? Well, at least the gunpla assembly is still great and the farming won’t make you grind the same stage for a dozen hours.
GUNDAM BREAKER 4 Visuals - 6/10
It’s amazing how much of an eye candy a custom gunpla could look like when you have free reign over its design. The thick visual effects recognizable by any Gundam fan from halfway across the world also does an amazing job of communicating what kind of game you’re playing. Every character is also charmingly overdesigned, which is typical of the franchise. It’s just too bad that every single map, including the main lobby, looks like they’ve been pulled straight out of a museum. Fights also tend to congest the screen with too much information due to how many enemy mobile suits the game tends to throw at you. Plus, the graphics as a whole feels like we’ve time traveled back to the PS3 era.
GUNDAM BREAKER 4 Audio - 8/10
Awesome Japanese voice acting? Yup. Great background track that doesn’t interfere with the gameplay and sound effects? It has that, too. Classic Gundam sound effects that really don't sound like what those weapons might sound like if they’re recreated in real life? Of course. Practically everything about GUNDAM BREAKER 4’s audio is great aside from the less-than-stellar English voice acting and the random cuts of silence courtesy of our voiceless protagonist.
GUNDAM BREAKER 4 Value for Money - 6/10
Despite how much of an improvement GUNDAM BREAKER 4 is compared to the previous series titles, its asking price of a cent short of $60 is still a pretty big ask for what it offers in its entirety. While Gundam fans might not complain much, it’s a difficult game to recommend to newcomers due to the existence of more polished mecha games that are far cheaper than GUNDAM BREAKER 4, or even offered for free. Plus, you would have to pay for the appropriate online subscription in order to access its networking features, such as a Nintendo Switch Online membership for Switch users.
GUNDAM BREAKER 4 Review: Shockingly Acceptable
I’m not gonna lie. When I launched the game from the Switch’s home screen, I was fully prepared to face yet another disappointing release. The Gundam Breaker series really fell off after Gundam Breaker 3 with the release of New Gundam Breaker and Gundam Breaker Mobile. The former was a laughably bad, half-hearted slop, while the latter was just a gacha cash cow—and that is saying something considering my general addiction to gacha games.
At least the Gundam Breaker Battlogue Original Net Animation (ONA) was funny.
By the time I got to GUNDAM BREAKER 4’s (GB4 from hereon) opening cutscene, I'd already lost faith that the Gundam Breaker series would ever get back on its feet. I even scoffed at the narrator’s claim that the new system had "rabid support" from its fans.
So imagine my shock when I found that GB4 isn’t that bad of a game. In fact, it was shockingly acceptable. Review title drop.
Yes, that’s right. Unfortunately, "decent" is as much of a compliment as I could give the game at its current state. To put it bluntly, the game as a whole feels quite "mediocre," While there’s nothing wrong with its risk-averse story and well-designed audio (except for its English voice acting), its visuals, combat, and pricing leave much to be desired and pulls everything else down with them.
The most obvious problem with GUNDAM BREAKER 4 is its graphics. We’re already in the year 2024 paying for the game with a $60 price tag plus additional fees for networking features, at least on consoles. Hence, there is no reason whatsoever that the developers would release a game that looks like it had been created during the early 2010’s with its dusty textures and smoothened polygons.
This lack of visual appeal only adds to the irritating abundance of gauges present in the game. Not only did they add more since Gundam Breaker 3, they even had the gall to arrange them such that they looked like they pulled them straight out of a fighting game. And for what? Just so you can fire your gun for three seconds longer?
Oh, and the controls are terrible, too. Like, you need to let go of the joystick just so you can fly into the sky? Can’t they just lift off mid-dash? Truly baffling.
Fortunately, it’s not all doom and gloom. GD4 at least has great gunpla customization features that’s aimed to streamline the experience and reduce the grind. The voice acting is also excellent as long as you toggle the voice language to Japanese. However, none of these pros outweigh their cons.
And the worst part is that the developers and publishers are charging us $60 for this game, which doesn’t even include the subscription fees for online service. That is insane.
But hey, it’s still much better than New Gundam Breaker at least.
Pros of GUNDAM BREAKER 4
| Things GUNDAM BREAKER 4 Got Right |
|---|
|
Entry Friendly Great Gunpla Assembly Experience Farming Isn’t Tedious At All |
Entry Friendly
Despite being the fourth game in the series (if you pretend that New Gundam Breaker and Gundam Breaker Mobile don't exist), it’s extremely easy to get into GB4. This is because, even though the story picks up after the events of the two aforementioned games that might not exist, as well as that of Gundam Breaker 3, GB4's prologue clearly establishes that it begins in an entirely different setting compared to the previous games.
As you continue playing, this sense of independence becomes increasingly apparent due to the game’s almost complete lack of references to prior titles. Thus, GB4 might be the best title in the series to start with, particularly if Bandai Namco decides to continue the series from this point rather than, for instance, releasing a potential New Gundam Breaker 2.
Please, don’t.
