After a long six years, the Gunpla themed hack-and-slash returns, this time with a worldwide release! However, people weren’t expecting much after the disastrous previous installment, New Gundam Breaker. New Gundam Breaker failed horribly to appeal to fans with its restrictive customization, but Gundam Breaker 4 revives the older games’ mechanics, drawing back long-time players. However, is that enough to satisfy fans who have craved a worthy sequel since Gundam Breaker 3’s release in 2016? This Gundam Breaker 4 review explores the game’s customization, gameplay, and whether it’s worth it for Gunpla fans.
Gameplay review
Unlike New Gundam Breaker, Gundam Breaker 4 (GB4) follows most of its gameplay and mechanics from GB1,2 and 3, bringing back the freedom of customizability and adding even more freedom to customization. In terms of its gameplay, the game seems to go back to the older games as well. It puts the player in an arena to fight AI-controlled enemies alongside AI teammates or real players. Compared to the older ones, the gameplay feels a bit more repetitive and too easy for some players. Grinding for parts and upgrade pieces is a hassle and the AI teammates aren’t as good in combat as the previous games leading to a sort of solo experience with AI teammates being nothing but extra targets for enemies. There are occasional boss battles but they also aren’t anything special, not much planning is needed just attack, and not much variation among bosses as well.
Screenshot of the gameplay
Story review
Aside from that the game also has a story that is quite similar to the 3rd game, where the entire in-game universe is just a game, and the character’s avatar is their own created builds (Mobile Suits). The story goes with some villain planning to destroy the game so it’s up to the player and the supporting cast to try and stop that from happening. Although it was also nice to see some of the older characters return in this one it was also quite boring as it had a similar story to GB3 which for older players is kind of a let down. The characters in the story also feed a bit bland and generic which could affect people’s perception of the story.
Screenshot of in-game story cutscenes.
New and returning features
Freedom of customization is back and better than ever. GB4 arguably has the best customizability out of all games in the series. Following the freedom of customizability from GB3, players can now resize parts to make more unique combinations compared to previous installments however some aspects of the customization is quite difficult to grasp as the game still fails to explain some skills, abilities and buffs forcing players to find out what they do for themselves. The game now also features a diorama mode where players can create dioramas of their favorite or even their custom mobile suits. Overall, while the gameplay and story seemed to have fallen short of the player’s expectations with a familiar story and repetitive gameplay, however, the customizability is the best out of all previous installments which is a plus allowing players to create even more unique builds.
Screenshot of the customization screen in-game and diorama mode
More than just a game
Although the gameplay isn’t the best, customization is the best it has ever been, with the developers adding more and more new content into the game, players would be able to mix and match more parts, and it could also act as a place for players to express their creativity, people in real life may have ideas on what custom builds they want to make however lack the skills to do it in real life, this is where the game comes it, it allows players to express their creativity in creating custom builds without the need to go buy multiple model kits in real life and it also saves them money from spending on those kits. The game may also act as a testing ground for custom builds, players could use the game to test certain builds before trying to replicate it in real life.
Conclusion
In conclusion, although GB4 isn’t a successful as GB3 I firmly believe that the game extends more that just its gameplay. Most reviews target its repetitive and boring gameplay but I believe that the gameplay isn’t everything. Creating custom builds and diorama is something that I enjoy in the game, expressing my creativity and sharing it with others in the community. So in the end the game is quite decent, a fairly average gameplay with an average story and lots of room to express ones creativity. I would recommend people especially those who are into Gunpla to give this game a try especially if there’s a discount going on as this game for me isn’t worth the $60 price tag.
For more details on upcoming updates and official announcements, visit the Gundam Breaker 4 official website.