Echoes of Aincrad Reviews
It’s just that we’re in the middle of a flood of high-quality JRPGs, from indie through to the big blockbusters, and Sword Art Online: Echoes of Aincrad does limit itself in a way that doesn’t do it any favours.
It doesn't excel in any particular area, or offer anything that's genuinely new, but Echoes of Aincrad is an enjoyable single-player action RPG experience once it really gets going.
Sometimes, the most disappointing thing about a game is realizing that its best moments prove the developers genuinely know what they're doing—only for its most repetitive and tedious stretches to reveal that they never figured out how to tie those great ideas together into a satisfying whole. Sword Art Online: Echoes of Aincrad is exactly that kind of game. At its best, it has enough strengths to make it worth revisiting in the future, especially once its price comes down, and it could even introduce more players to the world of SAO. Until then, however, it remains little more than another decent release aimed primarily at those who are already dedicated fans of the franchise.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Echoes of Aincrad is a fun action RPG, but it falls into the same trap as many of this publisher's recent RPGs: its open world. While the game offers enjoyable combat and a solid core experience, its open world often feels like a big hub that link areas together rather than a meaningful part of the adventure
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Echoes of Aincrad isn't a bad game for the franchise; in fact, it has memorable moments that really stand out from the other entries. However, the ambition and fantasy it initially promised are too far removed from the actual gameplay experience, with issues related to pacing, quality of life, and content reuse that overshadow its many strengths.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
An unnecessarily frustrating action RPG with a story that lacks bite, despite the excellent source material.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Echoes of Aincrad is a charming game that has intuitive combat and rewarding character growth. Although its repetitiveness brings down the experience from time to time, I still couldn't help but want to keep playing so I could see where my chums would end up next. 🌐
In Summary, Echoes of Aincrad is what feels like a truly generational fumble by Bandai Namco and Game Studio Inc. They created a game world that simultaneously looks amazing but feels devoid of life. A world that encompasses so many great aspects of Sword Art Online itself but feels as if it’s actively choking you to death because of game mechanics that honestly feel like they belong in the dustbin of history.
Echoes of Aincrad had the potential to be a remarkable title, but after careful evaluation, it ultimately feels as though it reached the market before it was truly ready. While its impressive visuals, powered by modern game engines, make for an eye-catching presentation, the experience ultimately struggles to deliver the substance needed to match its ambitions.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Echoes of Aincrad is by no means a bad game, it’s just not enough “game” I think. Combat could’ve used more fleshing out, the environments needed more to actually care about, and the story is just the story of Sword Art Online. If you’re a more casual gamer and want to experience SAO without watching any anime, it’s probably pretty solid for you, but it’s just not enough.
Echoes of Aincrad offers a fresh look at Sword Art Online, moving away from Kirito to tell our own story inside Aincrad. Its direct combat, companions and setting work well, although the story feels a little short and the maps can become confusing.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
As expansive as its environments may be, as accessible as its narrative is, and as much as it draws on the popularity of genres such as soulslikes, Echoes of Aincrad is a collection of ideas that never rises above familiar territory, with not a hint of imagination. It can be enjoyable at times, but is also extremely limited when it should have been a breath of fresh air for fans of the series.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Echoes of Aincrad wouldn't be my first recommendation for RPG or action game fans, but it certainly wouldn't be my last one, either. It's simply solid, and sometimes that's enough.
Echoes of Aincrad feels designed to deliberately waste your time. It’s by no means a bad game, there’s a lot of interesting elements to enjoy including the story, the world, and the combat. However, it does itself a disservice by padding the game out excessively with repetitive missions and forced exploration. With strange restrictions on exploration and questionable design choices, it doesn’t respect the player, and suffers for it.
Echoes of Aincrad feels like the long-awaited promise the Sword Art Online franchise has owed its fans for years - and it comes frustratingly close to fulfilling it, which somehow makes it even more disappointing than if it had never tried at all.
Review in Unknown | Read full review
Echoes of Aincrad is an odd one for me; I do like it a lot, but I found myself getting just a little annoyed at the lack of variation in enemy types and the battles getting easier because of this. There is a lot to like about Echoes of Aincrad if you are new to the SAO universe, but fans of the anime might find themselves getting a little frustrated at themes they have seen before. I would recommend this to those of you who enjoy a good RPG and who want to invest in the lore of the SAO universe.
Echoes of Aincrad offers an enjoyable action combat system, satisfying cooperation with companions, epic multi-phase boss fights, and a beautiful world. Unfortunately, repetitive enemies and quests, empty locations, uneven responsiveness, and a gradually stagnating story make the roughly fifty-hour adventure feel underdeveloped, especially at its premium price.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Echoes of Aincrad is a good game with an interesting narrative, a beautiful world, and simple but effective combat. Despite some strange design choices and repetitive elements, there’s a lot to like here for both Sword Art Online fans and newcomers alike. It’s easily the best Sword Art Online game yet.
Echoes of Aincrad had a huge opportunity in its hands and squeezes almost every good idea into a shallow, disappointing execution.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Echoes of Aincrad turned out to be a pleasant surprise. This time, the developers decided to go for a much freer, more 'MMORPG-like' approach, giving players a game that manages to pay tribute to the nature of the work while also being fun and satisfying. This is also thanks to a fast, technical, and entertaining combat system, even if, in the long run, it tends to get a bit repetitive. If I really wanted to nitpick, I’d say I didn’t enjoy the beginning much—it’s just too slow and boring, which could turn more than one player away from a game that actually knows how to entertain and excite.
Review in Italian | Read full review