Echoes of Aincrad reviews land at 64 on Metacritic
Echoes of Aincrad is out, and the scores landed pretty much where the demo said they would. Bandai Namco's Sword Art Online action RPG went live on July 10 across PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC (Steam jumped the gun a little, flipping the switch on July 9 at 22:00 UTC), and right now it sits at a 64 Metascore from 33 PS5 critics. "Mixed or average", says Metacritic. Which undersells how split the room actually is.
Because this isn't a bad game built on a bad idea. It's a genuinely great idea wearing a slightly tired RPG.
You're finally not Kirito
Biggest change, and it matters: you build your own avatar. No Kirito, no tagging along while the anime's main character does the cool stuff. You're just some beta tester who logged in on the wrong day and got locked in with everybody else. Developer Game Studio Inc. leans into that hard, and it works. The Town of Beginnings feels like somewhere people are genuinely stuck, your NPC companions talk about being scared, and the whole thing carries a weight the SAO games have mostly skipped over.
The combat is the good part
Stamina runs everything. Attacks, guards, dodges, all of it drains the same bar, so mashing gets you killed. You order companions around in real time, and Switch Mode hands them the offence while you drop back and defend. Critics who liked the game liked this the most, especially in boss fights. Critics who didn't like the game... mostly admitted the combat is solid anyway. That tells you where the real problem sits.
And the grind is the problem
Travel encounters. So, so many travel encounters. Cross a map and the same enemy pack stops you again and again, which turns exploration into a series of speed bumps instead of an adventure. Quest design recycles heavily. Several reviewers also said that even on the highest difficulty they never once felt threatened. It's single player only, with AI companions, so there's no co-op to make the repetition sociable.
So is it worth it?
If you're an SAO fan who has wanted to live inside Aincrad rather than watch Kirito do it, this is the closest anyone has gotten and a Metascore isn't going to change your mind. If you're walking in cold as an action RPG player, a 64 is a 64, and there is a lot of competition this summer.
Played it yet? Are you team "best SAO game in years" or team "it's a 6 out of 10 and that's fine"? Drop it in the comments.