izigame.me

(Note: I played the free edition for about 135 hours before buying the full game.)
Let me start by saying that I blow chunks at fighting games. Its a genre I've never been able to get into. I've always liked Smash Bros. (I'm still not amazing at it by any means) but that's about it. But I loved Granblue Fantasy: Relink (Relink was my first Granblue game) and I saw that this game had a free version so i figured that there would be no harm in at least trying it out. At first I was going to just play this game for maybe a few hours just so I could say I tried it....... I then proceeded to play the free version for 135 hours and now I bought the full game when it went on sale. While I'm still not good at this game by any means, I'm still having a lot of fun with it and will absolutely keep playing it for the long term. I appreciate this games attempt to be more accessible to newcomers of the genre; with some practice I feel like I can actually control the game, and I like the option to turn the technical commands on or off (maybe when I feel more comfortable with the game I'll turn on the technical commands). I also like that there's a variety of extra content that isn't just fighting. there's things like the story mode, grand bruise legends (which is a Mario Party/Fall Guys like mode that's goofy and casual), a survival rougelite mode that was just added in the 2.0 update, and other mini games in the open lobby online mode; it all helps keep the game feeling fresh and makes the game fun to just hang out in. I can't say anything about the balance of the game since I'm not an expert (what even is a 66L, why not just call it dash attack), but if recent patch notes are anything to go by, Arc System Works is listening and making attempts at balancing. Most of the DLC is just cosmetic stuff (the only exception being the character passes of course) so if they seem expensive, they can be safely ignored. So if your still on the fence about this game, try the free edition; its one of the best free things I've seen in a long time. I can safely say as someone who is usually not into fighting games, this is the most fun I've had with a fighting game since Smash Bros. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go play some more; I have to make sure I'm a worthy vassal for Percival, and I need to make sure Nier is doing okay.
Update: Thanks everyone for the support. I didn't think this many people would see my review. I'd like to take the opportunity to say a few more things.
Firstly, the free version is now including DLC characters in its rotation. That's pretty cool.
Secondly, as far as measuring the player base goes, don't take Steam Charts to literally, there are a few more factors to consider. One, all players of the free version still play with everyone else. Two, there's crossplay with the PS4 and PS5 versions. Thirdly, the open lobbies are region free. All of this helps ensure you can find people at anytime of the day.
Thirdly, this game does do battle pass content from time to time, but they are starting to reintroduce old rewards either as in game unlocks or paid DLC. Speaking of which I know the steam store page can be intimidating with its total price of DLC; just remember some of it is bundles and is not actually what everything would cost, just make sure to do some research before buying any of it.
Well if I think of anything else I might add it later. Thanks again everyone.