Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris

Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris feels like a run-of-the-mill JRPG, done in the style of SAO. Not ever did I think the game was downright bad or poorly made, but rarely was I taken or impressed by anything going on from a story or gameplay perspective. The game would have benefited greatly from leaning more into the online/MMO universe that it’s based on. However, fans of the anime and manga will surely still find some enjoyment with the latest adaptation of Sword Art Online.

Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris is a game that many will love, but many more will not. With some interest in the source material and a passion for the JRPG space, there’s probably 100 hours worth of content here for dedicated players. Unfortunately, glaringly obvious technical problems hinder what would otherwise be an amazing Sword Art Online game.

Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris is not particularly memorable but is also an enjoyable action JRPG for every SAO fan.

Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris is not for everyone: it's a game for fans who will be happy to retrace the events of the episodes of Alicization and who for this reason will be able to postpone major narrative problems in the second part and technical throughout the game.

A lot of problems for an RPG made and enjoyable only for Sword Art Online fans.

Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris had the potential to be a standout game with a dynamic battle system and good RPG mechanics. However, the pacing is agonizingly slow and has unforgivable technical issues. Sadly, it’s only recommended for fans of the series or players with maximum patience.

An enjoyable RPG with some pacing issues, Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris is a lot of fun once you get to grips with its combat and leveling systems. The decision to lock multiplayer behind 10 hours of content is baffling, but once you unlock it you'll have a good time exploring the MMO-like world with friends.

Alicization Lycoris tries to evolve the series, and sometimes succeeds, but its technical issues make the battles, one of its main pillars, hard to enjoy.

Ultimately SWORD ART ONLINE: Alicization Lycoris takes too long to get to the point both in its combat and story, leaving the player disinterested before it even really begins. There is a good game here if you do commit to it, with some great character and world design, enjoyable combat, and interesting game systems, but it’s just not worth the slog to reach it.

Sword Art Online Alicization Lycoris attempts to revamp the franchise and breathe new life into it, with very polarizing results.

SWORD ART ONLINE Alicization Lycoris has a great battle system that feels like a full-fledged fighting game. With some of the original characters being more fleshed out, there’s some good fan service here as well, but as a whole the game feels like a low-quality effort. There are just too many errors, bugs and so on that often make SWORD ART ONLINE Alicization Lycoris frustrating to play. The biggest problem is the game’s original story, which has none of the appeal of the work it is based on.

Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris is a pleasant return to the classic fantasy typical of the saga, but it is limping on the technical side and on the variety of experience, creating a questionable compromise between quantity and quality.

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.

Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris is a mediocre game, ambitious but incapable of realizing its vision, plagued by an inadequate and lazy realization. Only for the most dedicated fans of Sword Art Online.

The game is for SAO fans primarily, and everyone else not even secondary but way in the back. There is a huge amount of story and dialogue and some times, not enough clunky combat as it is.