SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream

While I wouldn't say Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream breaks the mold, it does a lot of cool things that are worth experiencing. The wide range of characters, coupled with a plethora of stats create an experience that encourages players to give it their all. This, coupled with thrilling modes like co-op quests makes it an experience that might not reinvent the wheel, but it is a lot of fun with plenty of room to grow.

64%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

grinding, monetization

78% User Score Based on 1,754 reviews

Critic Score 73%Based on 2 reviews

Platforms

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"SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream is a new entry in the series, offering a fresh start with the Galaxia system. This RPG allows players to reexperience past SAO games in a new way. The Deluxe and Premium Editions come with DLCs, early access, and bonus costume sets."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream screenshot

78%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,756 reviews

story248 positive mentions

grinding196 negative mentions

story
1,142 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
73%
5%
The story in "Sword Art Online: Fractured Daydream" has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its appeal primarily to fans of the franchise. While some appreciate the character interactions and nostalgic elements, others criticize the narrative for being shallow and repetitive, often feeling like a means to unlock characters for multiplayer rather than a compelling standalone experience. Overall, the story is seen as decent but not groundbreaking, with a significant portion of players finding it tedious due to its grindy nature and limited variety in missions.
- “The cutscenes are particularly well-crafted, bringing the story to life in true SAO fashion.”
- “I've played a few different SAO games and all I can say is that this tops Fatal Bullet easily as it's got a great storyline with lots of my favorite characters like Sinon and Lizbeth as playable characters.”
- “The story is unique enough to have kept me quite engaged.”
- “The story is meh, the presentation is meh, the locking of characters behind story completion is a source of great annoyance.”
- “Honestly, I didn't bother reading the story and the heavy grinding makes the game become repetitive and somewhat boring.”
- “The story feels like a weird mixed bag.”
gameplay
333 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
53%
10%
The gameplay of the latest Sword Art Online title has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its repetitive mission structure and grindy nature, leading to a monotonous experience over time. While some appreciate the unique character abilities and improved mechanics compared to previous entries, others criticize the clunky controls, input issues, and lack of content, making it feel unpolished and lacking depth. Overall, the game may appeal to dedicated fans of the series, but its gameplay loop and mechanics may not satisfy those seeking a more refined experience.
- “The gameplay is a lot of fun and each character has a unique feel while also giving a familiar feeling to their fellow class characters.”
- “The game expands on the series’ beloved themes of virtual reality and survival while introducing fresh mechanics and challenges that keep you on the edge of your seat.”
- “Overall great gameplay with a hint of jank that is noticeable but still fun.”
- “The gameplay loop becomes incredibly monotonous and the clunky gameplay and camera controls, coupled with the lack of healing items and quest duration, make it incredibly boring after a few hours.”
- “Core gameplay - co-op missions, free roam, and raids are way too repetitive, to the point that there is no difference; sure, the layout might change for the co-op missions, but it's always the same rooms with the same goals over and over again.”
- “There's no content to play in this game; the 'end game' plays the exact same as the early game, the only gameplay is running the same boring bosses over and over again, but there's barely anything to grind for.”
grinding
202 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
1%
2%
97%
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it excessively repetitive and tedious, particularly in the endgame where they are forced to farm the same bosses and missions for gear and cosmetics. While some players enjoy the grind and find it engaging, especially in co-op play, others criticize the lack of variety and the artificial limitations imposed on progression, such as daily crafting caps and grind-heavy battle passes. Overall, the enjoyment of the game seems heavily dependent on individual tolerance for grinding and the desire for long-term commitment.
- “It's addicting if you don't grind forcibly.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Honestly, I didn't bother reading the story and the heavy grinding makes the game become repetitive and somewhat boring.”
- “The stale gameplay loop makes grinding for the battle pass very unpleasant and since the battle pass has a time limit, you'll miss out on the cosmetics once it's over. It feels like I'm buying this game just to suffer.”
- “Weapon grinding is super dull and they cap you at crafting 100 weapons per day to limit progress, which is frustrating because it means you have artificial walls placed to force you to come back to get the best weapon you can.”
graphics
82 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
48%
10%
