Echoes of Aincrad Review – Familiar, Fun, and Frustrating

Echoes of Aincrad Review

Echoes of Aincrad is the latest video game set in the Sword Art Online universe and is the first one to shed the ‘Sword Art Online’ title from its name. As soon as the game was revealed to be taking place in Aincrad, there was a buzz about experiencing the in-world MMORPG from a new perspective. Personally, I’ve enjoyed portions of the Sword Art Online universe, and the first arc, where this game occurs, is easily one of my favorites. However, does distinguishing itself from the overt Sword Art Online branding and giving what seems to be what players have been asking for work out in the end?

The game begins during the beta portion of Sword Art Online, which is a little before when the anime series starts. This gives players a bit of a sense of the world rather than simply throwing you in. As the “reveal” takes place very early on in the anime, it was nice to establish the characters beforehand. The beta portion introduces your character along with some friends, both new and familiar. It sets the stage by introducing the world of Aincrad as well as the overarching game. After the beta period, the game launches and its true nature is revealed.

Perma Death

The game’s death-game announcement occurs, revealing that players are now unable to log out until the game’s completion. Additionally, characters will look like their real-life counterparts, and dying in-game will cause death in the real world. Players will then navigate this new perilous world with a cast that differs from the source material, but includes familiar characters.

Overall, the game does a decent job in setting up the narrative. While I felt like the prologue, aka the beta test, was a bit tedious and lengthy, it does help with worldbuilding. Going through a bunch of tutorials while mentally navigating your newfound fate could have been a bit disjointed. The game does well in establishing a narrative that runs alongside the original story. However, it is hard to separate knowing how things end. The game relies on a nostalgia element, and the story overall isn’t as engaging as an established fan would hope for. That said, you don’t need to know a lot about Sword Art Online to enjoy Echoes of Aincrad. It helps in understanding the world, and there are familiar characters, but newcomers are welcome.

Loot Loop

The game’s primary gameplay loop involves quests, combat, and exploration. We’ll cover the quests and exploration first; where the gameplay falters most is in this aspect. Most of the quests have the same structure: receiving a quest, entering an area, fighting enemies, activating a safe area, repeat, then defeat a boss. While this isn’t abnormal for this genre, the lack of an actual explorable world is a bit disappointing. Additionally, I felt like these maps, which have very specific objectives, were often much too large. While a large map size is fine, I spent way too much time just trying to get to an objective.

The game’s combat is perhaps the highlight, aside from the overall atmosphere. Players are able to choose from six weapon types: one-handed sword, two-handed sword, rapier, dagger, mace, and two-handed axe. Each weapon type has its own pros and cons, giving players the ability to choose how they play. The gameplay is further personalized by a companion to bring along, giving choice between companions.

The combat itself is pretty typical for an action-roleplaying game. You have your light and heavy attacks as well as special attacks and special abilities used with your companion. While it is a pretty simple affair, it is still pretty fun. What brings it back down, though, is that the enemies are pretty similar throughout. A bit more variety would have been appreciated, but Echoes of Aincrad’s enemies were still consistent with the original material.

MMORPG-Lite

Whether the game shines the most is in its atmosphere, which is anchored by its aesthetics. Despite being an “anime” game, the game doesn’t lean into that aesthetic as much as one might expect. Of course, the character designs lean towards the anime look, but the world is unexpectedly (in a pleasant way) realistic. For whatever reason, I felt Elder Scrolls vibes while exploring the world, but in a purely atmospheric way. This actually lines up with the world’s Aincrad being set in a realistic-ish fantasy world. Despite taking place in an MMO world, though, the game feels unexpectedly lifeless.

Echoes of Aincrad had the makings of being the Sword Art Online game that people have been waiting for. While it made strides in the right direction, the game shed the “anime game” feel but now wears a “generic RPG” badge. While I enjoyed my time in Aincrad, I wish that the game made it easier to enjoy, especially in the beginning. Echoes of Aincrad is easily one of the better Sword Art Online games, but that still isn’t saying too much at this point.

*** A PS5 review code was provided by the publisher ***