The new Sword Art Online game, Echoes of Aincrad, has an optional permadeath difficulty mode that is perfect reference to the source material.
Earlier this week, Bandai Namco revealed the mysterious RPG it had been teasing as Echoes of Aincrad, a new Sword Art Online game set during the first arc of the manga that lets you create your own protagonist a la Xenoverse. Although SAO games have had a somewhat mixed reception in the past, Echoes of Aincrad is already generating a decent buzz.
Echoes of Aincrad seems to be taking things much more seriously than previous Sword Art Online games, with a noticeably bigger budget that looks to finally give the franchise the proper adaptation fans have been waiting for. As if that wasn't enough, Echoes even has a difficulty mode that shows how much love there is for the source material.
Echoes Of Aincrad's Death Game Mode deletes your save if you die
It doesn't really die in real life, but it will
One thing that was not announced during Echoes of Aincrad's reveal stream earlier this week is an optional difficulty mode that aims to replicate the Sword Art Online experience. On Twitter, the official Sword Art Online game account shared a clip from this difficulty, titled Death Game Mode, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like.
Bandai Namco's Mystery RPG is Echoes Of Aincrad, a new online sword art game that has shades of Xenoverse
Echoes of Aincrad is the first game in the series to feature a customizable protagonist.
Death Game Mode is a permadeath difficulty option that instantly deletes your save game if you die even once. It's a sweet inclusion considering Sword Art Online's entire premise is about being trapped in a video game that kills you in real life if you die in-game. Now, losing your save isn't that drastic, but it's as close as Bandai can reasonably come.
The only downside to this mode is that unless you buy the deluxe edition and unlock it early, it's only available after you've cleared the main story. It's a bit of a letdown since it seems like the perfect way to play Echoes of Aincrad, but it's still a cool option that shows the developers are doing a little more to respect the original manga and its themes.
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