Sword Art Online Aims for the Widest Audience Yet and Succeeds

Sword Art Online has had more than half a dozen video games for console and PC. The somewhat niche franchise has never really felt like it has hit the mainstream or that any of the games have managed to break out to a wider market. But Echoes of Aincrad does. While still set within the universe, a number of key story decisions and rock-solid souls-lite gameplay make it approachable for almost anyone and quite a lot of fun.

As someone who has never played a game in the series, Echoes of Aincrad is a fun RPG that draws from a lot of different influences, even if it isn’t necessarily rewriting the history books or doing anything particularly unique.

Locked In

Sword Art Online’s premise is that within the universe, it is a VR MMORPG that players log in to, complete quests in, and fight monsters. Echoes of Aincrad is set during a beta test of the MMORPG, and you begin your journey playing with your friends and discovering what the game has to offer.

But, before long, an evil force takes over the test and prevents you and your friends from logging out. It forces you to fight against enemies and explore the surrounding world, as well as the collection of floors that comprise the titular castle Aincrad.

It’s a rather simple premise but a solid one, and the unique setting of being in a game within a game feels rather novel, especially as someone who hasn’t touched the Sword Art Online series before. But that might not be the case for those who are more familiar with it. While the story doesn’t really surprise, the simple goal of clearing Aincrad is an enticing one and kept pulling me along.

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While the story won’t blow your socks off, it’s a hook that will encourage you to reach the top of Aincrad itself.

In fact, the writing can be quite witty, as there are a lot of timely and on-the-nose references to the state of game development and how games are released today that I quite enjoyed as someone who has worked in the industry for almost 10 years. One example is a character referencing that “games always give you the best gear first, so you think you are stronger than you are” - a nod to the state of pre-order bonuses and exclusive gear that most games feature these days.

As mentioned in my preview, Echoes of Aincrad is very clearly trying to pitch itself as a standalone experience, minimizing the references to the wider Sword Art Online universe to ensure it is a good jumping-in point. It is definitely successful at doing that, as I never felt overwhelmed by lore or references, or like I was watching an anime and missed out on about two seasons’ worth of context.

Removing Sword Art Online from the front of the game’s name helps, but in reality, the story structure, the digestible, easy-to-understand combat, and the game’s explorable open world do most of the heavy lifting.

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Echoes of Aincrad does a lot to justify its positioning as a jumping-off point.

Budget and Beauty

Another point I made clear in my preview is that you can clearly see the budget that Echoes of Aincrad has been given. The game is full of aspects that show Bandai Namco has gone the extra mile here and clearly tried to ensure it didn’t feel like another anime game, but its own standalone RPG.

Some of this is shown in the UI and menus, which don’t feel or look like a textbook UI or something that has been slapped together quickly, evoking the idea that you are pulling up the menu within the MMORPG itself rather than Echoes of Aincrad’s actual pause menu. The UI will shimmer or shine during key moments, which gives it a premium feel, and the game is full of delightful visual effects in combat.

The world is gorgeous, leaps and bounds beyond some of Bandai Namco’s other recent RPGs. Aincrad and the surrounding open world are beautiful, full of rich, fauna-filled landscapes, and impressive architecture. My one critique is that a lot of that world feels familiar in the sense that you aren’t seeing many regions, dungeons, or areas that don’t feel like they could be found elsewhere. There are the old caves, grasslands, sandy areas, etc. But you can make the argument that Echoes of Aincrad being set within a game itself means it is going to opt for the most familiar locales.

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Echoes of Aincrad’s landscapes and visuals are one of the strongest aspects, as it has a premium shine few anime tie-ins have.

While the open world is visually impressive, I do wish exploring it felt a tad bit more exciting. The game pulls from a lot of different titles; there are aspects of Ubisoft open worlds here with towers (safe areas) to activate, as well as the recent The Legend of Zelda games with beams of light shooting into the sky that draw you to areas. But, beyond some basic treasure chests, boss enemies, and items, there isn’t much to find that will surprise you, which is a shame.

Sword Art Soulslike

On the combat side, it very quickly becomes clear that Echoes of Aincrad is a soulslike, or souls-lite, as the systems aren’t quite as deep and intricate as others in the genre. The game signals this early on, but the gameplay feel of the genre is there from the very first steps you take inside the MMORPG.

As such, you can expect an approachable and simple suite of combat options, with around a half-dozen weapons to choose from, each with its own movesets, special moves, and abilities. The game’s upgrades are also virtually identical to anything FromSoftware has made, with six stats to boost your health, stamina, dexterity, strength, etc, as well as weapon proficiencies that enhance your moveset with each weapon type the more you use them.

There is armor, weapon crafting, consumables, and resources to collect in the open world. It is all extremely familiar but robust enough that none of them ever feels meaningless.

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Threats linger in Aincrad and the surrounding land and not all are as easy to defeat as they look.

Combat also benefits from a collection of companions that have their own moveset, and performing successful parries or stun attacks allows you to collaborate with them and perform powerful special abilities that will often shave off a huge chunk of health. The combat here isn’t really anything fresh or different from other soulslikes, but it’s enjoyable, and I never got bored of it, especially as your moveset deepens throughout the game.

You can also sever enemies’ limbs and chop them in half, a key mechanic for boss fights that changes them as they progress, as they learn to adapt to fighting without a leg or only having one arm. Limb severing is the most exciting part of the game’s combat and feels like the major standout aspect that gives Echoes of Aincrad something to claim as its own.

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Limb Severing is the standout combat hook, and it always looks cool, even if the slow-motion effect it creates can get a bit repetitive.

I will say that the caveat to this enjoyable combat is that the difficulty here is all over the place. Some bosses feel far too easy to defeat, with their health being depleted in just a few hits, especially with a companion by your side. Others can feel much tougher, and you will often find enemies in the open world that are at the same level or just one level higher take much longer to defeat than some of those bosses.

Echoes of Aincrad is a really good, sometimes great action RPG. Bandai Namco pitching this as a jumping-in point for Sword Art Online and making it approachable has done wonders. The budget given to Echoes of Aincrad is almost always on display, and it doesn’t ever feel like a filler RPG made to just get another game out in the series. Robust and strong combat, with a gorgeous open world, helps make it a fantastic experience, even if it is never quite doing anything you haven’t seen before.