SWORD ART ONLINE Alicization Lycoris
- July 9, 2020
- Aquria
- 14h median play time
The latest SAO game spins the anime's story into an RPG. Our review.
Get on Steam
Get on Xbox Games Store"Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris" is a role-playing game set in the Underworld, a virtual world from the SAO anime. Players control Kirito, who must explore this new world and fulfill a promise with a new companion, Eugeo. The Deluxe Edition includes a Premium Pass, bonus costume, and virtual currency. Real-time combat utilizes sword skills and sacred arts in this immersive SAO experience.
Reviews
- story1,695 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
- gameplay689 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
- graphics595 mentions
- 32 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
- optimization579 mentions
- 10 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 28 % negative mentions
- grinding187 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 2 % neutral mentions
- 98 % negative mentions
- stability112 mentions
- 9 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 91 % negative mentions
- music73 mentions
- 49 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
- character development19 mentions
- 58 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
- ads18 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
- emotional16 mentions
- 88 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
- funny16 mentions
- 88 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
- replayability6 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Critic Reviews
Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris Review
Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris takes forever to get moving. By the time the training wheels come off, players will likely have switched off in frustration. Pacing is a big issue for the first half of the game, with hours spent in unskippable cutscenes or repetitive tutorials before the best features become available. There is a decent game locked away behind the multiple missteps and technical issues, and if you've got the requisite patience and high regard for the source material, there are things to like — most notably the smooth, engaging combat. The problem is that getting to it feels like work rather than play.
50%Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris Review – Subpar Sword Play
Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris is, at best, a passable anime game. It has the bones of a decent action adventure title, and offers a decent retelling of its source material's story, but it's mechanically bogged down to the point of tedium and exhaustion.
40%Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris Review
If a lot of this review feels negative, it's only because with just a little more care and focus on pacing, this could have been the first Sword Art Online to capture the imagination of a widespread fanbase. Multiplayer is a really positive experience, and it becomes very easy to sink hours into just exploration and small side quests, with no attention being paid to the main story. Pick up and play is a feeling so rarely found in JRPG titles that it feels like a really positive step towards what should be seen as the new normal. What is baffling, then, is hiding such a great feature, along with all the other main parts of Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris behind 12+ hours of repetitive story. The honest truth is that players with a passing interest aren't going to put the hours in to get past the initial chapter, and in doing so, are going to miss out on an enjoyable experience with a lot to offer for both casual players and hardcore fans. Stick with it.
60%
