Info about SWORD ART ONLINE Last Recollection:

Official game description:
Deluxe Edition
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The Deluxe Edition includes:  
• Main Game  
• Premium Pass  
\- SWORD ART ONLINE Last Recollection - Ritual of Bonds Vol. 1  
\- SWORD ART ONLINE Last Recollection - Ritual of Bonds Vol. 2  
\- Bonus: SWORD ART ONLINE Last Recollection - Integrity Knights Costume Set  
\*Premium Pass contents will be released at a later date.  
\*DLC included in the Premium Pass will be available by December 31, 2024. Details will be released at a later date.
About the Game
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The culmination of the SWORD ART ONLINE game series, Last Recollection features the largest roster of SAO playable characters and sub scenarios!  
Based on SWORD ART ONLINE’s War of Underworld anime arc, a new story unfolds with tough challenges that await our beloved hero, Kirito, and his new friends. Players will unmask the Dark Knight and find out if Kirito and the crew will survive the relentless battling against the forces of the Dark Territory!  
With fast and stylish combat, the gameplay boasts MMO-like battles!  
Form your own party with over 40 playable characters and strengthen bonds through a variety of episode quests!  
Experience an exciting and elevated battle system with your friends against familiar foes from the SWORD ART ONLINE series.  
Create a personalized avatar as your character.  
You can also upload your avatar and other players can add it to their party.  
Character costumes and weapons can also be customized without affecting their specs by using Visualize Attire.

Release date: 5 Oct, 2023

Categories: Single-player Story, Real-time Combat, Character Customization, Party-based Combat, Character Collection, Cooperative Multiplayer, Puzzle Solving, Endgame Content


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Significant Game Improvement (weight 0.49): The game is widely considered a substantial improvement over its predecessor, Alicization Lycoris, addressing many previous flaws in performance, loading times, and overall gameplay experience.
- Compelling Story & Characters (weight 0.14): The game's story is praised for being well-woven, interesting, and entertaining, complemented by well-developed and lively characters.
- Extensive Character Roster (weight 0.12): Players appreciate the large number of playable characters drawn from the anime, movies, and previous games, allowing for diverse party formations.
- Engaging Combat System (weight 0.11): The combat system is described as smooth, fast, and enjoyable, providing a gratifying and addictive experience for players.
- Decent Graphics & Visuals (weight 0.09): Reviewers note that the game features good graphics, beautiful visuals, and well-animated cutscenes, contributing to a pleasant aesthetic impression.
- Integrated New & Old Characters (weight 0.08): The game successfully integrates both new and old characters into a different timeline of the War of the Underworld, with new characters and backstories being well-received.
- Quick Loading Times (weight 0.06): A significant improvement over the previous game, loading times are notably short, often non-existent or only a few seconds, enhancing the gameplay flow.
- Enhanced Event Presentation (weight 0.05): The game improves event presentation by consistently using 3D models, eliminating jarring switches between 2D and 3D within single events.
- Emotional Ending Credits (weight 0.05): The game's credits are praised for being well-done and emotional, providing a nice touch by showing character epilogues after the story concludes.
- Minimal Grinding Required (weight 0.05): Players appreciate that grinding is not necessary to progress through the main story, allowing for a smoother and more focused narrative experience.
- Diverse Weapon Playstyles (weight 0.05): The game offers a large selection of over 10 weapon types, each with unique playstyles and attack chaining, enhancing replayability.
- Balanced Difficulty Scaling (weight 0.05): Difficulty scaling has improved, leading to fairer fights even on Hard difficulty and allowing players to effectively engage higher-leveled enemies.
- Conclusive Series Ending (weight 0.05): The game provides a satisfying conclusion to the Gameverse series, effectively wrapping up the storyline and leaving no loose ends.
- Quality Audio Design (weight 0.04): The game features good audio quality and sound design, contributing positively to the overall immersive experience.

