this is a draft, i'm not sure if i'll ever compose this properly

Reviews are typically meant to reflect the games per se, but some games blur the line on whether they are designed to be enjoyed as a single player component with multiplayer tacked on or in this case, a multiplayer game with a single player aspect tacked on.

Writing this review on this site for this particular game wouldn't have happened should I didn't choose to participate in the community and found some kindred souls who share the passions and lead me to this particular point, writing this review. As such, this review is for those occupant of the valley of the damned community, past and present who have been an inspiration ever since I got to know them all.

For those who just want the opinion on the game itself: it's good. Is it a masterpiece of a storytelling? No, however there is much that you can take and enjoy, albeit its flaws. If this was just a single player game, I would have rated it 4/5 without a doubt.

Now, the reason this is a banger is due to how they designed the game. I've heard CyGames initially wanted to do console games, but was lacking in funds hence they turned to the only thing they could do at that time, a mobile game. Less said about my disdain for any gacha game is better, but seeing the GBF community having their own community build without being gatekeeping their knowledge has been a pleasure to see as well as a relief that I don't have to excoriate the gacha game at all.

Rarely you see a community like GBFR forming. We strive to assist players who are stuck. It's fun to see them struggle because it reminds us of back when we struggled. Some of the fights are still being touted as the toughest fight. We joke that GBFR is the only community where we hunger to help other players when we are bored with the game. Above all, the funniest aspect of the game is that how they brought the entire concept of grinding to the death from the gacha game to this single player game. There's no indication there will be any PvP and no P2W mechanics.

Seeing this game pop up on the PlayStation showcase, something tugged on the strings of my heart: knowing it was going to be a grindfest and not a small part of me desired to jump back into a game that gives you the same satisfaction in grinding to make your character stronger just like how the JRPG of the old days used to. Admittedly, as per the inside joke amont the mobile and the new Relink community, the grind never ends, from the memes and the arts that has been popping up. Not withstanding the amazingly fun community, the grind feels rewarding, while at times can be a little exhausting. The community effort to datamine adding to the plethora of information from the mobile players spruces up the whole fun level in engaging with the community when playing the game.

I meant to write how the game affected me and how I see it affect others, but I got sidetracked. Nevertheless, the game is great when you engage with the community. When I have more creative juice flowing in me, perhaps I might return to adjust the review to reflect better of my feelings of it. But until then, I have grinding to do!