Echoes of Aincrad

Having English VO in a Sword Art Online game is awesome, and we need more of it. This is the first thing you read because it matters that much to me. Alejandro Saab and Kieran Regan in particular did amazing jobs. So did everyone else, but those two in particular went above and beyond in my eyes. TL;DR: Good game with flaws. With a bit of more time in the oven it could've been great. I hope we get another in the series. Feels like the dev team really do care for the source material, and did try, but didn't have enough time and experience to flesh things properly. They got pretty close though. I'm gonna keep this as spoiler free as possible and sort it into sections. Story: 7.5/10. I liked it, but it feels like it was cut short of dev time. Ends on a cliffhanger that I hope gets resolved. Ideally in another game so that it can get the treatment that I think this dev team can give it if allowed to by the publisher. The characters could feel flat at times, but elements of them are great. Character quests for our party companions would've been a great addition that is sorely missing, (they exist for original SAO characters like Asuna and Kirito, so it's not that they can't.) Or dialogue within safe zones similar to Fatal Bullet. It's also weird how some characters just disappear from the story only to show up and do/say one thing. You'll know what I mean if you play. -0.5 for the silent protag. At least give me actual dialogue options like Fatal Bullet or Integral factor. Combat: 6.8/10. I don't feel I can give it a full seven due to how 'normal tier' enemies are handled, but I struggle to think of a way it could've been done differently without becoming tedious. I don't think there is a perfect solution with the current method they use for encounters. It also feels like there is a point where the game balancing fails and you just become stronger than it expects, even without an absurd of extra leveling. Attack clarity is also sometimes an issue. Souls-like, if a bit derivative. It's not flashy, and felt a little clunky to get used compared to others in the genre. Has attack commitment which can be an adjustment if you are used to more flowy combat, but does feel fine once given time. At times bosses will adds swarm you to the extreme. That's no fun, but can get the blood pumping. I really enjoyed the final boss in particular. Very Hard felt reasonable to me, but I wouldn't ever even bother with the Death Game modifier with how some enemies can cheese you sometimes. If you do, maybe externally back up your save in case. Art direction: 8/10. It's starting from a great base with SAO, and no matter your thoughts on UE5, it is visually impressive, certainly the best looking game in the SAO franchise, which usually languish on actual fidelity despite good art. The characters look good, the enemies look good, the world looks amazing (read Exploration for more on that.) Exploration: 5/10. Yes, it's Aincrad floors 1 & 2, (About 30%-40% of each) but it's not an actually open world. It's quest based zones within a (fairly well designed) map. There are already mods to fix this, but I do kinda understand why they made this decision as the world is pretty linear. While I said it's fairly well designed, it is also incredibly empty save for enemies. Not much to do other than admire the impressive setpieces and terrain. The chest loot is usually only battle items or a blueprint for a weapon you already have 20 of cause it drops so often from mobs. Only rarely will you find a blueprint for armor. This disincentivizes exploration in a game that sorely needed more reasons to do it. Another sore point of this is dungeons. Yes, they are randomly generated, but the loot is equally lacking and there are not enough rooms for the generator to pull from so they all end up feeling the same. Pro tip, ignore every enemy and run north. You'll find the next level pretty quick. This is more an issue in gaming as a whole, but Echoes of Aincrad suffers from it bad so I have to mention it; if you hit a button or kill a boss that unlocks something, the game makes sure to give you a 3 second long cutscene so you know about it, even if you're right next to it. A voice line would've been less intrusive and done the job better. It also sometimes doesn't give you enough of the souls-like stable shortcuts and sidepaths. Weirdly the second floor was better about this? Character Creation: 5/10. It's acceptable for what it is. Lacking a way to alter your character later. More options would also be nice. Armor transmog is enough to make up for this slightly. P.S. Do the side quests, one on the first floor will take you to an area that will have you wondering why the main story never took you there because of how well made it is.