Monthly Archives: March 2018

Hearts of Iron IV Expansion ‘Waking the Tiger’ Now Available

The latest expansion to Hearts of Iron IV releases today, drawing the players attention to the Chinese Front in “Waking the Tiger”. The Chinese Republic, barely 25 years old has not found a stable ground to stand upon, but are being pressed by Japan. A set of new focus trees and new leaders await Nationalist China, Communist China, Warlords States, while Japanese Vassals add depth variety to one of history’s forgotten fronts. This will be released alongside a major update that’s free to all Hearts of Iron IV players.

Hearts of Iron IV: Waking the Tiger includes:

  • Chinese National Focuses: Divided and under threat, China has great reserves of manpower and diplomatic flexibility
  • Chain of Command: Unite your armies under a field marshal who can take advantage of the many skills of the generals under his direction.
  • Decisions and Missions: Historical decisions and national missions give you new places to spend Political Power, as you deal with domestic politics or start special projects.
  • Commanders’ Traits and Abilities: Commanders’’ traits can now unlock powerful Command Power abilities, allowing great flexibility and creativity.
  • Updated Axis Focus Trees: Alternate historical paths for the German Reich and Imperial Japan, including parliamentary rule in Japan and the return of the Kaiser to Germany.
  • Acclimatization: Over time, troops will learn how to survive in the desert or harsh winters, giving these veterans an edge on the battlefield.
  • And More: Capturing battlefield equipment, and a revitalized air war system that has room for Volunteer air wings.

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 Releases Today

Independent Studio Fatshark Games are proud to announce that Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is now available on Steam today! It will also be on the way to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles, but for now it is only available on PC. Grisly and dark, Vermintide 2 is a compelling first-person co-op melee RPG. It’s set during the End Times of the fantasy Warhammer world, and as if the Skaven weren’t enough, the Chaos faction also arrives to cause death and destruction. Other new features include 15 hero careers, new environments, talent trees and the proprietary Heroic Deeds System.

Northgard Officially Launches Out of Early Access

Shiro Games is pleased to announce that their Viking strategy game, Northgard, has left Steam Early Access and is officially live! The standard edition is available for 29.99 USD. The official release also launches with a major update called ‘Rig’s Saga’. It brings forth a new campaign of 11 chapters, 7 new environments for solo/multiplayer, a retooled combat system, achievements, and a wealth of other changes. The full patch notes can be seen here. Exploration, village building, resource management, diplomacy and tactical combat all await players, as they are plunged into a mythical world that fuses well with Norse mythology. It’s filled with giants, wyverns, and the undead.3

The full release of Northgard allows players to:

  • Build your settlement on the newly discovered continent of Northgard

  • Grow the village by assigning Vikings to various jobs (Farmer, Warrior, Sailor, Loremaster)

  • Choose between six different Viking clans, each with unique benefits, buildings and units

  • Manage your resources carefully to survive the harsh winters and vicious foes

  • Expand and discover new territory with unique strategic opportunities

  • Achieve different victory conditions such as Conquest, Fame, Lore and Trading

  • Play against your friends or against an AI with different difficulty levels in single player or multiplayer modes.

  • Follow the brave Viking Rig in his quest for vengeance in a brand-new single-player campaign that spans 11 chapters.

Damascus Gear: Operation Osaka Hits PS4/Vita/PC Today

Not content with simply making incredible fighting games, a new Mecha Combat RPG hits PS4/Vita/PC via Steam today: Damascus Gear: Operation Osaka! The Playstation 4 and Steam versions both boast crisp HD visuals, and all versions have the Arena Mode (battle against other mechs for money and Arena Points) and Mission Mode (explore the Cosmopolis dungeon that changes every time you enter for parts and other items. Arena ranks add more difficult dungeons). A first in the series, Pilots can be upgraded and leveled up, and there are over 40 unique characters to interact with.

“The GEAR System was revealed by the Atsuga Corporation, allowing for the perfection of piloted humanoid robots called GEARs. With the outbreak of World War Four in 2050 and the loss of control of the GEAR System that followed, the world changed completely. Berserk GEARs became known as RAGE, and combat GEARs around the world began a total massacre of humanity. The war between humans and RAGE was exceedingly fierce, but over 50 years after the war began, humanity reclaimed Japan from the RAGE.”

