It has only been a few days since we got word that Bandai Namco was working on a brand-new action RPG titled Echoes of Aincrad. Echoes of Aincrad takes place in the world of Sword Art Online. The announcement trailer did not give too many details, but it did give us the most important information. You will not be playing primarily as the protagonist of the series, Kirito. You will be able to create your own character.
Not Kirito?
The main player character is based on you. That means we aren’t following Kirito’s story. There are still events from Kirito’s journey that we will see, and the main player character is trapped in Aincrad just like everyone else. The connections you make are going to be different, and there are party members who were not in Kirito’s party.
The first character we meet in the game will be Iori. Based on the story trailer, it sounds like a traumatic event happened that made her a popular face to pity. She started getting into video games so she doesn’t have to deal with people recognizing her face. She can live in video game worlds and not be seen as the tragedy that happened in her life. Iori is an original character created for the game.
Characters like Asuna and Argo are shown as party companion characters. So even if we don’t follow Kirito, we do still meet other characters connected to him.
If You Die In The Game, You Die For Real
One big thing shown off in the Japanese announcements was the death game mode. Standard edition players unlock it after a full playthrough; deluxe and ultimate editions get it right out of the gate. With this mode activated, if your character dies, your save goes with it. That means you will have to restart the full game and create a brand-new avatar from scratch.
What About Parties
Echoes of Aincrad takes a unique approach to the party system compared to other Sword Art Online games. You only have access to one companion at a time. Part of the trailer does show a party of four, so that might mean certain sections will let you have a full four-person party, or maybe online co-op gets added before launch.
Weapon Types
Previews had a bunch of selectable weapon options you can customize for your avatar. The base weapon set starts as Sword and Shield. You can also choose Mace and Shield, Greatsword, Rapier, Dagger, or Battle Axe.
You can reset your skill points to allocate into a different weapon’s skill tree, so swapping around is relatively easy. Echoes of Aincrad is an action RPG, so trying out different weapons to find what fits your playstyle is part of the fun.
Aincrad….ish
The big elephant in the room: Echoes of Aincrad only covers the first two floors. Aincrad, for those unfamiliar with the series, is 100 floors total. The anime itself covered 75 floors across 15 episodes, speeding through most of them after floor 1. Having a 30-50 hour experience built around just two floors is quite the commitment. The Famitsu interview noted it would take an additional 10 years to include all 100 floors.
Personally, I think that’s an underestimation. Five years of development has gotten us two floors. Getting to 100 the right way would take far longer.
Not Aquarius? Or Dimps?
If you’ve played one of the many Sword Art Online games, the names Aquarius or Dimps might stand out. Ordinarily, development for anything SAO-related tends to fall to one of those two studios. The developer on Echoes of Aincrad is Game Studio Inc.
Game Studio Inc. has worked with Bandai Namco before. Their most recent collaboration was Synduality: Echo of Ada. This is the first time they are bringing their skills to the Sword Art Online world.
Sword Art Online Not Emphasized?
Most Sword Art Online games have the franchise name prominently on the cover art and logo. Echoes of Aincrad puts it in a small subtitle, and that’s intentional. The game is designed as an entry point for SAO fans and non-SAO fans alike.
Every prior SAO game has its own continuity, separate from the main anime and light novel series, requiring you to play through a plethora of other games to get full context on every character. Each one also introduces an exclusive character who carries forward into every title after it. Echoes of Aincrad doesn’t have that problem. You can start here with zero SAO knowledge and be completely fine. This is the true beginning point.
I am personally very hyped about this game and the systems we already know about. I am looking forward to trying out Echoes of Aincrad when it launches on July 10th, 2026, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
Sources: Famitsu, denfaminicogamer, and Bandai Namco’s Main Website for Echoes of Aincrad