Common complaints:
- Limited Content & High Price (weight 0.97): Players feel the game is empty, short, and lacks substantial content, especially compared to its predecessors like Alicization Lycoris. This leads to the perception that the game is overpriced for the amount of content offered.
- Tedious Combat, HP Sponges (weight 0.67): Combat is criticized for being slow, boring, and repetitive, primarily because enemies and bosses have excessively high HP, turning fights into prolonged "damage sponge" encounters that require little skill beyond button mashing. This makes progression feel like a grind.
- Franchise Regression, Missing Features (weight 0.57): Many players feel this game is the worst SAO title, representing a significant downgrade from previous entries like Hollow Realization and Alicization Lycoris. Key features such as dating mini-games, robust party management, extensive exploration, and varied mechanics present in older SAO games have been removed or simplified.
- Low Quality Cutscenes/VO (weight 0.16): The game's cutscenes are criticized for their poor technical quality, including bad 3D animation, frequent black screens, and lack of synchronization. A significant portion of dialogue also lacks voice acting, and some scenes are missing English subtitles, detracting from the narrative experience.
- Excessive, Disruptive Cutscenes (weight 0.15): The game is criticized for its overwhelming number of long, unskippable cutscenes and dialogues that frequently interrupt gameplay. This design choice is perceived as a way to artificially inflate playtime, leading to a frustratingly linear experience where players spend more time watching than playing.
- Poor Story & Writing (weight 0.14): The game's plot and writing are widely criticized for being boring, unengaging, and poorly developed. Dialogue is often described as awkward and difficult to follow, leading to a lack of immersion and interest in the narrative as it progresses.
- Linear, Uninspired World (weight 0.13): The game's world environment is criticized for being overly linear, lacking opportunities for exploration, and consisting primarily of repetitive corridors or uninspired dungeons. This design choice limits player freedom and makes the world feel bland and unadventurous.
- Outdated Character Visuals (weight 0.12): Character models and animations are widely criticized for appearing outdated, stiff, and unpolished, resembling graphics from an older console generation. This detracts from the visual quality and overall immersion of the game.
- Poor DLC Monetization (weight 0.12): The game's DLC content is heavily criticized as a "scam" because it charges for features, such as "bed scenes," that were previously included in the base games of the series. Players feel that essential content is being withheld from the base game to be sold separately.
- Technical Issues & Bugs (weight 0.11): The game is plagued by frequent crashes, leading to loss of progress, and numerous unaddressed bugs. Players also report poor optimization, with the game running badly despite its outdated graphics, indicating a lack of polish and debugging by the developers.
- Tedious, Unclear Quests (weight 0.1): Quests are criticized for being repetitive "fetch quests" that serve as filler to pad game length. Players also find it frustrating to locate quest objectives due to a poor quest log and unclear navigation, especially when quests span multiple maps.

Gameplay feedback:
- Evolved Combat System (weight 0.27): The combat system has evolved from previous titles, offering more flexibility, smoother mechanics, and addressing shortcomings like accuracy from Alicization Lycoris. It allows for both in-depth and simple playstyles, with specific improvements like the removal of the hit parameter.
- Sacred Arts Reworked (weight 0.22): The Sacred Arts system was significantly changed, becoming less intuitive and integrated into regular skills, often seen as simplified or sidelined. While some aspects like extended durations and detailed settings were mentioned, the overall sentiment points to a less distinct or impactful system.
- Diverse Characters & Weapons (weight 0.17): The game offers a rich roster of playable characters, many from previous SAO titles, and a wide variety of weapon types, including new additions like shield axe and scythe. Players can freely switch between characters and explore different gameplay styles.
- Tedious Ultimate Skill Grind (weight 0.16): While most sword skills are unlocked early, acquiring ultimate skills requires significant grinding, such as killing 100 bosses or collecting 300 'vessels'. This process is often described as tedious and poorly designed, impacting player progression.
- Restricted Online Co-op (weight 0.13): The online co-op experience is limited, primarily to boss fights or monster hunting, with no co-op story mode. Players reported a downturn in online activity and difficulty finding others, indicating a less robust multiplayer offering.
- Unclear Map Puzzles (weight 0.08): The game features numerous light puzzles in its story and side quests, but often lacks clear hints or guidance for solving them. This can lead to frustration, despite the overall main story difficulty not being high.
- Gameverse Story Conclusion (weight 0.07): The game serves as the conclusion to the Sword Art Online "gameverse" story, bringing together almost all original characters from previous SAO games. It also follows a familiar recipe for platinum trophies, with some achievements combined for convenience.
- NPC Teammate Control (weight 0.06): The game introduces tactical codes and a cooperation gauge to make NPCs more useful, allowing players to issue commands for powerful cooperative skills. However, some players felt they had less direct control over their NPC teammates compared to previous titles.
- Chain Burst Combat Focus (weight 0.06): The Chain Burst system and Tactical Arts settings are crucial for maximizing damage and are central to the combat flow. Knockdown mechanics are no longer just a process but are essential for increasing the chain burst level and achieving high damage output.
- Limited Endgame Content (weight 0.06): At release, the game's endgame content was perceived as scarce, primarily consisting of four types of Forbidden Temple content, raids, and world bosses. This suggests a lack of variety or depth for long-term play.
- Improved Team Play (weight 0.06): The game features improved team play mechanics, including defined job roles for characters and enhanced tank design, fostering good synergy. Players can freely swap between a team of four characters, and the need for constant buff reapplication has been reduced.
- Linear & Repetitive Progression (weight 0.06): The main quest progression is described as very linear, often involving repetitive tasks of running across maps to trigger cutscenes or fights. This can lead to a feeling of monotony due to the lack of varied exploration or mission structure.
- Removed Social Interactions (weight 0.06): The game notably removed certain social interaction features present in previous titles, such as 'bed scenes,' 'hugging,' 'holding hands,' and 'taking home' interactions. This change was observed by players who enjoyed these character relationship elements.

