Echoes of Aincrad review: a singleplayer adventure that should’ve been an MMO
8/7/2026
Translation: Patrik Stainbrook
Pictures: Franziska Behner-Thang
Echoes of Aincrad resets my progress when I die. But don’t worry: in this JRPG, permadeath mode can be disabled if you want.
Anime Sword Art Online serves as the story blueprint for Echoes of Aincrad. My first few hours in Bandai Namco’s JRPGs closely resemble the original. Before I can dive into the full-fledged MMO as my virtual hero after the beta ends, I receive a piece of information that changes everything: going forward, no one will be able to log out of the game or leave Aincrad in any other way.
Those who resort to violence will die – and so will players who are defeated by an enemy. And not just in the game, but in the real world, too. To leave Aincrad alive, you must defeat the final boss without dying yourself. Unlike in the anime, however, I’m not embarking on this adventure with the heroes familiar from the show, but with new companions and my very own custom character. The editor for this is rather limited and could use a patch with extra features and hairstyles.
Is that Kirito???
As I experience my own story in the Sword Art Online universe throughout Aincrad, I find myself wondering what the series protagonist is up to right now during the first few hours of gameplay. To me, Kirito is a central element of the story, and I’m looking forward to seeing him in a scene after the prologue. But I get more than just a brief cameo: Kirito and his partner Asuna appear time and again in Echoes of Aincrad. No wonder, they play important roles that influence me from the sidelines of my own adventure.
Echoes of Aincrad is surprisingly well written: the story doesn’t just feel like a rehash of the anime from a different perspective. It actually introduces its own twists. After about 15 hours of gameplay, defeating the final boss in Aincrad almost takes a back seat, since my own quest begins to unfold. Suddenly, it falls to my team and me to destroy the heart of evil here and prevent the rebirth of a god of death.
Bustling cities, empty fields and the same old enemies
Just like in the original anime, I make my way to new towns and villages, get to know NPCs and fulfil their wishes. The bustling streets and squares are one of the game’s highlights. Whether in the Town of Beginning, the village of Tolbana or other locations on the second level, Echoes of Aincrad feels lively within the city walls. This reinforces the impression that I’m actually in an MMO where adventurers and NPCs roam the streets.
As soon as I head out into the vast plains or into a dungeon, I experience the exact opposite: my team and I are all alone. Aside from story-driven sequences, I don’t see any other players, NPCs or places worth exploring in the distance.
Dialogue – superbly voiced in the English dub – occurs mainly in towns and villages, and less frequently in dungeons. These conversations usually lead me to the next quest, having me roam through dungeons and open areas. Every now and then, I unlock the map at rest stops that all look the same, quickly setting off again to defeat my hundredth wild boar.
The lack of enemy variety is my biggest issue with Echoes of Aincrad. I’ve lost count of how many different types of wild boar I’ve seen in my first ten hours of gameplay. Even in later dungeons, the same darn enemies keep showing up. As a result, levelling up is incredibly boring. Since I was playing the easier Story mode, I was lucky and barely needed the experience. Harder difficulties will require more patience.
Two approaches for different situations
Before almost every mission, I have to choose my teammates. This allows me to tailor the gameplay just the way I like it. My first in-game buddy, Iori, continues to heal me reliably even after more than 20 hours of gameplay. Other characters help with sheer raw power. At the heart of the battles is the partner system, allowing me to constantly adjust my strategy. If I let my partner act on their own and attack everything they see, our attacks are spread among all enemies. However, this takes a toll on your stamina.
I can also decide we should focus on a common enemy and take turns attacking them. This attempts to recreate the anime’s style, where the protagonists’ attacks build on one another. After Kirito lands several attacks on the boss and distracts it, his partner Asuna has a clear path to land a devastating blow. Mix that with combo attacks and the characters’ special abilities, this results in a fast-paced combat system that plays very smoothly.
