Granblue Fantasy: Relink review

Our VerdictRelink offers fluid combat against inventive bosses in gorgeous landscapes—this is an essential ARPG.

Our Verdict

Relink offers fluid combat against inventive bosses in gorgeous landscapes—this is an essential ARPG.

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An airship crew with an unquenchable thirst for exploration flying through an endless sky: Granblue Fantasy has always had the perfect setting for an RPG, but the original mobile game only hinted at the wide open breadth and potential of its sunny world. Relink fully owns that potential, expertly capturing the feeling of going on an epic adventure with an upbeat bunch of friends. Verdant islands magically float within a sea of fluffy clouds, lush dappled forests brim with life, and mighty beasts practically beg for a heroic party to come and vanquish them.

Need to knowWhat is it?A popular long-running F2P mobile game brought to glorious ARPG lifeExpect to pay£49.99/$59.99DeveloperCygames, Inc.PublisherCygames, Inc.Reviewed onIntel i9-13900HX, GeForce RTX 4080 (laptop), 16GB RAMMultiplayer?YesSteam DeckUnsupportedLinkOfficial website

Need to know

What is it?A popular long-running F2P mobile game brought to glorious ARPG lifeExpect to pay£49.99/$59.99DeveloperCygames, Inc.PublisherCygames, Inc.Reviewed onIntel i9-13900HX, GeForce RTX 4080 (laptop), 16GB RAMMultiplayer?YesSteam DeckUnsupportedLinkOfficial website

Relink is a spectacular game.

I loved it even though I haven’t been diligently keeping up with the F2P mobile game’s story over the past decade. No knowledge of Cygame’s long-running hit is expected or required. This action RPG, which I can enjoy alone or cooperatively with friends, sets sail for new lands filled with new friends and new enemies—the only thing anyone really needs to know is where to point their party’s swords and spells.

The bigger they are… the harder they hit(Image credit: Cygames Inc)

Granblue Fantasy Relink

Was I really going to have to make a mad dash up its temporarily prone body?Yes. Was I seriously going to get thrown high into the air afterwards, and have to slide vertically down the same arm cannon I just saw casually obliterate an airship—while it’s still firing?Yes.Was I practically vibrating with excitement while finally standing face-to-face with its vulnerable core, more than ready to finish the damned thing off?YES. If the smile I’d been wearing for the previous 20 minutes had got any bigger, I’m sure my face would’ve split in two. I was in action RPG heaven.

Dishing out a few blows of my own was even more satisfying than perfectly dodging an attack that looked undodgeable. Some characters' combos will do more damage with proper timing, and special moves can open up new attack opportunities, grant temporary invincibility, debuff enemies, or rapidly close the distance. And even though the game only has two basic attack buttons, fighting as a sword-swinging hero is nothing like taking control of a mage, gunslinger, or even another kind of sword-swinging hero. Every character’s personal quirks and unique skill trees make them stand apart.

Image1of4Relink’s action feels as good as it looks(Image credit: Cygames Inc)Here comes the pint-sized pain(Image credit: Cygames Inc)Bosses only come in two sizes—massive and enormous(Image credit: Cygames Inc)It wasn’t ice to meet this frozen skeleton(Image credit: Cygames Inc)

Image1of4

Relink’s action feels as good as it looks(Image credit: Cygames Inc)Here comes the pint-sized pain(Image credit: Cygames Inc)Bosses only come in two sizes—massive and enormous(Image credit: Cygames Inc)It wasn’t ice to meet this frozen skeleton(Image credit: Cygames Inc)

Relink’s action feels as good as it looks(Image credit: Cygames Inc)

Granblue Fantasy Relink

Here comes the pint-sized pain(Image credit: Cygames Inc)

Granblue Fantasy Relink

Bosses only come in two sizes—massive and enormous(Image credit: Cygames Inc)

Granblue Fantasy Relink

It wasn’t ice to meet this frozen skeleton(Image credit: Cygames Inc)

Granblue Fantasy Relink

Between the long list of characters and their even longer move lists, Relink is practically begging for extensive testing to find out which skills work best together in each character’s four skill slots. There was a danger Relink’s emphasis on combat would end up overwhelming, all the fun buried under layer after layer of intertwining systems. Thankfully concise explanations for absolutely everything are never far away: every menu is designed to give me as much information as possible with the least amount of effort.