30 years have passed, and a beacon of light and hope, Cosmopolis was built upon Osaka. A pilot has inherited his GEAR alongside crippling debt. Between them and their Operator, they enter the Arena. This is not a tale for the history books to be told time immemorial, but a battle for freedom and survival.

Ragachak’s Top Five Most-Tragic Villains

by Jason Parker (Ragachak)

Spoilers, Spoilers Everywhere. You’ve been warned. Spoilertown!

Top 5 Tragic Villains - Golbez

Too little, too late, Golbez.

This piece was actually a lot of fun to put together. You know what everyone loves? A good, tragic villain. Someone who is evil, and does horrific things, but it’s not really their fault that they’re in that position. Whether it is by birth, driven to madness, driven to despair, everyone loves a tragic villain. That’s what makes an interesting foil, someone who isn’t just “Lol I’m evil! Tee hee!”, except for Kefka. He’s the exception that makes the rule. So I sat down with my council, my trusted advisory board (RE: Kenny, since he’s the only person awake at the hour I write these to bounce ideas off of), and a list has been created. I’ll do what I can go to go into the motivations and what makes these villains worthy of note in their backstory. Though there are a few runner-ups that I thought might make a fun mention. Queen Zeal (Chrono Trigger) for her lust for power, drunk off of the immortality of the Mammon Machine. But she ties too much into someone else, so she didn’t make the cut. Golbez (Final Fantasy IV), for being controlled by Zemus/Zeromus, to do all the horrible kidnappy/murder/summon the Four Daevas stuff he did. He was kind of one-dimensional, but a fun character/villain anyway. Edge’s Parents (FFIV) almost made the list as a kind of comical note. The Generic, Random Hero from 7th Saga Who Has The Star Rune (7th Saga), because they wind up fighting against you when you come upon them. But all of the other heroes are fighting against you anyway, so it doesn’t quite work out.

Top 5 Tragic Villains - Delita

Can one go beyond one’s birth?

5: Delita (FF Tactics): Delita is a character of circumstance. He is best friends with one of the noblest, royal bloodlines in the whole of Ivalice (Ramza Beoulve). He’s constantly belittled by another noble and desperately wants to rise above his station. It’s like Hamilton, only Delita sets up an entire course of bloodshed, violence, kidnapping, betrayal, all so that he can be King, only to be betrayed by the Princess that he foolishly falls for. Delita’s need to not be scum, to be a peasant is so great that he will go to any lengths to do so. And once his only family, his sister is killed by the nobility, he no longer has a reason to hold back. Delita is such a fascinating character. He could have been a hero, he could have been the hero. He could have been a hero, but instead, overwhelmed by his circumstances, became the villain.

Top 5 Tragic Villains - Ray

Too much religion is a bad thing.

4: Ray (Breath of Fire 2): Ray is a shining example of religious indoctrination. When we first meet Ray, we’ve already basically learned that this new Church, Eva, has taken over the land, swept over huge portions of the land that once revered the Dragon God. But there’s this new religion, basically a cult. But Ray is not like them. He doesn’t transform into some hideous devil and attack us. Hell, he helps us rescue an entire town from falling victim to a flood, and risks his own life to hold back the water. He even teaches us useful magic in thanks for saving the people. He stands out in the St. Eva church, because he’s genuinely a good person, and thinks the church is right. So he spends much of the game trying to convert Ryu, or at least show him the light that he knows is there. They come to blows, Ray reveals he can transform into a Dragon too, showing that perhaps Ray is an apostate, or was lured away from the Dragon Clan at a young age. Another would-be-ally turned into a horrific, powerful foe. He was brainwashed early and didn’t stand a chance.

Top 5 Tragic Villains - Magus

“…”

3: Magus (Chrono Trigger): Magus/Janus Zeal is another seriously interesting character. When we first meet him, he’s basically Satan. Worshipped by a village of monsters (literally worshipped), a cult took over a church for him, and he has undead monsters laying siege to Guardia Kingdom. But why? He’s trying to summon Lavos, the Destroyer of Worlds, in order to kill all humans, right? Right? Of course not! That’s too simple. When he was a young man, his mother, Queen Zeal fell in lust with the Mammon Machine’s power and coveted the immortality it could grant. The Mammon Machine was tapped directly into Lavos, who slumbered peacefully under the sea. Magus was furious at what Lavos did to his family, his kingdom, his entire timeline. So, he was trying to summon Lavos/awaken it so he could slay it. This of course, fails, because it’s Lavos. All of his work hidden as the Prophet was undone when Chrono was murdered, and he winds up coming upon the party again, who he asks if they want to fight. You can fight him there, and get revenge for Chrono, and for Frog, who was turned into his new form thanks to Magus’ magic. Or you could bring him along and set things right. Fueled by rage, anger, and the need for vengeance, Magus fights to defeat both his mother and the great devourer, Lavos.