Performance notes:
- Improved Game Performance & Fluidity (weight 0.2): The game demonstrates significantly better optimization and fluidity compared to its predecessor, Alicization Lycoris, resulting in smoother gameplay, faster travel between maps, and fewer loading screens. This improvement is noted across various platforms, including PC and PS4.
- Improved Graphics, Minor Issues (weight 0.12): Graphics are generally considered decent and an improvement over previous titles, benefiting from the use of Unreal Engine. However, some reviewers noted a significant drop in graphics quality during certain cut-scenes.
- Minimal Game Bugs (weight 0.08): Players reported a largely bug-free experience, with many stating they encountered no major game-breaking issues even after extensive playtime. This contributes to a smooth and uninterrupted progression.

Recommendations:
- Buy Only On Sale (weight 0.31): A significant number of reviewers recommend purchasing the game only when heavily discounted (e.g., 50% off or specific price points), indicating it's not worth its full price. This advice often applies to the base game, with DLCs also advised to be bought on promotion.
- Game Not Recommended (weight 0.28): Many reviewers strongly advise against purchasing the game, often citing it as a waste of money or not worth its current state/price. Some express strong negative sentiments, calling it a 'scam' or only for 'sadomasochists', indicating deep dissatisfaction.
- Other SAO Games Better (weight 0.25): Many reviewers suggest that other SAO titles like Hollow Realization, Fatal Bullet, or Alicization Lycoris offer a superior experience. They advise new players to start with or stick to these older games instead of this one, highlighting them as better alternatives.
- For SAO Fans Only (weight 0.22): The game is primarily recommended for die-hard Sword Art Online fans who are invested in the game-verse story or want to immerse themselves in the universe. Non-fans or casual players are generally advised to avoid it, as it caters specifically to the existing fanbase.
- Mixed Reception (weight 0.19): The game receives varied ratings, ranging from low to moderately positive, indicating a mixed reception among players. While some recommend it for specific audiences like AARPG or story-driven game lovers, others find it mediocre or only slightly better than its predecessor.
- Watch Story, Skip Gameplay (weight 0.04): Some reviewers suggest that the game's story might be more enjoyable to experience by watching streams or videos rather than playing through the game itself. This implies a disconnect between narrative quality and gameplay experience.
- Better With Friends (weight 0.03): To truly enjoy the game, some reviewers recommend playing it with friends. This suggests that the multiplayer aspect significantly enhances the overall experience, making it more engaging.
- Unacceptable Technical Issues (weight 0.03): Critical negative points include issues like black screens on startup and the lack of a save function in online mode. These are highlighted as unacceptable flaws that severely impact the player experience.
- Try Demo Before Buying (weight 0.03): Reviewers advise potential players to try the game's demo first to make their own evaluation. This is a practical suggestion for assessing personal enjoyment and compatibility before making a purchase.
- Disappointing Lack of Improvements (weight 0.02): Reviewers who expected improvements from previous titles were largely disappointed. This indicates that the game failed to evolve or address past criticisms, leading to stagnation in its development.
- Similar to Tales of Berseria (weight 0.02): One reviewer suggests that players who enjoyed 'Tales of Berseria' might also like this game. This provides a specific genre or style comparison for potential players looking for similar experiences.
- Souvenir Purchase (weight 0.01): One reviewer mentions buying the game purely as a souvenir during a sale, indicating a non-gameplay related reason for purchase. This is a very niche and unconstructive point regarding the game's quality or features.

