Echoes of Aincrad

Fun game, love the play style. I would like to see the creators add dual-sword but I understand that play style was strictly only used by Kirito. It would still be fun to use in the game based on some peoples preferences of playing a speedy character versus a heavy hitter with 2H weapons. Additionally, I would say one improvement for the game is the ability to change gear and swap out items at the checkpoints. Having to stop in the middle of a quest to return to town to change items and restock in painful. Lastly, the creators should make the game truly open world and allow you to explore the maps without have to start a quest just to do so.

I don't normally write reviews but here we go. Game play wise the game is super fun even if it isn't a fully open world game. There is still plenty to explore. I'm not very far into the plot at the moment but I've still played a good 26 hours so far, this includes the time I spent in the Demo. I have three complaints about the game. 1. Sometimes they put the safe area that unlocks your map data at the end of the area you just ran through, meaning you have to back track to get the chests you missed and chests are important because they hold recipes for gear to craft. 2. The agro range of the NPC you have with you is stupidly large, so you'll be running around and they'll just run off to go kill things so far away you don't even know where they are. 3. Sometimes enemies can spam the same ability over and over and juggle you to death. It's really frustrating when you can't even stand up because the moment you get out of the knocked down animation the enemy just hits you with it again right away and nothing you do can stop them. Outside of those three problems I've been really enjoying the game itself. What drew me to it was the fact I didn't have to play as Kirito and the fact you don't have to power grind every npc friend you have to keep their levels par with your own. I know they got rid of that at some point but I know it was a big struggle for me in one of the games to keep everyone leveled up because it warned me if they weren't leveled up they could die. Not a big fan of that kind of responsibility in my game, like level yourself you lazy npcs.

This game is the kind of bad that will leave you endlessly frustrated and annoyed. If Aincrad really was designed like this then its a wonder anyone made it further than the third floor, ever mind the mid-seventies. Enemies swarm you, you have precious little AOE; allies are so braindead I'd hoped for a solo mode instead of having to be anywhere around them. I'd comment on the plot but I stopped paying attention and the whole thing became a blur, I honestly want the time I've invested back. Ten skill per-weapon seems like a decent amount but its woefully insufficient I find, especially when the actual weapon proficiency cap is fifty and of the skills you get it feels like a handful are actually useful. Armour feels cosmetic and while each individual piece having a set bonus or attribute, I found very few of them being aesthetically worth it irritating. That said, the game frustrates me more because the setting, Castle Aincrad and the surrounding lore, is really good. I wish it was a genuine fantasy setting because of how great the breadcrumbs of the millennia old floating castle came to be and the historical player in its creation is top-notch. Its cursed that it's stuck in a game as crappy as this. I'd go into the smalls of how bad this is, but the post-game was the final nail. Its not worth your time and especially not your money.

game is mid at best

To be honest, this game is EXTREMELY buggy, audio and visuals aren't synced for a few cutscenes.. BUT, BUUUT! This game is sweet. It brings a whole new air to the SAO world. And I see lots of points for improvement, so since the game just came out, I'd say wait for maybe a year or so before getting out so it can be properly ironed out, but right now, despite the bugs it's still pretty sweet.

gg

chaud de fous