The past few days, Bandai Namco has teased a new RPG to be announced. That RPG has been announced as Echoes Of Aincrad.
Echoes Of Aincrad is a medieval-fantasy themed RPG will see you create your character, engage in action combat that includes parries and dodges.
As a player in Echoes Of Aincrad, you’ll be progressing through quests, upgrading gear and weapons, improve attributes, and select special skills to fit your play style. You also have a partner character where you can do team-up attacks.
The twist of it is that this is a game within a game, in that world of Aincrad is, in-world, is a video game, an MMORPG to be specific (and to be clear, the game i.e. product is a single-player title). That’s where the Sword Art Online connection comes in. Echoes Of Aincrad has that “if you die in the game, you die in real life” story setup where players are trapped in the game.
The pre-order graphics hinted of a “Death Game Mode” which you can unlock early should you pick up the Ultimate Edition.
Though unlike other Sword Art Online games, Echoes Of Aincrad isn’t making use of the series’ main cast, at least not for now.
On a related note, the setup of Echoes Of Aincrad (a game set within another game) is reminiscent of the old .hack series from the 2000s. Bandai Namco recently have relinquished the IP and handed it over to developer CyberConnect2 so they can self-publish the next new .hack game.
Looks like Bandai Namco will have two anime-coded RPGs releasing this year, following the soulslike Code Vein II.
Echoes Of Aincrad will be out on July 9 for the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, and July 10 on PC (Steam).