Granblue Fantasy: Relink – Endless Ragnarok as an update provides plenty of new content and improvements, such as crossplay, in the mix. While this is great for players returning for the DLC itself, the lack of story, maze of menus, difficulty, and sheer repetition make this a hard pick for anyone else. Progression is also byzantine to the point players may waste hours of time only to find out they’re still underleveled and have to grind even more resources in the hope of even hitting the level cap.
2024’s Granblue Fantasy: Relink follows Granblue Fantasy Versus and the original Granblue Fantasy, containing many of the same characters but in a different locale. The Captain and crew of the Grandcypher arrive at the Zegagrande Skydom, and adventure ensues. An Action RPG with mobile game roots, it isn’t shy about embracing them. Mastering tough encounters, grinding for improvement materials and specific sigils, and recruiting new crew members form a gameplay loop. The postgame is where most players spend their time – with up to three other players on quests. While I could see the appeal of these long, drawn-out battles that are highly punishing and speccing out a fully leveled character, I find that I just don’t have the time or inclination for MMO or mobile game grinds anymore – especially when I have to do the fights ad nauseum. Gran & company stop Lilith and Bahamut Versa over the course of the base game, and that is where the Endless Ragnarok DLC resumes the story.
Granblue Fantasy: Relink – Endless Ragnarok implements some welcome quality of life changes, new characters, an increased level cap, and the new summon system. Summons are probably the biggest hook to Endless Ragnarok, beyond new playable characters Beatrix, Eustace, Fediel, Gallanza, Maglielle, and Fraux. Summons range from the fearsome foes you’ve encountered, allies, and more from both the base game and DLC. Unfortunately, Summons are awkward at best, and stat boosters at worst. As a majority of this content is high level and hard as nails, trying to awkwardly pilot an Evyl Blackwyrm who takes entirely too long to strafe, or missing your attack because the boss has made itself untargetable or teleported somewhere you can’t see, really makes this one of the worst implementations of summoning I’ve seen. While summons do provide sorely-needed invincibility, bosses in Endless Ragnarok move far too much and require such rapid responses that even using a summon could signal the end of the fight for you.
Endless Ragnarok also features The Conflux, a new roguelite mode that lets players gear up more easily, as earlier versions of The Conflux are meant for lower-level players. While The Conflux provides some much-needed variety for the sheer amount of grinding players will need to do to even consider Endless Ragnarok’s toughest encounters, it ultimately doesn’t make this a more attractive package to all but the most engaged. For players who finished the base game and are ready for Endless Ragnarok, there is a strange dichotomy of roguelite choices not actually mattering. This is better than if the roguelite perks were useless or detrimental, but as an advertised mode to draw players who finished the base game and are ready for Endless Ragnarok, it doesn’t move the needle. The Conflux also does not award MSP, the specific experience points needed to level after reaching the level cap. This creates a tension for players because while The Conflux does have rewards and its own progression system, with how grind-heavy Endless Ragnarok is, it may make more sense to just attempt the normal quest system, as you can also use other players’ assigned backup characters, making it easier.
Granblue Fantasy: Relink is gorgeous and continues to be so in Endless Ragnarok. Bosses flood the screen with dangers for you to dodge. I do mean flood because you may want to consider turning down particle effects in battle to help survive the many projectiles bosses lob at the player. I also found it inconsistent what a boss’ instant kill move was – while using the Full Assist Mode in Story Mode, I would still find myself dying to seemingly random moves. Most Endless Ragnarok bosses have an extremely telegraphed instant kill move or two, but other times I would have to learn the hard way that sometimes dragon breath is lethal and sometimes it isn’t. The half-hearted accessibility features are also another big reason why Endless Ragnarok isn’t a good starting point for completely new players. I can’t tell if story mode difficulty no longer applies in Endless Ragnarok, or if the accessibility features as a whole need to be overhauled; I ran into numerous DPS check bosses who had no qualms about sending me back to town. While MMO or gacha game players may be accustomed to the game’s progression and flow, much more needs to be done to guide players. While the game does have a wish list, you’ll want a guide, wiki, or a friend to help you make sense of all of it. The game even refuses to tell you where to find one of the last items you need in Endless Ragnarok, Hexachrome Quartz, until you find it (or use a guide). This is on top of overall progression being split into so many areas it reminded me of when gacha games live so long that their jury-rigged systems take an expert to explain. For instance, I did not realize your entire weapon collection, even when unequipped, benefits the player greatly and should be upgraded when possible. Also, as a new player, I thought one of the first things I should do was to get to the level cap, but the game does not even allow that until you’re dozens of hours into the DLC.
There is not much story that’s been added with Endless Ragnarok, so I hope you enjoy very large boss health bars and dodging lethal attacks every couple of seconds. You’ll also encounter tougher versions of the same enemies, sometimes in different elemental schemes. These elaborate fights are often interspersed with the boss going invincible, becoming untargetable, and forcing the player to perfect dodge. With the amount of grinding players have to do, more variety in these fights and the ability to skip mid-fight cutscenes would’ve shaved off both time and frustration. While I understand this is a co-op experience, this has been solved in other games and could easily be a menu option to opt into. These types of artificially drawn-out battles remind me of my MMO and mobile game days, and in going back to these styles of battles, I would have preferred tighter, shorter encounters.
Mediocre
The Final Word
Granblue Fantasy: Relink – Endless Ragnarok brings more of what’s in the base game, and not much else for new or returning players. As a co-op experience, I could see Endless Ragnarok as a group of up to four friends game of choice, especially with crossplay implemented, but the generic fantasy characters, repetition to a fault, and lack of any clear guidance make this hard to recommend. The accessibility features still put the responsibility in the player’s hands, making me question why this is even offered beyond as a tool for players looking to learn bosses. I don’t consider binging CBS’s Cold Case while keeping a hand on the controller to grind for hundreds of hours a peak gaming experience anymore, but maybe you need a new podcast game, and Granblue Fantasy: Relink – Endless Ragnarok might be a good fit.
