Sword Art Online: Fractured Daydream Reviews
It's not the definitive SAO game everyone was hoping for, but it's not a bad title either. With a simple but effective combat system, a well-chosen character selection, and an art style to match, perhaps its biggest burden is a repetitive mission structure, which ends up weighing down the whole experience.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream is a clear love letter to fans of the anime series, putting a large number of recognizable characters within the same story and also a huge amount of content that will not let us let go of the controller during the long game sessions that we will be able to throw at it, giving us a really fun anime game that surprises in some other section such as the wide variety of character classes.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
As a tribute to the franchise it's not bad, but as a game in general, there are more interesting proposals on the market, whether it's a JRPG or a hack and slash. However, those who don't mind repetition can enjoy it. This is where the line is drawn to decide whether or not to buy the product.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Sword Art Online: Fractured Daydream is a pretty fun and entertaining multiplayer game for fans of the series. Sadly the appeal doesn’t reach farther than that.
SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream is a love letter to the Sword Art Online franchise. You get to play your favourite characters from both Sword Art Online and Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online, in a story that unites both worlds. It's compelling and it adds shock value, especially if you follow the anime or light novel. In addition, the multiplayer campaign is well-built as it encourages teamwork and knowledge of your chosen character. Lastly, there is an incentive to play the game over and over as the in-game achievements challenge you to achieve the highest score and learn what happens to your favourite characters.
This Sword Art Online: Fractured Daydream is probably among the best titles dedicated to the series released in recent years, although it must be said that the bar was really low. Die-hard fans of the series will love the fact that they can experience a story that unites all the main characters of the series and the possibility of controlling many of them, twenty-one in total. The problem, however, is that the game also has many flaws, including repetitive missions with very basic objectives and a combat system that in its mechanics is satisfied with sufficiency. Despite this, the multiplayer is fun, especially thanks to boss fights that can be faced in 20 players and which become a riot of explosions and colors.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Sword Art Online: Fractured Daydream is a competent offline and online RPG, with fun gameplay and a lot of fanservice. However, the title is lost due to the simplicity of the missions and scenarios, in addition to the repetitiveness of its activities and an excessively aggressive monetization.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Bandai Namco is forging the iron while hot and not letting the SAO series go to rest. Sword Art Online: Fractured Daydream is the next installment in a series of games aimed at fans of the series, whether they wanted it or not.
Review in Polish | Read full review
SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream was an experience of ups and downs for me. I really enjoyed the main idea of the game, both for showing an original plot that pleases veterans, while also introducing the universe to newcomers, and for the simple and fun combat. [...] However, I think that the repetitive nature of the game, greatly encouraged by the monetization model they used, can make the experience a little draggy at times.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
But despite all that, when things worked out. When I found matches, I had some good fun running dungeons with folks. There’s something special about watching twenty people unleash explosions all over your screen, a health bar being whittled down faster than pizza leftovers in a family of six, and callouts coming left and right. SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream brings about the chaotic nature of MMOs I really haven’t seen in a long time, especially in casual play, and for all its caveats it’s not a bad cooperative action game—but do mind the fractures. ∎
ractured Daydream is also quite sensitive to its audio design, delivering high-quality sound effects that give the moments a really intense feel. Every character attack is followed by really satisfying sound cues, whether it's the explosive impact of magic abilities or just a bunch of swords clashing! However, compared to its predecessors, the innovation they made in portraying the audio isn't really visible.
Sword Art Online: Fractured Daydream is a fun time that ultimately falls a bit short of its lofty goals. While the story mode is a good time, there are issues here and there that prevent this from being a great experience. Moreover, the game's multiplayer offerings are fun to experience with friends, but the dwindling player count leaves major concerns for the longevity of this title.
SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream has a crowd that it caters to and caters to that crowd well, in my opinion. The story mode is designed with SWORD ART ONLINE fans in mind, with references to numerous anime story arcs and characters appearing with sound cues that signify that their presence is significant. Sadly, why their presence is significant isn't conveyed in the game, so your poor reviewer (who isn't an SAO fan) had to go look at a wiki to find out why this person appearing is such a big deal! Fortunately, for non-SAO fans, the storyline is generally decent, the concept of SAO is easy enough to grasp, and you can sort of figure out what's going on as the story progresses. The gameplay also doesn't disappoint, with over-the-top visual effects firing off in every direction, making you feel like you're using weapons of mass destruction on that spider-looking thing about the size of a large dog. Performance on Steam Deck is middling, and while the story mode largely runs well, you do have to put up with some pixelation due to the resolution scaling if you want somewhat stable performance in online play. However, the game is fully playable on the Steam Deck, with great controls and acceptable performance. If you are a SWORD ART ONLINE fan, I don't think it would be a stretch to say that Fractured Daydream might be the best SWORD ART ONLINE video game yet.
“Dimps” combat mechanics is what carries “Sword Art Online: Fractured Daydream”’s middling plot, repetitive quests and an undercooked free roam mode. There’s a lot to love if you played every “Sword Art Online” game, but sadly, I am not one of them.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Sword Art Online: Fractured Daydream has failed both as a game in the series and as an ARPG title. It lacks quite a bit even in comparison to free games in the same genre, and unfortunately, the developers themselves did not put in the necessary effort into this title. If you're a fan of Sword Art Universe, you can check it, but in any other case just choose another game.
Review in Polish | Read full review
For a new Sword Art Online, Fracture Daydream gives us a little bit of what it’s like to dream of living the Sword Art Online story with friends, whether playing mainly the fun multiplayer mode, which is very welcome, or just grinding with your favorite characters in the story mode. The game brought beautiful art, but also a somewhat repetitive gameplay, which could be fixed if they add more game modes.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
How long the multiplayer part's breath will ultimately last, however, will probably depend on the supply of fresh content and more creative quests. The gameplay loop wears out pretty quickly, but more variety could help. With a little more courage for modern game design, it could have been the best "SAO" game so far.
Review in German | Read full review
Overall, Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream is a great game. In addition to bringing together a select cast from the franchise, it features a well-crafted production, a large amount of content, and enjoyable gameplay. Unfortunately, issues such as the lack of a proper introduction to the dense world of SAO make it difficult for the game to appeal to a wider audience. This is a recommendation for fans of the series, anime in general, and anyone who enjoys a beautiful and light fantasy experience.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream's main campaign story is thoroughly entertaining, which hardcore fans are bound to adore. However, the half-baked multiplayer brings down the whole experience.
I cannot recommend Sword Art Online: Fractured Daydream. To anyone. Even the most committed Sword Art Online fans are unlikely to find much to love here. It is a live service title without legs. A real disappointment coming from the developers of Fatal Bullet. Perhaps with more development time and a clearer idea of what the game should be, it could have been a worthwhile endeavor. As it stands though it’s a sad, vapid outing for the series.