How do you follow up on the disaster that was 2018’s New Gundam Breaker? Well, in the case of Gundam Breaker 4, you simply return to the basics, and remind yourself of what made the series so much fun in the first place. This sequel goes out of its way to keep things focused: you grind out missions, collect parts, beef up your suit, and repeat the process to a point where you start obsessing over the most minute details of your gunpla’s design. Gundam Breaker is back, baby!
There is a story to follow that involves making friends and besting comical rivals in a virtual reality Gundam game, but the plot’s really just a vehicle for all of the hack and slash carnage that’s perpetually unfolding. To be fair, though, some of the characters are quite endearing, and the writing’s pleasantly concise — which is a must in a title that places such an emphasis on its addictive gameplay loop.
And boy is it addictive. Granted, it takes a few hours to get properly stuck in as you’ll have to charge through a slew of story missions in order to unlock optional battles, but once you’re hooked, you’re hit with a constant barrage of rewards. Parts, paint jobs, avatars, emblems — it never ends, and so you start spending more and more time customising your precious mech.
The customisation is insane, by the way. While you can settle for just clicking new bits and pieces to your gunpla, more creative players can resize entire body parts and equip crazy accessories. The depth on offer is truly nuts.
Fortunately, the core combat system that backs all of this up is good fun, if a little lacking in impact. With a huge range of weapon types, builds, and special skills to experiment with, the appeal of battle mostly stems from being able to play however you like. And for this reason, online co-op can be a blast, as you gawk at the creations of other players.
Gundam Breaker 4 is a return to what the series does best. It doubles down on its core gameplay loop, offering hours upon hours of fast-paced grinding, topped off with impressively deep customisation and build options. Repetitive, but undoubtedly addictive.