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the vibrant environments and detailed character models that enhance the immersion in the Sword Art Online universe. While some players find the visuals stunning and a significant improvement over previous entries, others criticize them as outdated or standard for the genre, with reports of graphical bugs and performance issues. Overall, the graphics are generally considered good for an anime game, but there is a desire for further enhancements, especially in open-world exploration.
- “From the moment you step into the game, you're immersed in a beautifully crafted world filled with stunning visuals, epic battles, and a gripping story that keeps you hooked.”
- “Incredible graphics: the environments are breathtaking, with detailed landscapes, vibrant towns, and fluid animations that bring the world of Aincrad and beyond to life.”
- “The visuals are stunning, with vibrant environments and beautifully detailed character models that bring the SAO universe to life in a way that fans of the series will truly appreciate.”
- “Poor quality: the graphics, gameplay mechanics, and overall polish feel outdated or incomplete.”
- “You'll have to put up with outdated graphics, gameplay, and animations.”
- “- graphics look like a 2010 PS2 game.”
monetization
70 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
4%
47%
49%
The monetization strategy of the game has been widely criticized as a cash grab, with many players feeling that the $60 price tag is unjustified given the presence of numerous microtransactions and a battle pass system. While some microtransactions are purely cosmetic and not heavily pushed, the overall sentiment is that the game exploits fans and offers little value for the cost, leading to frustration over the perceived lack of content and the feeling of being financially exploited.
- “The in-game purchases are reasonably priced.”
- “I've seen people complain about microtransactions which blows my mind since they are purely cosmetic and cheaper than most games, being at $10.”
- “Plus, I've only seen microtransactions for in-game costumes so far, which is a nice change!”
- “This is a cash grab title.”
- “If this was a free game I wouldn't mind as much because that's sadly the norm in video games, but for a full price game to have a store, battle pass, multiple currencies etc. is just a cash grab.”
- “While the transactions are only for cosmetic items, it still feels like a blatant cash grab after you’ve already spent your hard-earned money on a subpar game.”
music
57 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
54%
11%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising the soundtracks and the seamless transitions between themes, while others noted that a significant portion is recycled from previous Sword Art Online titles. The opening song, particularly by Reona, has been highlighted as a standout, evoking strong emotional connections, though some players found the overall musical score lacking compared to earlier games. Overall, while the music is generally well-received, opinions vary on its originality and impact.
- “The music itself is great all things considered.”
- “Let me gush out on the music first as review opening: it loops seamlessly, and field-to-battle themes blend and change very well without playing back to the beginning!”
- “It's gorgeous, fun, authentic, and the music feels straight out of a 2000s eastern MMO game (good).”
- “Music: not good, the hub theme is maybe the best of this soundtrack.”
- “They even reused some of the soundtrack from some of the older games.”
- “Music in general can be hit or miss; for instance, Lakeside Woods's BGM didn't initially catch me when I first heard it during the online test, so I was worried about the BGM quality at the time.”
optimization
39 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
64%
10%
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant performance issues even on high-end PCs, including long load times and frame rate drops. While some users have noted smoother gameplay on devices like the Steam Deck, others criticize the overall lack of optimization, particularly for keyboard and mouse users. A few players have experienced good performance with minor bugs, suggesting that the developers are actively working on improvements.
- “Steam Deck runs this great, online works well, frame rates dip a little in a couple odd spots like one forest section, but otherwise even hectic 20-player boss fights don't see any noticeable performance drops.”
- “Occasional minor bugs and performance hiccups, but nothing game-breaking, and the developers seem committed to addressing these issues quickly with regular updates.”
- “Have give us Fatal Bullet, they now give us Fractured Daydream. My first impressions (coming from the open beta) is an overall smooth gameplay and good performance. The story (the bit I saw) is very fun while there is a focus on co-op and raids and some live service elements, those were quite fun to play and don't take too long.”
- “Okay, first off I need to rant about how terrible the PC port of this game is, because the performance and gameplay issues are my biggest personal complaints.”
- “It runs very poorly even on high-end PCs due to the optimization of the effects, rendering, and the game's CPU usage.”
- “The game is heavily unoptimized.”
stability
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
81%
The game's stability is a mixed bag; while the launch was surprisingly solid compared to previous titles, many players report significant bugs, particularly in multiplayer and boss raids, which can lead to frustrating gameplay experiences. Issues such as character freezing and inconsistent input controls detract from the overall polish, making it feel unfinished. Despite these problems, some players find the multiplayer enjoyable and well-optimized, though a large portion of content remains locked behind a buggy online system.