The game soon settles into a comfortable loop, a gorgeous hub of a town offering shops, sidequests and a counter allowing me to take on a selection of increasingly difficult trials, some personal to specific characters, some designed to crush anything other than a finely tuned offline party or a coordinated group of online friends. Outside the hub, the story doesn’t waste time, dropping me off exactly where I need to be: either an enclosed battlefield or a tightly choreographed path full of monsters leading up to one. No matter where I was in the main story or the further adventures beyond it, it always felt like there was a world of exciting experiences just waiting for me to grasp them.

Image1of3Relaxing scenes offer a nice break from the otherwise nonstop action(Image credit: Cygames Inc)Battles pop up organically on streamlined maps(Image credit: Cygames Inc)Special moves should always begin with a dramatic pose(Image credit: Cygames Inc)

Image1of3

Relaxing scenes offer a nice break from the otherwise nonstop action(Image credit: Cygames Inc)Battles pop up organically on streamlined maps(Image credit: Cygames Inc)Special moves should always begin with a dramatic pose(Image credit: Cygames Inc)

Relaxing scenes offer a nice break from the otherwise nonstop action(Image credit: Cygames Inc)

Granblue Fantasy Relink

Battles pop up organically on streamlined maps(Image credit: Cygames Inc)

Granblue Fantasy Relink

Special moves should always begin with a dramatic pose(Image credit: Cygames Inc)

Granblue Fantasy Relink

I honestly enjoyed every moment of Relink, and once I finished the main game the combat encounters blossomed into something even more wonderful than they already were. The designers clearly felt free to focus on creating tough trials for the sort of person still eager to battle even after the credits rolled. I want to wring every last delicious drop out of it, and play it again purely for the pleasure of getting to spend more time with it. Action RPGs this good should be praised to the skies.

The Verdict90Read our review policyGranblue Fantasy: RelinkRelink offers fluid combat against inventive bosses in gorgeous landscapes—this is an essential ARPG.

The Verdict

90Read our review policyGranblue Fantasy: RelinkRelink offers fluid combat against inventive bosses in gorgeous landscapes—this is an essential ARPG.

90Read our review policy

Granblue Fantasy: RelinkRelink offers fluid combat against inventive bosses in gorgeous landscapes—this is an essential ARPG.

Granblue Fantasy: Relink

Relink offers fluid combat against inventive bosses in gorgeous landscapes—this is an essential ARPG.

More about granblue fantasy relinkGranblue Fantasy: Relink doesn’t really start until it’s finished, and its incredibly generous endgame puts other RPGs to shameGranblue Fantasy: Relink is February’s surprise banger, shifting 1 million copies in under 2 weeksLatestCruel is a frantic run-and-gun shooter where you boot cultists out of windows in a cursed apartment block that wants you deadSee more latest►

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Granblue Fantasy: Relink doesn’t really start until it’s finished, and its incredibly generous endgame puts other RPGs to shameGranblue Fantasy: Relink is February’s surprise banger, shifting 1 million copies in under 2 weeks

Granblue Fantasy: Relink skeleton

Granblue Fantasy: Relink doesn’t really start until it’s finished, and its incredibly generous endgame puts other RPGs to shame

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Granblue Fantasy: Relink is February’s surprise banger, shifting 1 million copies in under 2 weeks

LatestCruel is a frantic run-and-gun shooter where you boot cultists out of windows in a cursed apartment block that wants you deadSee more latest►

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Cruel

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Our Verdict#

Our Verdict