Is Sword Art Online Hollow Realization on Xbox One

MMO Party Part Trois

Sword Fine art Online: Hollow Realization might be the all-time Sword Art Online game however.

Then again, nosotros might not be talking about all that much. This is, after all, just the third major Sword Art Online game (5th, counting revamped re-releases), situated along a quality range firmly within the "inoffensive" spectrum.

That said, Hollow Realization would be easy to recommend, and in fits of inspired design, comes the closest withal to actually capturing what it might feel like to really play the online RPGs Sword Art Online's cast are constantly engaged with. In short, it's a game that almost warrants an an unqualified thumbs-upward.

At present, if but information technology weren't a Sword Art Online game…

Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization(PS4 [Reviewed], PS Vita)
Programmer: Aquria
Publisher:Bandai Namco Entertainment
Released: Oct 27, 2016 (JP) November 8, 2016 (NA/EU/AP)
MSRP: $59.99 (PS4), $39.99 (Vita)

I'll clarify that last judgement in a bit, just starting time, the good news:Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization is a genuine good fourth dimension, mechanically. This was especially true for me, since I've always had a soft spot for games that try to riff on other genre's conventions.

Information technology was a real treat to see a unmarried-player RPG effort to correspond the tropes and structure of a persistent online MMO, andHollow Realization captures the aesthetic masterfully. The interface mimics the MMO await, bristling with icons and even using a imitation chat window and "event log" to both rail combat actions and remind players of their firsthand objectives. From false friends lists, to carefully placed uses of common MMO terminology, and even how the motility-controlled in-game interface appears to pop upward virtually the character models when players apply the bodily in-game options menus,Hollow Realization is the most successful endeavour yet to foster the illusion that i is really playing the fictional VR online games theSword Fine art Online's characters play.

It's effectively scratched the itch I've had always since.hack had gone to pot, and that's worth appreciating. Information technology'due south not entirely novel, of course, and is, in essence, a better-executed take onHollow Fragment's approach, helped forth by a conveniently familiar premise. The setting for the latest anime go-around is "Sword Art: Origin," a quasi-reboot of the original "Sword Art Online," the game where Kirito and his pals were first trapped in a years-long life-or-death struggle. Of course, the death-game aspect has been helpfully excised from the new title, and the crew apparently feels safe enough to revisit the site of their starting time ordeal, at present that it's condom to do and so.

In some means, the fact that it never becomesunited nations-safe to exercise and then is what'southward nigh disappointing virtuallyHollow Realization'due south narrative. On the i hand, it would be a bit cliché for them to get trapped in another death game, and in some means run counter to the point of the stories. And still, at least the death-game story wasexciting. LikeLost Song before it,Hollow Realization has players literally merely hanging out at the controls while they watch a dude and his guildies faff about in a game. A significant chunk of the main campaign'south motivation is literally just Kirito going "Hey, permit's endeavour going to that absurd-looking place off in the distance!" and and so anybody going there.

I'1000 not the kind of person that demands epic adventures out of every RPG. Some of the best moments in these games come when in that location's little at stake, when sometimes you and your pals only want to throw a political party or proceed a road trip or grind some crafting materials or race some Chocobos. But there have to besome stakes, or at least a sense of progression in the characters to brand the fourth dimension spent seem worthwhile, andHollow Realization fails to evangelize on that forepart. Even its ostensible main plot, involving a seemingly sentient NPC named Premier, feels similar a retread of the many "This AI character is real!" subplots thatSword Fine art Online has already explored. Hell, Kirito even has an AI daughter, Yui, that's had a presence in every game so far, so this story doesn't even get the benefit of novelty.

None of this is benefited by the deliberate languid pacing of the game, which tends to stick "story" quests in a very hazy progression between sometimes hours-long bouts of exploration and sidequest messing-about. It'southward ane thing to encourage players to chill out and not "mainline" everything, but it's some other to take a entrada construction and so loose that I become worried that I'd somehow cleaved the game.

In some means, I tin't entirely blameHollow Realization for being how it is.Sword Fine art Online equally a whole has never really revisited the heights of its original story arc, then in some means ane could fence that the game is staying true to form. It's only a bigger bummer at present, considering this time around, the systems and technical side feel robust enough to have supported riskier, bigger stories and characterization. Gameplay-wise,Hollow Realization feels like a more successful, refined iteration of what Aquria tried to practise withHollow Fragment (andInfinity Moment before information technology), without the oversimplification that plagued the Artdink-developedLost Song.

This is near evident in the gainsay, which cuts down on menu gymnastics and ramps upwardly some of the more existent-fourth dimension aspects, while still preserving that game-inside-a-game feel. Face buttons still trigger basic attacks and pre-selected "Sword Skill" specials, while pushing in the touchpad brings up an MMO-style "hotbar" to access other abilities and items. Timing and positioning have greater sway, as well, and players will demand to both keep an centre on enemy attack zones and the execution of their skills to extract the greatest consequence out of their abilities and party members.

Outside of combat,Hollow Realization tries to simulate the social aspect of MMOs. Players tin try to chat upward and befriend whatever other role player or NPC, even the random ones walking around town that aren't office of the main bandage. A push tin bring upwards a "profile page" showing a player'southward personality traits, and each personality trait (such as "Curious" or "Sexy") comes with a series of related attributes and abilities. With enough badgering, any fellow player can be recruited as a party member, and praising them when they practise good things in boxing tin affect their personality, gainsay tactics, and stat growth. It's a clever system, though information technology may be slightly too subtle in practise, equally during my time I couldn't really figure out how to engage with it in ways beyond pressing a button to say "Good Job!" whenever my girlfriend stabbed a monster peculiarly hard.

It's easier to appoint with the upgraded visuals, though.Hollow Realization finally looks better than an upscaled PS3 game, with more detailed models and environments, and a more colorful, lush look overall. Unfortunately for Vita owners, this comes at catastrophic costs in performance. Don't play the Vita version.

I feel conflicted aboutSword Art Online: Hollow Realization, because while it'south never been more than interesting to play as a game, the fact that its narrative is typical of latter-daySword Art Online stories has really go something of a liability. A bolder story, one that took more than risk, established a ameliorate sense of stakes, or even did something other than tread water would definitelynon existSword Fine art Online-like, and would brand information technology much easier to recommend to people outside the show'southward fanbase. Every bit it stands, though,Hollow Realization remains aSword Art Online game, for ameliorateand worse.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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Source: https://www.destructoid.com/reviews/review-sword-art-online-hollow-realization/

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