Gundam Breaker 4 Review – Robotic Monstrosities

Gundam Breaker 4 on PS5

I was pretty sure the series was done after New Gundam Breaker was poorly received in 2018. It was a bad start when that was the first Gundam Breaker title with an actual Western release. However, much to my surprise, Gundam Breaker 4 was revealed during a Nintendo Direct in February. Fortunately, this release didn’t disappoint, and I’ve finally been given the next mainline Gundam Breaker game I had been holding out hope for.

Instead of being part of the larger Gundam universe, the Gundam Breaker games focus on the Gunpla aspect, encompassing all the model building. In this universe, all gameplay is part of an arcade game. None of the games connect aside from that central theme, but Gundam Breaker 4 provides a bit of evolution to the formula.

The newest Gunpla game in Gundam Breaker 4 has been released as an MMO and is much more accessible. In-universe, the game you’re playing is titled Gunpla Battle Blaze: Beyond Borders, and it’s currently undergoing a beta test. All characters call it “GB4” for short, and I can’t tell if that is to help keep things straight or just be silly. Through the story, you meet new characters who share a love for Gunpla and battling. With them, you form a clan (separate from one you can make with actual players online) and take on more challenging fights.

You can undertake several mission types; the most prominent ones will continue the story, which is broken up into chapters. However, progressing through those gets you Quest missions that are, among other things, variations on the normal ones. These can be quite different, as the first one available is a Pac-Man crossover that has you collecting dots to fight off approaching enemies.

Story missions (and quests) follow roughly the same pattern throughout the game. Each one consists of three ‘Waves’ that take place in small-ish areas. Every mission has some direct objective, such as point defense or full enemy group elimination. There are only so many objectives, and things quickly get repetitive, but it never felt tedious. The missions are about 10-20 minutes and never seem to drag on, especially if you have the perfect build to tear through enemies.

The story isn’t anything spectacular, but it’s perfectly fine as a filler between missions. Instead, the highlight of any Gundam Breaker is all in the building. You start the game with a basic Gundam/Mobile Suit model, but you can quickly make it your own as you collect parts from fallen enemies. The game includes almost every model the series has ever had, so you can eventually hunt down your favorites.

The building itself is nicely straightforward. All parts are universal, so any legs, head, etc., can fit at any time. Certain parts (Bearguy) are comprised of several sections in one when equipped, but those are rather rare. One of the biggest changes is that arms aren’t a set pair as legs are, which I wasn’t always keen on. It can be annoying when you get a great left arm to drop, but your right arm drops are still lagging behind.

Things have progressed so far with Gundam Breaker 4 that it’s not only standard parts you can find. There are also SD Gundam (basically miniature versions) that show up in the game whose parts you can get. The best part is how out of place these look on HG (high-grade, 1/144 scale) models if you wanna get crazy. These never really worked with how I wanted to spread my stats, but it at least means you can make your own unique SD models.

Gundam Breaker 4 also does something brand new: it allows for dual wielding. In the past entries, you could equip only one melee weapon and one ranged weapon. You can switch things up more than ever and make your loadout whatever mix of melee and range you wish. They are used independently, drastically enhancing combat flow, and it’s probably my favorite change.

On PlayStation, your left-hand weapon is Square, and the right is bound to Triangle. This brings out the hack-and-slash action to an excellent degree. For instance, you can carry a lower-damage weapon in one hand and bring something stronger in the right for a heavy hit during an attack combo. There are many different ways to combine weapons that makes even normal loot feel especially fresh.

Building isn’t the only way to put your mark on your creation, either. There are extensive painting and customization options to adjust things to your liking. If you want to make your current suit shiny and metallic, the only challenge might be if you also want to make it blue or some other random color. I’m not much of a decorator, but I might fiddle with a weapon or a random piece of equipment if the mood strikes me.

The beauty of Gundam Breaker is that you don’t need to be a fan of the larger Gundam franchise to get plenty of enjoyment out of it. It scratches the itch of an action game and a loot game all in one, and I can’t seem to get enough. At heart, it’s still a game all about making the wackiest robot you can that still absolutely shreds through enemies, and I think that’s amazing.

Gundam Breaker 4

The beauty of Gundam Breaker is that you don't need to be a fan of the larger Gundam franchise to get plenty of enjoyment out of it. It scratches the itch of an action game and a loot game all in one, and I can't seem to get enough. At heart, it's still a game all about making the wackiest robot you can that still absolutely shreds through enemies, and I think that's amazing.

Pros

• Massive amount of included suits and parts from the larger Gundam franchise.
• New dual-wielding build options.
• Combat feels nice and fluid.
• Collecting parts always feels exciting.

Cons

• Arms being separate categories can make any build feel kind of lopsided if RNG isn't on your side.

A copy of this game was provided by the publisher for review. Reviewed on PS5.