Bandai Namco hasn’t exactly reinvented the wheel here, but thanks to the freedom of movement my character possesses and various on-screen effects, I’ve consistently enjoyed the battles.
Upgrading weapons is a chore
If you’re looking for an extra thrill, enable permadeath mode from the get-go. I started my first playthrough with it and was defeated by a boss after a little over seven hours of play. Just like in the TV show, that was my only life: the screen went black, and my score was deleted. Time for a fresh start. I do it all over again – create my avatar, defeat the wild boars and retrace all my steps. They’re not joking around with permanent deletion here.
To minimise the number of times I die during my second attempt (no permadeath this time), upgrading my weapons is essential. Improving equipment is tedious and painstaking work whenever I synthesise weapons. I select any weapon I want to upgrade with better stats and new skills from the blacksmith. To do this, I have to melt down another blade from my collection. I select the tools I’ll use for this synthesis by painstakingly clicking through and comparing them.
Things get better when it comes to gear: Echoes of Aincrad lets you use skins. I can equip a different cosmetic item on each piece of armour if I prefer how it looks. This way, I can customise my character before heading into the next battle. I also constantly give my team new weapons, but their appearance stays the same.
You don’t need to do that!
My first impression from the preview – that many paths are extremely linear – has been confirmed in the full game. Although the individual areas I travel through as part of my quests look large and expansive, they aren’t. Looking at the map, it seems like I could walk straight across the field to my destination. But in reality, insurmountable crevasses and mountain ranges keep me from doing so, forcing me down a predetermined path. I have absolutely no desire to explore; I just walk to the marked treasure chests and back.
This impression is further reinforced in the dungeons I regularly explore as part of the story. Every now and then, there are side paths leading to hidden treasures. But I’m not exploring anything here on my own. Later on, the labyrinthine caves become three-dimensional at least, which is difficult to depict on the map. I search for the right path forever, getting lost on the various levels of the rock ledges and spending an endless amount of time in the dungeon. It seems as though Bandai Namco is trying to drag out Echoes of Aincrad unnecessarily. A shame, since the game doesn’t need this whatsoever. The story is satisfying even across fewer hours of play thanks to its rich details.
Echoes of Aincrad will be released on 10 July 2026 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. Bandai Namco provided me with a PC copy of the game for review purposes.
In a nutshell
More variety and freedom, please!
At its core, Echoes of Aincrad is a solid JRPG. Fans should be familiar with the plot, centred around a deadly MMO world and me, right in the middle, experiencing my own story. The story is quite gripping and not a light affair whatsoever. Echoes of Aincrad tells a story of tragic fates, and not everyone can handle the pressure of a game centred on life and death. This adds depth to the game, and I always enjoy listening to the characters’ dialogues.
I’m not really in the mood for the missions, though. Although battles are exciting, I get bored with the same old opponents. Oh wow, a wild boar wearing a crown of thorns this time? Crazy. It’s also frustrating that the game only pretends to have an open world. The beautifully scenic mountains, meadows full of flowers and forests are just a pretty backdrop.
I feel like I’m caught in a loop: accept a quest, teleport to the mission location, stubbornly follow a path, fight the same monsters over and over, defeat the boss and start all over again. This pattern is often found in MMOs, except that Echoes of Aincrad is a single-player game. An online mode should’ve been the obvious choice.
Pro
- Anime source material put to good use, adapted into an original story
- Cameos and familiar faces
- German subtitles with a solid English dub
- Beautiful lighting in mountains and cities
- Bustling cities with an MMO Vibe
- Fast-paced combat system
Contra
- Boring, repetitive enemies
- No free exploration allowed – paths are predetermined
- Monotone armoury options
- Repetitive gameplay
Franziska Behner-Thang
Freelance Editor
info@franziskabehner.deI didn’t have a Game Boy or a Super Nintendo as a child, and only joined the world of gaming at 15. I’ve been trying to make up for lost time ever since. But looking at the ever-growing number of game releases each year, it seems the entire industry is conspiring against me.
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