Echoes of Aincrad Reviews
"The long-awaited Sword Art Online adventure" Echoes of Aincrad delivers the most ambitious take on the Sword Art Online universe yet, giving players the chance to experience Aincrad firsthand rather than just follow its events. With its engaging combat system, expansive exploration, and sophisticated progression system, the game lays a solid foundation that could make it the best game in the series to date. Despite some minor performance issues and the lack of multiplayer, the current experience is very promising for fans of Sword Art Online and action RPGs.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Echoes of Aincrad delivers fun combat and pleasing visuals, making the journey through Aincrad quite engaging. However, the repetitive open world and some design decisions prevent the game from reaching its full potential. Even so, it is a competent action RPG that will certainly appeal to most players
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Despite its flaws, I enjoyed my over 50 hours with Echoes of Aincrad. It is an easy recommendation for fans of the franchise and a cautious recommendation for people who enjoy action JRPGs and are looking for an MMO feeling. Developer Game Studio Inc. created a solid foundation that they can hopefully build upon in the DLC or a sequel covering the higher floors of Aincrad.
Review in Unknown | Read full review
Echoes of Aincrad ushers in a new era for Sword Art Online games, bringing long-requested elements such as a return to the series most famous arc with a brand-new story, while completely overhauling the series combat and exploration mechanics and establishing a solid foundation for the future of Sword Art Online in video games.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Echoes of Aincrad is great because it lets us bring our own character into the Sword Art Online story. With a beautiful, vast map of Aincrad and smooth, well-paced gameplay, the game stands out not only as a great SAO game but also as an excellent action RPG. The problem is that this deep immersion sometimes comes at the cost of a very slow pace, which takes a while to pick up speed; furthermore, while the immense Aincrad is a feast for the eyes, its level design doesn’t always make exploration fun. This slightly dims the luster of the experience, though it doesn’t completely overshadow it.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
I was hopeful that Echoes of Aincrad would be more than “just another licensed anime game.” Unfortunately, the game doesn’t really rise above that label, though it’s not a bad action-JRPG by any means either.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Echoes of Aincrad has the potential to be a stand-out Sword Art Online game, but it struggles to bear the weight of strangely archaic mechanics and monotonous missions. The story and visuals may be enough to get series fans into the game, but anyone else will likely be hard-pressed to get much out of the game.
Echoes of Aincrad is a classic case of "sometimes less is more". It's a game that dilutes too much of its content in an attempt to look grander than it is. This can be a fun experience for those who value certain gameplay loops and new takes on established combat formulas, but it's frankly unacceptable for a AAA title. Only major SAO fans will likely get something out of this one.
Echoes of Aincrad delivers one of the most fun experiences in the entire Sword Art Online franchise, featuring extremely responsive real-time combat, a good variety of mechanics, and the freedom to create your own character.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review