Granblue Fantasy: Relink
I went into Granblue Fantasy: Relink knowing almost nothing about the mobile game that preceded it, and found myself unexpectedly in love with its breezy sky pirate backdrop, crunchy combat, and streamlined structure. The game is split up into discrete missions designed to be endlessly replayed as you chase better scores, rewards, and end-game resources, and I can’t say the story left a very deep impression on me beyond the broad strokes of its heroic saga about fighting the evil empire and the powerful magic forces maneuvering beneath its surface. And that’s all fine. It nails the vibes and has a grand sense of scale, all while not getting in the way of the main attraction: big boss fights with slick and rewarding real-time action combat complete with MMO-like party synergies. — Ethan Gach