Top 5 Tragic Villains - Iris

Every scene with Iris gets a little more heartbreaking.

2: Erim/Iris (Lufia and the Fortress of Doom/Lufia 2): Lufia and the Fortress of Doom and its Sequel/prequel, Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals had some very deep storytelling and you didn’t have to go far to find it. One of the key points is that Erim, the Sinistral of Death is the key to the Sinistrals rebirth. As long as she lives, so do they. They will inevitably arise again. In Lufia and the Fortress of Doom, we learn that Lufia is actually Erim, and her birth is the reason the Sinistrals came back, 90 years after their first rise to power. She chose to rebel against her brothers, and save the world, at the cost of her memories and powers, never to cast magic again. She gave up everything for the descendant of Maxim, which really isn’t that unbelievable if you look to the next game. In Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals (the prequel), a mysterious seer/prophet named Iris continually interrupts the adventure, giving Maxim a bit of advice, guiding his way and even occasionally helping him. She challenges the love that Maxim has for Selan, as if she were trying to cause a rift between them. We learn late in the game that Iris is Erim, the Sinistral of Death. It’s often theorized that her time as Iris helped develop that compassion that had her save Maxim, and again in the first game. Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals really builds upon Iris/Erim’s relationship with the humans and her torn nature between being the Sinistral/God of Death, and helping Maxim. She’s so damn fascinating, for not having tons of screen time (except as Lufia).

FFX HD_ Tidus meets Jecht - YouTube

“You’ve grown. You eatin’ right, boy?”

1: Jecht (FFX): Ah, Jecht. The dad of the year. Jecht was just a Blitzball star, probably an alcoholic, and the most macho, charismatic man in all of Zanarkand. He was the best Blitzer in the world, and he had a family. A wife and a son, who was named Tidus. He was a terrible father though, dreadful at showing love and compassion, despite wanting to. So he gets sent to Spira to help Auron and Braska do battle with Sin. As they try to decide who should become the final Aeon, Jecht decides that it should be him. He’ll never go home and see his son again, and it’s then we see that he loved his family, but could not show it because he was a macho jackass. He carefully hid spheres all around Spira, in the event his son would find his way there because somehow, it seemed like he knew it could happen. When he became Sin, he found he could bring Tidus there to see him, to stop him. He wanted to be a hero, to stop Sin, and in doing so, became Sin. His desire to set things right with his son was so great that he drug him 1,000 years through time and did everything he could to gain even a sliver of control to glimpse his son. The ending is especially poignant when you finally confront Sin and see Jecht in his human form. “I can’t hear the hymn so well anymore…” is one of the last lines he has in the game. That hymn seemed to calm him, let him have a measure of control. He was a villain because of his desire to be a hero. It took his son deciding that this spiral of death had to end, to completely save Spira, and finally make his dad proud.

Forged Battalion Preview

Written by Remko Molenaar (Proxzor)

Real Time Strategy games have always had a huge influence on the video game industry. When you think back of perhaps the two most popular RTS games, Warcraft and Age of Empires, you can tell why exactly these two games have been so important. Both games were very popular in their own times, and both have had major influence in later game development in one way or another. But in the last few years, or perhaps even longer, the real time strategy genre has had a drought. It’s simply not the most popular competitive genre around anymore, and real time strategy games are more shifted into MMO-like games or single-player campaigns. Beside Starcraft, there hasn’t really been a very successful competitive strategy game to steal the spotlight. Forged Battalion hopes to change all this and has recently released its own take of the strategy genre, with plenty of focus on the competitive game mode.

