It has been a preview and demo-type of summer so far for Digitalchumps. We have been privy to a lot of early access and in-development games, and have found most of what we have seen super interesting, even if it’s going in the wrong direction. The 2026 holiday season, as well as 2027 are going to be an interesting time for the gaming industry. Lots of things to look forward to and plenty of hope that games will be delivered in a good manner.
All that general rambling aside, this is not a preview of all games hitting within the next year. This is a preview of a game that is coming from Bandai Namco Entertainment called Echoes of Aincrad.
Let me preface this preview by saying that I have actively and successfully avoided reviewing Sword Art Online titles over the last decade. Those JRPGs are a horse when it comes to reviewing them, and even more so when it comes to keeping up with the story or staying interested in the gameplay. I typically don’t have the time or brain capacity to sit down and enjoy anime-turned-into-games. Typically.
Now, having said that and thrown that bit of honesty out into the Interwebs, previewing Echoes of Aincrad stirred some feelings and memories that harkened back to my first online Final Fantasy experience (FFXI) and my Dragon Quest VIII romp from yesteryears. And I don’t say that lightly at all, as I covet those games as firm reminders of how good RPGs can get when done correctly.
Related, Echoes of Aincrad is like no other Sword Art Online experience that I have had.
To begin, the player creates their own character. That primer is more personal to the player, as they put together a character that is leading the story, which also contains familiar faces. That gameplay element alone makes the experience different enough to put it in the same category as the previously mentioned games. Getting the player engaged and hooked into an SAO experience by letting them create a character that they want instead of a character forced on them is a good way to start a new JRPG trend for this series. It was the right move for BNE.
As for the story that plays out in Echoes of Aincrad, it’s menacing as it is meaningful. The game starts with players enjoying life inside a video game. Questing, taking down monsters, and building their characters to take on bigger monstrous issues is at the forefront of the story…until…the creator of the game traps the characters in it. As goofy as that seems, that innocent and easy story crisis turns dark and menacing, as the antagonist lays out the guidelines for the players. The first big one is that they will die in real life if they try to log out of the game, or if someone on the outside tries to log them off. Those two factors alone make the stakes of the story and game go through the roof. I still feel anxiety about this aspect of the story presented and how alarming and horror-filled the ramifications of the wrong move can be for the characters. It’s wild how fast it happens and how connected the player will probably feel to all the characters trapped.
The story goes a step further, as it requests the characters to finish the game set forth. Should the player die in the game, then they will die in real life as well. It’s yet another layer of anxiety and intrigue built for the narrative, and it gives the player goals of playing hard and safely along the journey. Again, the stakes are high with this story, and if BNE needed players to feel the narrative, then they chose the right way to do it with this story structure. It hooked me instantly when the crisis was revealed, as I felt bad for the characters trapped. To add more to that anxiety, the preview we had pushed forward in time and made it feel like what the Avengers characters in Endgame felt five years removed from the snap. Surviving and depending on each other became important in this SAO story, much like Endgame, and dealing with their situation was at the forefront of the storytelling. Again, it was meaningful.
On the gameplay side of this preview, the world that my character occupied was vast, though just a couple of visual notches below what you would find in a well-made Final Fantasy experience. Compared to previous SAO games, Echoes of Aincrad exceeded my expectations in the graphics department. Visually, the game felt like a huge world, even though at times there were restrictive boundaries that felt linear (and that honestly might have been the preview’s own limitations). Previous SAO games always felt like they were connected in small pieces that required loading, and featured flat, uninspiring textures that were just a reminder that games of its type were a dime a dozen. Echoes of Aincrad was not like that at all. It was graphically visually spectacular, and the thing isn’t even finished yet. I am looking forward to the finished, polished final product. It was gorgeous in its preview form, and the first big element I noticed when I was traveling through the adventure.
Now, on the actual gameplay, it was a mixture of old-familiar SAO action and a more simplified system of action-adventure that was akin to what you would find in Final Fantasy XVI. The action buttons were simple to understand, as hitting one single button to unleash hell on enemies was a thoughtless venture. Switching between actions quickly only required single-button smashes that pulled up different options as my character kept adventuring. What this all means is that the player can focus on the story and enemies, rather than trying to stop and choose what they should be doing. It gives the player more agency and less thought with their actions against enemies, which just hopes to push the adventure along quickly.
With all the action simplicity, what about the enemies? Well, as the preview was short and restrictive, there were a few things I picked up on quickly. First, the enemies were abundant, sometimes repetitive, but always available in different flavors and levels. This means some enemies are easy to take down, others can be a hefty challenge, but regardless of enemies or effort, it always felt interesting and never boring. Having the ability to choose who you fight is always a huge plus in action-adventure games as well. Players don’t have to get into fights with everything, but they can if they so choose.
Common-tier enemies are lovely, but bosses and special fights were also in the cards for this preview. Occasionally, I would run up against a wall that prevented me from traveling to my desired destination. That literal wall could only be taken down if I fought a mid-boss or boss. That mid-boss or boss would be located somewhere nearby, which meant I had to explore a bit to find them. Once found, the bosses ranged from difficult to a real challenge. Both types were step-ups from common enemies and brought some interesting fighting styles to the game. For example, there was a pain-in-the-ass boar that brought three tiers of attacks with it, and all of them were problematic in their own regard, and all were different, which meant I had to change up strategies quickly to take it down. I spent about 45 minutes fighting and dying against that beast until finally I found the right methods to take it out. I loved every moment of the fight, even if it was difficult as hell.
Fights like these help separate Echoes of Aincrad from its SAO brethren. They don’t feel stale; they feel fresh. They are a challenge, but one that is squarely put in the hands of the player. Nothing feels cheap, nor does it feel overwhelming. It’s just a perfectly laid-out fight that ups the ante for the player and keeps the overall action-adventure fresh.
Anyhoo, my time with Echoes of Aincrad got me excited to play an SAO game. This might be the first one I am looking forward to, as it is everything I hoped for in the series. It’s modern, it’s easy to pick up and play, it’s creative and customizable for the player, and it seems to have a lot of legs when it comes to girth and gameplay. I am hyped for it. Also, I want to help those characters get out of that world. See? That story connects hard.
On that note, we will keep you in the loop as it progresses. If it keeps going down the path we saw in this preview, it could be the SAO that sets new standards for the series.
