Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream Review

Link Start! Marking its ninth instalment in the Sword Art Online game franchise, Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream is the culmination of everything the Sword Art Online universe has to offer. Dimps, the developer for both Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream and Fatal Bullet back in 2018, brings not only an all-star cast of characters from its main and alternative series but also renders a complete overhaul of its game mechanics and playstyle.

And unlike the more recent Sword Art Online titles made by AQURIA that have a more traditional feel, Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream delivers a series-first with its massive 20-player raids and a more streamlined multiplayer experience. But considering that the franchise has mostly seen mixed reviews throughout its lifetime, can Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream actually turn that frown around?

A distorted world with an even distorted storytelling

Right from the get-go, Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream delivers a completely original story following two new characters that are part of Galaxia’s development team, a new system that was part of ALfheim Online’s most recent update which allowed players to relive the past. But as Galaxia spins out of control, it causes everyone over time and space to get displaced and lose parts of their memories.

It was a fun take that gave us the Dragonball Xenoverse treatment where we have to set the timeline back on track while also allowing a more diverse roster such as the Underworld’s Administrator or GGO’s Death Gun be seen on a different perspective.

However, where this starts to fall apart is with its terrible pacing where almost the entire half of the game was spent introducing characters one after the other. This is an awful thing to see on a game like this especially if you’re not particularly in it for the story or the overall experience as the game requires you to actually finish it to unlock new characters for multiplayer where all the fun begins and that is… if fun is a five-letter word that spell “G R I N D”.

A fun game hindered by its lack of customization…

When it comes to gameplay and its combat system, it’s a bit of a mixed bag as well. It’s an interesting approach that delivers a diverse fast-paced action combat where characters have their own unique traits and class systems such as fighters, tanks or supports but you also get completely different playstyles based on the virtual world they’re part of.

Characters like LLENN and Fukaziroh for example rains the battlefield with bullets and grenades similar to Fatal Bullet while Leafa, Silica and Yuuki are part of the fairy world of ALfheim Online so they’re able to fly around and can traverse with ease. On the other hand, characters like Eugeo and Administrator from Underworld devastates their foes with magical abilities.

At its core, it’s a pretty fun action RPG mixing elements from different universes. You can roam an expansive map filled with unique encounters and optional objectives, slash or shoot your way through hoards of monsters with unique abilities and even unleash powerful ultimate moves with devastating force. This makes the gameplay loop straightforward yet still addictive… for a time.

But where this starts to fall off is with its exclusion of customizable skills and abilities rendering the experience awfully repetitive if you’re not swapping characters every now and then. Not to mention that the distinction between different classes doesn’t particularly carry over that well in practice. Playing a support character like Leafa or Silica doesn’t particularly feel any different from other classes outside of that one healing ability they have.

At the end of the day, you just push buttons, spam your abilities and hope you did something productive for the next ten to fifteen minutes.

The Multiplayer Experience…

And it shouldn’t come as a surprise but Sword Art Online Fractured Daydreamhas an even bigger emphasis on its multiplayer compared to its predecessors. It’s a live-service title that offers 20-player boss raids and other multiplayer quests either with a team in co-op or acting alone in free roam with other players. It should be noted that even during a server maintenance or when you don’t have access to the internet, players can still play the game but with limited functions.

But even without its limited functions, its online modes are sparse with sizable gaps in between ranks to unlock other maps and missions. As of writing, there are a total of nine co-op quests, three boss raids, and the newly added extreme raid, which are only available during specific time slots. The latest update also added Strea as the first of three paid DLC characters alongside a handful of quests tied to her story.

Sadly, Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream is soured by its grindy approach to everything. As you play the game, complete story missions or even do the various multiplayer activities, you will be awarded with experience to advance your Player Rank which dictates what kind of content you’ll be able to do or the rank of equipment you can obtain. What makes this a huge turn-off is there aren’t really a lot of things unlocked right away and players are expected to repeatedly grind the same few missions over and over again until they get access to the next one.

It’s a grindy endeavour that doesn’t particularly feel rewarding, especially with its declining player base a few weeks after its release. What’s worse is this is a game that was literally made with massive multiplayer in mind so having barren lobbies doesn’t particularly bode well for its future.

Further fouling my tastebuds is its Battle Pass-like season progression. While it doesn’t particularly make you cough up real-world dollars to get the full experience, having timed progression leaves little to be desired for a £49.99 game you pay upfront. They should take a page out of Helldivers 2 where they introduce new warbonds that include from cosmetics to modded weapons without having to rush through everything before it’s gone.

There’s also an in-game store neatly tucked away on the far right of the lobby that allows purchases of exclusive customization items which would mostly use real-world money.

<h2>Conclusion</h2>

It’s a shame since this is literally the best-looking Sword Art Online game right now with a lot of hidden potential. The characters are well-detailed while the various maps are vast and filled with points of interest. However, its execution and lack of content to keep players interested just isn’t there. Hardcore SAO fans are still having fun with this but if you’re not really one of them, this is a really hard sell even for the best of businessmen.

This is a game that’ll eventually crash and burn because of its lack of player retention and sadly I don’t see any way that Bandai Namco or Dimps can actually save this one from its inevitable fate.