Forged Battalion Screenshot

Both Warcraft and Starcraft have had such a major influence for a while now, and are still at the top of the genre. Despite both games being of age now, their status in the industry is nothing to make fun of and I have always thought that both games were the golden standards of what games need to be. They have very smooth gameplay, with an interesting story and setting in the mix, and in my eyes there is nothing that could go wrong, unless you mess up with one of these layers of foundation of a successful strategy game. When I threw myself into the first game of Forged Battalion, I was immediately reminded why exactly the gameplay is so very important for a competitive strategy game.

Forged Battalion Screenshot

Bluntly said, the game looks and plays exactly like the latest Starcraft 2 series, perhaps the most popular RTS game of these days. Despite their player struggles at times, Starcraft 2 is still immensely popular among strategy fans. Forged Battalion almost feels like I am playing some sort of expansion or addition to Starcraft 2. The gameplay is just as smooth and simple, but the foundation is a little easier to understand. In Forged Battalion there are no multiple races that you can choose between. Every side has the exact same class, but each individual unit can be changed outside of the game with the help of the Tech Tree and the Faction Creator.

Forged Battalion Screenshot

In the Tech Tree you can unlock more additions for your units to pimp them out to your liking and style of play, making each composition of ‘factions’ different for each individual player. Each unit can have a different weapon, that has a different damage impact depending on what the unit is dealing damage to. By playing around you can definitely tweak to what works the best for you. Even though I am never a huge fan of rewarding veterans over newer players, it does give this game an extra element to play around with, and to slowly teach you the game further into knowing your units. Since most units are still relatively the same, but are mostly just different depending on their weapon, you don’t really get surprised too much when facing other players.

By playing you will be given research points, these can then be used to unlock things on the tech tree. When unlocked you are able to create new units with the additions of your choice that you can then build in every game.

Forged Battalion Screenshot

But why exactly does this game remind me a lot of Starcraft? Well that’s easy. Not only does this game has the minerals feature of Starcraft, the whole interface and feel of the game is very similar to that of Starcraft 2. While the game does its best of being its own unique thing, you can find a lot of elements that have had an important role in other RTS games, mainly just Starcraft 2. You start out with three Harvesters that mine minerals for you. These minerals can be found near your Command Center, and with the addition of a Refinery you can mine them quicker and get more harvesters. When buying the refinery, other buildings open up like the Barracks and Factory. Both of these open up the availability of the Comm Center which then open sup what you can consider late game units or the highest tier units: the Heavy Vehicle Factory and Aircraft Factory. So systematically you need to progress as fast as you can while still trying to outsmart your opponent with your tech and units production. Units also look and feel very similar to Starcraft 2. Now I know there isn’t a lot of room to play around when it comes to strategy games, and I know that most games that usually do try to do their own thing usually do not get as big as they hope to be, so this is all said in a very positive way, because the Starcraft 2 method seems to have worked well, and I personally am a big fan of this particular style and feel of playing.

Forged Battalion Screenshot

Conclusion: Great So Far
Solid game, but since it looks so very similar to other strategy games, it begs the question of what its place in the industry/genre can be.

This gets us to the question: Is Forged Battalion a game that we can look back at in ten years time, and say it added to the foundations of the strategy genre? The answer is No, not really. This isn’t really meant in a negative way, while Forged Battalion is a very fun game, and I really hope its player numbers start to increase a lot more. Forged Battalion is nothing but a reskin of games we have seen before, with the addition of a tech tree that allows the player some customization. While the basic foundations of Forged Battalion are proven to be rock solid, it does beg the question of why exactly you should play this game in the first place, and not its already proven successful older brothers? This is a question I really do not have an answer to. While Forged Battalion is a very solid and fun game, it really doesn’t add anything new to the strategy genre and ‘Faction Creator’ isn’t enough of a reason to change games like these.

Dead Cells ‘Hand of the King’ Update Now Available

Dead Cells releases the sixth, and final “major” update to the game as they approach full launch later in the year, and it has a lot going on in it. Including a new castle-themed level, and it’s rage-quit inducing boss, a nightmare difficulty level and an absolute wealth of new monsters, weapons, balancing and design tweaks. The full patch notes are right here. Early Access can still be purchased for 13.40 USD (normally 19.99, but on sale for Midweek Madness).

