Mario Bautista
Gundam Breaker 4 (PC) review: You don’t have to be a fan to love this Gundam game
As someone entirely new to the Gundam franchise, playing Gundam Breaker 4 was an intriguing yet happy experience altogether.
Gundam Breaker 4 is a fighting role-playing adventure game that takes you to the virtual world of Gunpla Battle Blaze: Beyond Borders, where players will find themselves building and battling with giant robots called Gundam or Mobile suits (again, I’m not familiar with the Gundam universe remember). I was able to check out the game for myself and see the cult surrounding Gunpla.
The TL;DR version:
Gundam Breaker 4 takes you on a journey where grinding and customising your Gundam is all you do within the game. Yet, the game feels ever so unique with over 200+ Gundam parts to grind for.
Note: Gundam Breaker 4 is available for play for S$79.90 on multiple platforms including the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4/5, and PC via Steam. Links to purchase the game can be found on the official Gundam Breaker 4 website here.
Shoot, Slash, repeat
At its core, the gameplay revolves around hack-and-slash combat. You’ll find yourself in various arena-style battlefields, tasked with the objective of destroying enemy robots or protecting a target. Overall, the combat is fast-paced and can be exciting, especially when you’re dashing, hovering, and flying around with beam sabers or a barrage of gunfire. At first, the missions can be fun but over time, it turns repetitive as it often comes down to the same objectives but with a different setting. Available for play on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and 5, and PC (which was my platform), I have to say that when playing via mouse and keyboard, the controls and UI experience of the game can be overwhelming and finicky at first. When changing between ranged and melee, the character model does not change instantaneously and it will be difficult to tell if you are fighting closed combat or ranged.
Besides the battle difficulties, when comparing the camera lock-on to that of Elden Ring or Rocket League, the game’s auto-targeting system is rather poor and it can be difficult to lock on to your intended target if there is another enemy in front of it. Hopefully, a future patch will allow players to customise this system. For example, by allowing to change “target higher HP enemy first”.
Gundams look great. The rest, not so much.
The stars of the show, the Gundam models, look great within the Photo mode and during gameplay. The robots are well-detailed with an impressive amount of care to look similar to their physical counterparts. Besides the models themselves, the game also incorporates the boxes they supposedly came from in the game during battles. This adds a nice touch of authenticity to the game and shows just how much detail has been put into developing the Gunplas.
However, while the Gunplas look ever so glorious, the environment and stages are less impressive. They serve their purpose as battle arenas but lack the same level of detail and polish as the Gundam models. Even with my game settings set to the max, there was not much in terms of graphics within the game environment that stood out to me or left an impression. It would have been nice to see the Gundam models being supplemented with equally detailed stages.
Interesting game plot
Where you’ll spend most of your time is completing the story mode to get more gear and progress through the game. With five chapters available in the game (there is also a DLC that can be purchased), you play as a newcomer to the virtual Gundam battle simulator, meeting new players and forming a team with the goal of climbing the leaderboards.
As the story progresses, mysterious glitches start affecting the simulator, adding a layer of intrigue to the plot. While the story isn’t all too deep or complex, it serves its purpose in providing context for the battles and customisation that form the core of the game.
Once you complete the story mode, there are various difficulties that you can do again which will reward you with more of the game’s currency and Gundam parts. The currency is then used to upgrade the rarity or level of your equipment.
So many Gunpla to choose from
The equipment system and Gunpla customisability are where Gundam Breaker 4 truly shines. The game offers an incredibly deep customisation system allowing players to mix and match parts from over 200 different Gundam models. From head to toe, to the weapons and special abilities of the Gundam, the game is a fantasy come true for many Gundam aficionado.
As you progress through missions, you’ll collect new parts, which you can then use to create your own unique Gundam. The system is intuitive and fun to use, giving players the freedom to create wild combinations or recreate classic designs. You can even adjust the colours and fine-tune the positioning of the parts on your Gundam.
Besides your own Gundam, you can also create dioramas within the game. From the weapons to the positions, you can create your very own diorama and share them to friends.
The customisation doesn’t stop at just the looks as the different parts come with unique special abilities and stats, allowing you to tailor your Gundam’s performance to your playstyle. However, this can sometimes lead to a conflict between aesthetics and functionality, and you might find yourself using parts you don’t like visually just for their combat capabilities.
You don’t have to be a Gundam fan to play the game
All in all, Gundam Breaker 4 is a game that clearly knows its audience by catering heavily to fans of the Gundam franchise and model kit enthusiasts. For newcomers, the deep customizstion system and fast-paced combat can be engaging, but the repetitive mission structure and somewhat bland environments might become tiresome over time.I feel that the game’s greatest strength lies in its extensive Gundam customisation options, allowing players to go crazy in building their very own unique Gundam design. While the story and environments may not be the best, they provide a serviceable backdrop for the robot-destroying action that takes place first and foremost.
If you’re interested in the idea of building and battling with customisable giant robots, Gundam Breaker 4 is the game for you and even offers a solid entry point into the world of Gundam. Just be prepared for a learning curve as you take in the sheer amount of parts and Gundam models available.
