The main attraction for Granblue Fantasy: Relink is its thrilling combat mechanics. Before leaving all of the game's development duties to Cygames, PlatinumGames (Bayonetta, NieR:Automata) worked on the game for a bit to provide their expertise in the area of impactful & exciting combat. That aforementioned studio's previous work is evident in just how great the combat looks and feels. I never grew bored of taking the fight to cannon fodder enemies and big brutes because of how fine-tuned this game's playable roster is. Every party member has a fun signature playstyle that gives you a reason to swap between them right in the middle of a story mission. Pulverizing foes with Ghandagoza's heavy punches, clearing the way for your friends with Vane's sweeping combined spear-ax, and trapping multiple foes in an area-of-effect spell with Io point to those moments during a battle that feels so fulfilling. Mindlessly hacking and slashing isn't a thing here, thankfully - you'll have to keep track of when to use your special attacks, watching their meters refill before you can use them again, using the "Perfect Guard" & "Perfect Dodge" mechanics to gain the upper hand with stat boosts, being notified of the chance to land a "Link Attack," when to activate your "Skybound Art" to further lead into a catastrophic "Chain Burst, etc.
Granblue Fantasy: Relink is split up into two major parts - its single-player campaign and online co-op missions that range in difficulty. I ended up loving the main campaign because it wasn't too lengthy when you consider the average time sink JRPGs require of its players and also because of how enthralling I found its plot to be. When you factor in just how extraordinary the main campaign's bosses are (that fight in the desert against the towering "Maglielle" must be seen and played to be believed!) and the high stakes attached to putting an end to the evil machinations of a powerful cult, you have even more reasons as to why Granblue Fantasy: Relink's story is such a great time. My only issue with that portion of the game is the sometimes unreliable behavior of your AI partners. While they're effective when it comes to staying on the offensive, they tend to lose all common sense when it comes to being properly defensive. I lost count of how many times I had to stop what I was doing to revive my crewmates because they decided to stand in the highly telegraphed attack radius of an enemy. Moments like that one left me wishing that the online co-op option was also applicable to the game's main campaign.