Project Cars 2: ‘Porsche Legends Pack’ Available Now

The second expansion pack for Project Cars 2 is here today, the Porsche Legends Pack! It’s available as a standalone purchase or is found in the Season Pass, in the Americas for PS4/Xbox One and PCs via Steam. Nine incredible Porsche cars are found in this pack, as well as Porsche’s very own race-track: FIA-certified ‘Porsche On-Road Circuit Leipzig’, a first for any racing simulator. Along with these come new Porsche-centric Career events, all designed to bring the spirit of the cars alive in settings in which they were once legends, and 11 esport liveries. The following content will be available in this DLC pack:

CARS (9)
– 1971 Porsche 908/03 Spyder
– 1971 Porsche 917K 
– 1972 Porsche 917/10
– 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 2.8
– 1978 Porsche 935/78 
– 1981 Porsche 935/78-81
– 1987 Porsche 959 S
– 2004 Porsche Carrera GT
– 2017 Porsche 911 RSR
 
TRACKS (1)
Porsche On-road Circuit Leipzig
 
ESPORTS LIVERIES FROM THE FOLLOWING FOUR SUPPLIERS (11)
– VP-Gaming.de
– ESPORTS+CARS 
– Oscaro eSports by SDL
– Euronics Gaming
 
CAREER EVENTS (5)
– Carrera Showdown 
– California Dream Event
– 2.4 Hours of Nurburg
– Vintage Forest Run 
– Icons On Show

Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet Review

by Jason Parker (Ragachak)

SAO Fatal Bullet Review- Main Cast

You can’t escape them. It’s almost like they’re integral to this franchise.

Sword Art Online and I have a sort of rocky history with one another. I think the anime is a less-engaging .hack//sign, and that’s okay. We like what we like! However, most of the games have been mediocre at best to me. Most of them get put down and set aside, never to be touched again. But I recently sat down with the PC version of Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet, which certainly has a feel that’s different from any of the others I have played. It’s still set in a Virtual World, but this time it’s a shooter MMO. Think Destiny/Destiny 2. The major difference is, we’re not going to have a lot of real-world controversy packaged with Fatal Bullet, like having the exp curve shifted and shafting players, or offering lots of “lootboxes” with “cosmetics” that you “totally don’t have to buy with real money but you can if you’d like to!” sort of crap going on in it. This isn’t a “real” virtual world.

SAO Fatal Bullet Review - Your squad

From left to right: Your AI, You, Your Best Friend Who Moved Away.

Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet is an action-RPG set in the world of GGO (Gun Gale Online), and you make your own custom character to enter into the SAO Universe. Most of the SAO cast is here in the game with you, and you interact with them, and they inflict themselves on your story. Of course, Kirito is basically the best player in this game too, but your inserted character is also terribly amazing and comes across an insanely rare AI unit to help them on their adventures. This AI is where a lot of people really love the game it seems, because you can, as the kids say, build your own Waifu/Husbando. It’s pretty progressive in that it lets you build a male AI to help you if you’d like. I won’t lie, I kind of got tired of being called “Master” after about forty-five minutes; but they are helpful, will res you in battle, and fight with you. You can give them an allowance, let them get haircuts, and give them stats/skills that pair well with whatever you’re doing.

SAO Fatal Bullet Review - Farming

Sure, you could meet the main NPCs. But wouldn’t you rather farm?

This is an action MMO at its core, and as the name suggests, it has a variety of guns you can use. Pistols, Assault Rifles, Rockets, Sub-Machine Guns, Sniper Rifles, or you can do what Kirito does, and wield a laser sword plus pistol. I cannot imagine anyone wanting to use a sword though, because once a target has locked onto you, you’re getting hit. The dodge mechanic is pretty frustrating, even though I found myself killing enemies 10-20 levels higher than me without too much difficulty. Once you master dodging, it’s not that awful. That was with my assault rifle though. As long as your best friend and your AI are there, very little will be an issue to deal with. The game has an aim-assist that you can turn on and off, and while the gunplay is very solid once you get used to it… you have to get used to it. That’s the problem. You have to know when to turn it on when to turn it off again. You also have skills you can equip, but they’re clumsy to use at best. Useful when you can activate them, but clumsy for sure. Trust your guns instead.

SAO Fatal Bullet - Dungeon

As long as your AI doesn’t act a fool, some of these fights are simplistic.

