Echoes of Aincrad Review: Great Combat, Bare World

Echoes of Aincrad is the Sword Art Online action-RPG set during the iconic Aincrad arc, letting you play as a custom character rather than Kirito. It carves out its own story with a new cast, but the semi-open world drags the whole experience down.

The setup is clever — the prologue doubles as SAO's in-game beta, easing you into tutorials in a way that feels natural rather than forced. Your character and a handful of new companions discover mysterious brooches that show visions of an apocalyptic future, layering a fresh subplot on top of the anime's death-game premise. It works surprisingly well and doesn't contradict established lore. The permadeath stakes feel meaningful because the doomsday event the brooches warn of would kill everyone anyway. Kirito is largely sidelined, which gives the new cast room to breathe.

Where Echoes of Aincrad stumbles is the world itself. It's not truly open — you load into large zones unlocked by story or side missions, and each mission fences you into a designated area. Stray out of bounds and you're simply turned around. There's no climbing, no gliding, and secrets amount to little more than treasure chests and landmarks. Safe Zones gate your map progress, and there's usually only one or two paths to the next one. The combat saves it — frenetic, fun, and methodical enough to stay engaging — but the barren regions and rigid structure slow the story's pacing to a crawl.

For SAO fans, the Aincrad setting and the new character-driven story are genuine draws, and the combat holds up. But the hollow world design undercuts what could have been a standout licensed action-RPG.