- “Well optimized, runs great on my aging PC.”
- “Multiplayer runs great and connecting with other players is pretty easy since there's crossplay with other consoles, so you never really have to worry about a player shortage at all.”
- “95% of content is locked behind a buggy and laggy multiplayer needed crapshoot the devs made. Only commons and uncommons drop in story mode, there's a single-player tower mode after the story that requires an online connection for no absolute reason. If you don't want to play the buggy 10fps multiplayer (not my PC, by the way, I have a 4080 and I have 1 gig up and down internet), you are locked out of almost all content. If you create items while offline and somehow beat the odds and get a legendary, it gets deleted because you weren't online. It's absolute trash!”
- “Sometimes, if you press the tab or ` key or while clicking the mouse on the screen, the character freezes and input control is completely lost for the game unless you alt-tab out to another monitor and then alt-tab back in. The game still recognizes mouse clicks when it happens but not keyboard, so it knows it's an active screen for mouse but not keyboard. I feel like this is a developer bug, not a setup bug, due to inconsistency.”
- “The gameplay isn’t buggy but is far from polished, feeling more like an unfinished beta.”
humor
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is highlighted through its absurd story elements and character interactions, which are often described as endearing and funny. Players appreciate the comedic aspects of character dynamics, particularly with the inclusion of beloved characters from other series, while also finding humor in the game's nonsensical plot points and quirky gameplay mechanics. However, the repetitive grinding and questionable boss designs detract from the overall experience, despite the amusing moments.
- “The character interactions are endearing and often funny, cute, wise, or emotional.”
- “I am able to play as a funny magic lady with big hair who can fly, shoots big lasers, drops a funny sword man on people, and is voiced by Maaya Sakamoto (Jalter and Dao my beloved).”
- “It's so funny they included Llenn in the story, and there's Eugeo and Quinella; all of their interactions are so interesting.”
emotional
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a strong emotional connection to the game, highlighting the nostalgic feelings evoked by character interactions and a compelling story filled with twists. The camaraderie experienced during gameplay, such as reviving teammates and celebrating victories, adds a wholesome touch, while the rich character development deepens their investment in the narrative. However, some players feel that the repetitive grind detracts from the overall enjoyment, suggesting a desire for a more expansive experience.
- “The story is compelling, full of twists and turns that made me emotionally invested in the characters and their fate.”
- “Really made me feel like I was experiencing SAO for the first time all over again, seeing all the characters from Aincrad, ALO, GGO, OS, and the Underworld come together and fight evil.”
- “The character interactions are endearing and often funny, cute, wise, or emotional.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's replayability is bolstered by the potential for future content additions, such as new characters and maps, which could extend player engagement. However, the current short campaign and limited activities in free roam mode may not provide enough incentive for some players to return frequently. While cooperative missions and character variety offer some replay value, technical issues and a lack of diverse activities could hinder overall enjoyment.
- “If they continue to add more playable characters in the SAO universe, more maps through Aincrad, ALO, and Underworld, I think I can play this game for a long time.”
- “The campaign is short but replayable and has 20 player co-op missions with 5 four-player parties that get stronger. All teams are combined for the last boss raids, and it has a free roam mode that is good, though there's not much to do aside from loot chests and kill enemies or random bosses you come across.”
- “There are a bunch of characters that foster replayability, which adds to the overall experience.”
- “The campaign is short and replayable, featuring 20 player co-op missions with 5 four-player parties that get stronger. However, all teams are combined for the last boss raids, and while there is a free roam mode, there's not really much to do aside from loot chests and kill enemies or random bosses you come across.”
- “There are times when I get stuck in the warp gates after teleporting, and the camera gets all wonky when you lock in. Although there are a bunch of characters that foster replayability, I'm not sure it will be enough for me to recommend this game to my friends.”
- “The campaign is short and while it has replayable elements, the overall experience feels limited, with not much to engage players beyond the initial playthrough.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The game's atmosphere is generally described as pleasant and immersive, drawing players into its world. However, some users feel that certain elements undermine the intended cooperative experience, detracting from the overall atmosphere the game aims to promote.
- “Overall, the game has a very pleasant atmosphere that sucks you in and makes you want to keep existing in its world.”
- “This undermines the cooperative experience and atmosphere the game should be promoting.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews highlight exceptional character design, with users consistently rating it a perfect 10/10, indicating a strong appreciation for the depth and creativity of the characters.