Great Gunpla Assembly Experience
GB4’s gunpla assembly system provides unprecedented freedom and flexibility in getting players to create their own mecha without stepping into the chaotic wilderness of, say, Custom Mech Wars. With its expansive list of gunpla parts spread across a staggering ten different categories, the game allows you to piece together your favorite mobile suit or create a real Frankenstein’s Monster.
Heck, you can even mix and match different melee and ranged weapon types to find out what combination works for your playstyle the best.
The Farming Isn’t Tedious At All
Because parts drop mostly at random, you might be disappointed when you obtain a part that you need, but at lower rarities or levels. However, fret not, for GB4 isn’t a game that makes you rely entirely on luck!
If you receive low-rarity parts or ones with undesirable abilities (or, more often than not, both), certain items and features unlocked later on will allow you not only to raise their rarity but also to fuse parts to transfer useful properties. In other words, there is merit in keeping what you might initially consider terrible drops for future use. This also reduces the amount of farming required to create your perfect Gunpla.
Yes, that’s right! No need to spend hundreds of hours trying to get the perfect part for your Wing Zero Endless Waltz mobile suit to cosplay as your favorite unhinged protagonist!
Cons of GUNDAM BREAKER 4
| Things That GUNDAM BREAKER 4 Can Improve |
|---|
|
Tiresome Stages Abilities Take Time To Learn It's A Gauge Management Simulator |
Tiresome Stages
If you approach GB4 expecting a wide variety of gameplay modes, then you’ve come to the wrong place, at least early on. Due to the need to unlock features by playing through the story mode, you will find yourself constrained to a highly monotonous format of battling multiple waves of enemies and being teleported around, with nothing changing except the difficulty level.
To add to the issue, stage designs vary only in appearance and size. Otherwise, most stages can be differentiated simply in terms of where the terrain bulges up or down and by how much. In other words, almost no stage requires specific strategies to complete, which greatly intensifies the feeling that you are simply repeating the same actions repeatedly as you farm for parts.
The stages also appear as if they belong in an entirely different era, with poor textures and highly visible polygons. In fact, UC Gundam Engage, a mobile game released a few years ago, arguably has better-looking stages than this.
Abilities Take Time To Learn
If there’s one thing I would like GB4 to implement more than better stage designs, it’s definitely the addition of tooltips in order to familiarize yourself with the game’s terminologies. While most can be learned on the fly, the abilities of parts are much more difficult to get your head around. Like, what the hell does "Reaction Speed: Performance Lv.1 1.00%" even mean?
Yes, there is a Play Guide (glossary), but none of the part abilities are explained there explicitly. Plus, it’s hard to see the difference in performance when the modifiers of these abilities are usually in the single digits. This inconvenience makes building gunplas, particularly in the late game, quite troublesome unless you read a guide somewhere else and commit the details into memory.
It's A Gauge Management Simulator
How are we already in 2024 and still trying to limit what several dozen tons of metal and rocket fuel can achieve? Yes, realism is good, but there will always come a point where too much of it ruins the point of even piloting the canonical result of engineering reaching its peak. And on that point, GB4 has gone way past that and into the realm where you’d probably fare better in combat with a jetpack and a Glock.
The main issue lies with all of the gauges you need to manage in order to fight. It has not only increased from Gundam Breaker 3 (I’m still pretending New Gundam Breaker doesn’t exist), but they also made it look much worse. Now, the gauges just look like they came straight out of a fighting game. Compare that with Gundam Breaker 3’s much more aesthetically pleasing and unobtrusive gauges, then the criticisms speak for themselves.
Attention is a resource, and having to split up your precious attention to different parts of the screen only does the game more harm than good unless you’re a chameleon.
Is GUNDAM BREAKER 4 Worth It?
Quite Expensive, So Wait For A Discount.
$59.99 is quite a steep price to pay for this game. Plus, the game requires the appropriate subscription to access its network functions, such as Nintendo Switch Online for Switch players. However, anybody who enjoyed Gundam Breaker 3 would probably also enjoy its real sequel. It’s a good title to start the series with for any newcomers interested in gunplas in general, and it’s also a bit more accessible than Gundam Breaker 3, particularly if you don’t have a PlayStation. But at the very least, try to wait for a discount.
| Digital Storefronts | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam |
Nintendo eShop |
PlayStation Store |
|||
| Price | $59.99 | ||||
GUNDAM BREAKER 4 FAQ
Does GUNDAM BREAKER 4 have co-op?
Yes. A lot of GUNDAM BREAKER 4’s lategame content is focused on online interactions, including seasonal events and such.
Does GUNDAM BREAKER 4 have gacha or lootboxes?
No, GUNDAM BREAKER 4 has no gacha or lootboxes unless you count the crates that drop various parts.
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GUNDAM BREAKER 4 Product Information
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| Title | GUNDAM BREAKER 4 |
|---|---|
| Release Date | August 29, 2024 |
| Developer | CRAFTS & MEISTER Co., Ltd |
| Publisher | Bandai Namco |
| Supported Platforms | Nintendo Switch |
| Genre | Action, Shooter |
| Number of Players | 1-4 |
| ESRB Rating | PEGI 12 |
| Official Website | GUNDAM BREAKER 4 Website |
