Sword Art Online – Re: Hollow Fragment

TLDR: Do not play this if you’re not an SAO fan.

Actual Review:
This game relies heavily on you already having some sort of attachment, or at least familiarity with the characters of the popular anime Sword Art Online, through at least season 1. Being familiar with up to season 3 will keep a couple characters from being unknowns. On top of a large cast from the first 3 seasons, we get 2 new characters. This is because….the events of this game take place in an alternate “what if?” timeline, where if the events of season 1 ended differently.

Gameplay – Very repetitive gameplay loop. Lots of breaks in the game where the entire cast of characters have charming, yet sometimes long drawn out skits. Battle system is the most fun part of the game, but does turn into a mindless “use this skill, now this skill” grind. Only a few difficulty spikes.

Music – Average

Story – Interesting premise to split from the anime timeline, nothing special.

Score:
Non SAO Fans – 2/10
SAO Fans – 5/10