Echoes of Aincrad Reviews
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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
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Review in Italian | Read full review
Echoes of Aincrad is the Sword Art Online game I’ve been waiting for ever since I watched the anime's first arc and thought, 'Why has no game actually put me inside this world?' The decision to replace Kirito with a player-created character is the most important move the gaming franchise has made in its history, and it completely transforms the emotional equation of the experience.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Sword Art Online: Echoes of Aincrad tells an engaging story that lets you experience the events of Aincrad from your own perspective, with emotional character moments and surprisingly dark themes. While the combat remains enjoyable, repetitive enemies and a highly linear quest structure quickly become monotonous. Its beautiful environments create the illusion of an open world, but exploration is largely superficial, making the adventure feel more like a single-player MMO without the benefits of actual multiplayer.
Review in German | Read full review
Echoes of Aincrad fails to leave a lasting impression, but for the hours you put into this Sword Art Online adventure, it satisfies the need for more games like this one.
Sword Art Online deserved better than Echoes of Aincrad is able to deliver. The combat and the upgrade and crafting systems are enjoyable, but they're almost completely undermined by the painfully linear level design, the repetitive mission structure, and the way exploration is rendered virtually pointless. The game's biggest strength is its story, which remains surprisingly serious for most of the adventure before eventually falling back on the usual "save the world" clichés. Unfortunately, your protagonist still feels like a supporting character throughout the story and could easily be removed from many of the cutscenes without changing much. We recommend that everyone try the demo first to make sure the gameplay is something you'll enjoy, because otherwise the disappointment could be significant.
Review in German | Read full review
Despite being tied to Sword Art Online, Echoes of Aincrad is worth checking out for its own merits, as there is a polished and pristine sheen here that most anime-based RPG games don’t get. While it won’t surprise you, it will give you several dozen hours of exciting action and exploration.
"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