Relayer review

Showcasing a plush blend of Japanese popular culture, Relayer references the intrigue of Space Battleship Yamato, the giant, fighting robots of Macross, and the turn-based battles of countless strategy role-playing games. If you’re looking for Super Robot Wars-style action, this may not have the crossover appeal of Namco Bandai’s franchise but it’s definitely got the combat and customization.

Visual novel-style storytelling is one of gaming’s most effective expositional methods. Chiyoda-based Kadokawa Games clearly understands this, using the technique for rich storytelling across tiles like Root Letter, Demon Gaze, and God Wars. Like the latter game, the recent PlayStation 4 and 5 release of Relayer blends verbose conversations with gridded, turn-based strategy. But instead of using one of Japan’s oldest mytho-historical documents for inspiration, Relayer leans heavily into the twentieth-century culture, extending an intricate tapestry of juicy melodrama. This is a game that understands that conflict needs to happen both inside and outside of armored suit.

Set in the year 2049, civilization has begun to colonize space. But their efforts inadvertently draw the attention of the Relayers, a force consumed with bringing the universe to an end. Initially, the game’s storyline seems to serve as a warning of humankind’s reckless ambitions. But instead, it becomes a complex chronicle of revelations, broken allegiances, and motivations. Once some of these are revealed, expect your stance toward a specific character or faction to be challenged. While the writing team employs a few familiar tropes, they largely shun tidy moralities. Like any respectable space opera, most of the game’s cast demonstrate some ethical shifts, making for an absorbing narrative.

By the Power of the Stars!

Relayer’s main character is Terra, the Starchild of Earth- a group committed to the perseverance of our world. This naming convention is used throughout the game and you’ll eventually encounter other Starchildren who are represent the major bodies of our solar system. Sure, it seems a bit contrived at first, but as any Sailor Moon fan will tell you, it makes for quick and easy way to delineate the members of a large cast. Yes, they’re all part of the same group, but they each have their own distinguishing traits. At its best, Relayer explores the oft-conflicting tensions between individual ambitions and the goals of a larger group.

When we first meet Terra, she witnesses a Gravity Loss- a devasting Relayer attack that sends everything falling upward into space. Here, Terra is clutching the hand of her sister, Luna (a moment that also appears at the beginning of Crystar) But her grip breaks, separating the siblings. For the next two years, a small red robot named Yodaka serves as a surrogate, evidenced by the playful banter between them. Within minutes of starting the game, players learn that Luna is not deceased by is working with the Relayers. What follows is about fifty solid hours of pulpy plotline, that excels at telling personal stories amidst a potboiler comprised of clashing factions.

But that’s not to say the plot is perfect. Occasionally, Relayer sabotages its sense of tension, with a joke or quip that can seem too since. While people can make irrelevant jokes under pressure, these retorts seem intended to produce a chuckle rather than revealing a coping mechanism. Occasionally, the actions and responses border on the implausible. It doesn’t happen often, but there are a few plot holes that threaten an otherwise well-told storyline. It can be difficult to follow the actions and motivations of a large cast. But the use of visual novel-style storytelling assists, allowing players to follow the conversations of different factions, even when Terra isn’t directly involved.

Living On the Grid

When it comes to combat, Relayer sticks to turn-based tradition. The result are accessible battles, although hardcore strategists might find conflict to be a bit too familiar. Sure, there is plenty of pre-engagement planning, permitting players to change weapons, amor, shields, and chips on their Stellar Gear suits. Unsurprisingly, playing the game on higher difficulty settings intensifies the need for meticulous managerial duties. Guiding the pacing of confrontation is a graph showing turn-order, with units having a high Agility stat earning priority over others.

Each of the different unit types play a specific role in battle. Since any enemy within firing range can counter your attacks, you’ll probably want to strike melee-based foes from afar, and rush units outfitted ranged weapons. To do this, Relayer provides you with sword-carrying Assault types, ranged Snipers who can potentially one-shot foes, Tanks than can draw the attention of adversaries, and Scouts that typically provide support skills such as healing. The game also allows for positional techniques. Situate Stellar Gears on both sides of an opponent and you can execute a ‘Back Stab’. A bit of additional nuance is rooted in the weapons systems, with armaments dispensing physical or gravitational damage. One thing you’ll need to watch is your ‘Aggro’ statistic with enemies hunting down your most antagonistic Gear.

Arriving at the Crossroads

As your units preserve, they’ll gradually level up. Adhering to the game’s theme of astronomy, you’ll unlock skills on the game’s Star Cube, which resembles a giant map filled with constellations. Each unlock represents a celestial node providing active and passive bonuses, stat boosts, and even new skills. Continue opening enough stars and you’ll eventually arrive at Grand Crossroads, compelling players to pick a job-like specialization for their Gear. Additionally, you can purchase or even loot weapons and equipment for your units, allowing you to truly tailor your tactical approach.

As you journey through Relayer’s campaign, you’ll discover two issues. The first is that there aren’t many different types of undertakings. Although a defensive or escort mission could have meshed with the game’s plot points, all too often you’re tasked with merely defeating enemies. And that factors into the second grievance:  you’ll have seem much of what Relayer has to offer long before the final credits. The best SRPGs stagger substance to help deliver a reward in the game’s final hours. While there’s an expositional payoff, battles grow a bit stagnant by the game’s halfway mark.

Similarly, the game’s animations are stimulating at first but gradually lose their luster. Sure, the Gear Gear designs are universally great, looking like MG (Master Grade) gunpla models. But before long, you will have witnessed all the pre-canned cinematic sequences.

Conclusion

Relayer’s Japanese dialog is adept, employing the talents of both notable and emerging voice actors. And while publisher Clouded Leopard should be commended for a global release, the English dubbing is rather lackluster. Not only is there a notable discrepancy in audio quality but direction can be off, with actors sporadically emphasizing the wrong word. Oddly, the post-game content lacks any voice acting, which is jarring after expectations have been set. Fortunately, the game’s text has been editing since the release of the demo, minimizing the number of grammar blunders and inconsistent capitalizations.

Despite a few blemishes in the variability of combat and in the game’s storytelling, Relayer comes recommended. The two core components, visual novel-style exposition and turn-based battles feed into each other quite adeptly. While it’s habitually engaging to watch giant robots duke it out, Relayer never forgets about the ambitions of each individual inside the suit. It’s a better game for it.

Relayer was played on PlayStation 5 with
review code provided by the publisher.