The Granblue Fantasy: Relink demo is out now for PS4 and PS5. Everyone can pick it up and give it a try! The Relink demo has a taste of the early part of the main campaign, a combat tutorial section, and some co-op side quests. Nonetheless, it is a very short experience at around three hours to complete everything. Players should be aware that the saves do not carry over to the full release beyond the rewards received for completing it.
We completed the demo on the PS5 and what we found here was a world teeming with fun and surprisingly varied characters and mechanics. Japanese developer Cygames has put its all into Relink… and the demo shows great promise of that!
The world feels great
The setting and characters immediately jump out in the main story portion of the demo. For those unfamiliar with Granblue Fantasy, the world is set in a Skydom comprising many floating islands. The demo is very light on the actual story beyond fighting some enemies and saving townsfolk, but the world is beautifully represented and animated. There is color and life here in what reminds me of the art styles of Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Tales of Arise brought together. Characters are animated with care and respect for the source material, and it’s great to see the background skies and floating islands populating this environment. There is a good sense of scale and wonder to it.
Exploration is a key part of this world, and the demo shows items that can be collected, as well as hidden objects. In some situations, Gran, our demo protagonist, must collect items to unlock special chests within a set timer. This makes for a great shift in the pacing of exploration as you will occasionally run across fields and do some fun platforming. Animations and movement are very smooth to back this up.
Besides presentation, character interactions are another highlight of this demo. I was pleasantly surprised to see how much characters interacted during battle and outside, often teasing one another and commenting on their history together. There is a sense of camaraderie, which I love to see as a means of providing backstory. For those who haven’t already watched it, I recommend the Granblue Fantasy: The Animation first seven episodes that you can now watch for free on the Cygames YouTube channel for a limited time. These episodes serve as a great introduction to the main characters, which will no doubt enhance your experience of Relink.
Gameplay is fun, accessible, and surprisingly deep
I didn’t know what to expect of the Relink demo gameplay going in. I had seen developer videos, true. However, my first experience of the gameplay was surprising — in a good way. That’s because the gameplay is fun, fast, accessible, and can be surprisingly deep.
Button mashers will feel satisfied with the fast combat as they chip away at the enemy HP. Those looking for more depth will be able to try out different characters with unique skills. A link attack system is present. This is a simultaneous full-party attack that increases the stun gauge on enemies. Once the link level reaches 100%, another successful link attack triggers Link Time, which temporarily slows down all enemy actions while granting players beneficial status effects. Players can also chain Skybound Arts, which are special character attacks dealing heavy damage, into a properly timed Chain Burst. This Chain Burst aftershock will deal the most damage to enemies and will help your party stay alive. Each character also has their own special elemental damage and weakness — Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Light, and Dark — to spice things up.
The three co-op demo side missions are the playground for the gameplay. Here, we recommend you experiment with up to 11 different characters and their unique skills, with more characters to come in the full release. Characters like Gran and Katalina are perfect for players that like hybrid styles focusing on sensible damage output coupled with healing support. Others looking for more challenging gameplay styles may consider the heavy DPS-oriented Charlotta, Siegfried, and the stance-switching Narmaya. If ranged DPS is your preference, then sit back and let Rackam and his trusty gun cause mayhem. And this is just scratching the surface of what you can try! Regardless of how you choose to play, these experiences feel very rewarding.
Some questions remain
There are several questions we have after playing the Relink demo. The PS5 Performance graphics mode is locked at a 60fps and 1080p resolution. While the demo gameplay is very smooth and the framerate is solid, we hoped for a slightly higher resolution, perhaps aided with dynamic upscaling. This is especially noticeable given that Relink is a cross-gen title with PS4. We hope to see more graphics options in the full release.
The gameplay is fast and satisfying. However, we noticed particle effects sometimes overcrowding the screen during big fights and especially during the co-op side missions. This is, of course, up to player preference since the particle effects really add to the on-screen action. We would appreciate a settings option to toggle the intensity of these combat effects.
The very short campaign demo also does not reveal much about the actual story. Will it be a standalone story in the franchise? Will it be a retread of the main story we’ve seen in the browser game and anime? Based on the developer Cygames description, we are inclined to go with the latter. In that case, Relink may prove to be a great introduction to the Granblue Fantasy series for new players.
There exists a world where islands of all shapes and sizes float in a sea of clouds. It is a world forsaken by the gods.
Once upon a time, people known as the Astrals attempted to seize control of this world with their overwhelming might,
but the citizens of the skies repelled the invaders, thus ushering in a new era of peace.
Living on a little-known island in a remote part of the skies, you find a letter left behind by your father telling you to set off for a legendary island. However, before you leave, you meet a mysterious girl named Lyria, inevitably setting the wheels of fate in motion.
Granblue Fantasy: Relink shows great promise. We think Cygames has been hitting all the right notes with Relink, from the colorful world and engaging characters to the fun and accessible gameplay. Relink launches February 1. After what we experienced with the demo, we wouldn’t be surprised if Granblue Fantasy: Relink turns out to be one of the best games 2024 has in store.