You can equip two different weapons at once, with various stats, rarities, etc, like you’d see in any other MMO. You don’t get unlimited ammo, however; you have to purchase it at the in-game shops. Not a big deal, since it’s not terribly expensive, but man, the guns are! The shops are so inflated, again, like any other MMO, so I’m not upset at that. You can, however, go farm unique/elites in the world once you find them, going into a map, killing them for unidentified items and leaving. You can identify them through one of Kirito’s friends. As it turns out, his friends can do everything: upgrade/transform weapons, craft new costumes, identify gear, et cetera. It’s very convenient how useful they are.

The plot starts off pretty unclear plot, and pretty slow to boot. There are so many cutscenes and huge chunks of dialogue with the main cast of the game before the grind begins. Of course you’ll have to grind a lot; it’s a looter-shooter after all, so you have to expect it. Which is sort of unfortunate, because the game itself is not insanely long. I don’t believe the story is more than 20-25 hours, and the online multiplayer has been barren. I don’t PVP in games like this, because I’m not ready to play against people with incredible gear that just shoot me to bits because I don’t play all the time. The PVE is a boss-rush style mode, which is kind of cool. The multiplayer doesn’t really stand out to me and I ultimately found far more enjoyment in the regular single-player experience. You have a few allies to go kill stuff with you, and while I’d rather play this online in the open world with friends, that’s not what’s available, at least not yet. It could be a fun addition to the game somewhere down the line.

SAO Fatal Bullet - Skills

Do you have the (passive) skills to pay the bills?

The gameplay itself is very good. It takes a little getting used to, and it can feel insanely repetitive, with the same old dungeons, the same color palette, the same robot enemies and occasional “PCs” to fight, all for loot and more credits to buy stuff, but it still manages to be enjoyable. I appreciate that the game does not funnel you down a particular skill or weapon path. You might find yourself using a gun with better stats, but you can play the game your way, and that matters a lot in a shooter. As you play, you’ll gain levels, which give you stat points and points for skills. Stats are incredibly important for equipping new gear, and you’re also tasked with statting up your AI helper. The skills range from passives to active abilities, and there’s a lot of cross-over in the passive abilities. Thankfully, if you get a skill that appears in another tree, you still have it. However, the AI is dumb; fearfully dumb. I’ve watched my AI just stand there taking shots from a sniper while I lay dead in a heap. They roll forward to try and resurrect me, only to die in one hit. However, it’s not a game over if your team wipes. You tally up whatever you made while out in the world, and go back to town. In that, the game is very easy. It’s relaxing though, and not as stressful to play.

 

SAO Fatal Bullet Review - Spot the MC

Quick: Spot the MC!

Best In Its Class: Good (3/5)

This is far and away the best Sword Art Online game I’ve played ever, quite frankly. It’s still mediocre at best. It’s also one of the better Shooter-Looter style games I’ve played in a long time, and that is with Destiny 2 on the table. Destiny 2 is beautiful and was enjoyable, but all of the drama, lies, and the behind-the-scenes garbage won’t happen here because this is only the illusion of an online MMO shooter. You don’t really have to spend lots of time doing stuff with the important NPCs, but it is worth it, as you gain some pretty amazing costumes, gear, et cetera doing stuff for them. It’s how you upgrade, enhance and transform weapons, which is another fantastic option (that again, you really don’t have to do). It’s a fun game to just log in, shoot a bunch of robots and stuff, get some exp, and then go do something else. Visually it’s appealing, the gameplay is sharp and solid, but it will likely feel incredibly repetitive after playing for too long.

One thing that really bothered me is that sometimes I would log in, and would immediately be thrown into a cutscene. I didn’t log off in the middle of anything. I signed off the game in the middle of town, and when I logged back in, I was in my room (which I guess makes sense) and was tossed into a side-quest or cutscene. There’s lots of side content to do though, and it does extend what you can do in-game. While it can feel tedious, it is still pretty fun. It’s gratifying to run around these abandoned areas and shoot stuff! You can build your ideal waifu/husbando to adventure with you, and that’s pretty damn cool. None of the choices feel important, the areas feel kind of blase’, but the game is still, at its core, a very good game. This is all stuff I think could be fixed with patches or DLC somewhere down the line. Still, if you want to immerse yourself back into the world of Sword Art Online, I’d argue this is one of the best games to jump in.

Note: A game key was provided for review purposes.