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New Action RPG From Elden Ring Publisher Revealed (And It Comes Out Soon)

See the first trailer for Bandai Namco’s next action RPG, featuring customizable characters and a July 10 release date.

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The latest action-RPG from Bandai Namco takes gamers to the Sword Art Online universe for a brand-new adventure called Echoes of Aincrad.

Echoes of Aincrad Official Details Revealed

After teasing the announcement earlier this week, Bandai Namco is finally ready to reveal exactly what Echoes of Aincrad is all about. The upcoming game pairs players with a companion NPC and tasks them with taking on punishing battles against powerful bosses.

“Step into the legendary floating castle of Aincrad, a realm of breathtaking beauty and unforgiving danger. What seemed to be a dream adventure has now become a fight for survival. Among thousands of trapped souls, your journey is yours alone; will you rise, endure, and forge bonds that define your destiny? Or will you perish while facing enemies stronger, faster, and more ruthless than you imagined?”

Players will create an original character for the action RPG adventure and have a chance to adapt and upgrade their equipment, weapons, and attributes, and select special skills to match their preferred playstyle as they level up and take on ever-greater challenges.

Similarly, players will also be able to customize their NPC companion, who appears to be a major part of the game’s combat system. Although there are tons of team-up moments featured in the trailer, this is definitely a single-player game and those team ups are taking place between the player and their selected companion NPC.

“They will not journey alone, as their victories in combat rely on their chosen NPC partner, each with different skills and abilities that can be customized. As the bond with their partner deepens, players will unlock new skills and more powerful abilities.”

Fans of the Sword Art Online universe may be intrigued by the idea of creating their own character to control. Usually, in other Sword Art Online games, players would take on the role of one of the established characters in the world’s setting. Allowing players to create a brand-new character to introduce to the world is definitely a unique selling point that Echoes of Aincrad brings to the table.

That said, it will be interesting to see if the game has a wide enough appeal to attract gamers outside of the established Sword Art Online fanbase when it releases this coming summer. A lot of that will likely come down to the actual feel of the combat system and how compelling the narrative is.

Echoes of Aincrad will launch on July 10, with preorders available now for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC via Steam.

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