Other player notes:
- Satisfying Story & Characters (weight 0.4): The game is widely praised for its conclusive and well-written story, serving as a strong send-off for the SAO gameverse. It features a large, beloved character roster, good voice acting, and a faithful adaptation of the source material, appealing strongly to long-time fans.
- Asset Reuse & Direct Sequel (weight 0.15): The game functions as a direct continuation of Alicization Lycoris, heavily reusing existing assets such as animations, character models, and weapons. Players noted that prior knowledge or completion of Lycoris DLCs aids in understanding the narrative.
- Short, Exposition-Heavy Story (weight 0.13): The main story is considered relatively short for an RPG, typically finishing in 25-33 hours. It is also criticized for being overly exposition-heavy, with extensive reading and "PPT-like" presentation, which can make the narrative feel tedious.
- Poor Graphics & Bugs (weight 0.12): Reviewers frequently criticized the game's poor graphics, modeling, and lighting, noting they were either a downgrade or similar to the previous game. The presence of easily triggered, unpatched bugs also detracted from the experience.
- Meaningless Puzzles & Environments (weight 0.1): The game includes numerous light, often meaningless puzzles that some players found tedious or a waste of controller buttons. However, the Dark Territory environment was specifically highlighted for its distinct landscapes and thematic portrayal.
- Kirito Character Focus (weight 0.08): The game heavily centers on the character of Kirito. Reviewers noted the enjoyment of seeing old characters interact with him and observed his "main character syndrome," while also pointing out minor issues like missing costume appearances.
- Questionable DLC Practices (weight 0.07): Some reviewers expressed concern that the game felt like a "cash grab" and was purely fan-oriented for profit. A specific point of contention was the locking of content, such as "bed scenes" or "pillow talk," behind paid DLC.
- Limited Character Customization (weight 0.06): The game offers very few cosmetic options for characters. Reviewers noted that the character customization system is worse than previous installments, specifically lacking features like a gacha system for cosmetics.
- Standard Anime Narrative (weight 0.05): The game's story follows a standard Japanese youth anime plot. While some appreciated its humor, others found the narrative tone and themes could feel awkward or less engaging for adult players.
- Limited 2D Animation (weight 0.04): The game incorporates some 2D animation, but it consists of few frames and is often repeated. Despite this limitation, some players enjoyed unlocking character scenario stories that utilized these 2D sprites.

Emotions:
- Disappointment (weight 0.32): Players expressed significant disappointment due to the game being perceived as a downgrade from previous titles, lacking core features, and offering insufficient content for its price. Common complaints include outdated graphics, monotonous combat, excessive grinding, and a short, unengaging story, leading to a feeling of stagnation in the series' development.
- Frustration (weight 0.27): Players experienced significant frustration primarily due to numerous technical issues like crashes and poor performance, coupled with tedious and repetitive gameplay loops involving excessive grinding and "damage sponge" enemies. Additionally, poor design choices such as linear progression, confusing quest navigation, and unskippable dialogues contributed to a generally unpleasant and unrewarding experience.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.13): Players expressed satisfaction primarily with the game's engaging story and well-developed characters, often highlighting its role as a satisfying conclusion to the Gameverse. Positive feedback also centered on improvements to the combat system, which was described as fluid and enjoyable, and overall technical polish and optimization, particularly on PC.
- Anger (weight 0.1): Anger stemmed from the perception of the game as a low-quality product, often described as a "cheap fake" or "disaster," especially given its price and status as a 10th-anniversary title. Players were frustrated by developer laziness, lack of debugging, and monetization practices, alongside core issues like poor optimization, repetitive combat, and the removal of previously enjoyed features.
- Boredom (weight 0.02): Boredom was primarily caused by the game's repetitive and tedious gameplay loop, characterized by excessive grinding and drawn-out combat against "damage sponge" enemies. The lack of meaningful endgame content and unengaging conversations further contributed to a monotonous experience.
- Joy (weight 0.02): Players expressed joy primarily through their love for the game's story, its charming moments, and the overall atmosphere. A general affection for the franchise also contributed to positive feelings, alongside minor technical positives like fast loading times.
- Excitement (weight 0.01): Excitement was generated by the game's engaging story, which left players eager for more, and the inclusion of a large roster of playable characters. General improvements in overall game quality compared to previous titles also contributed to this positive emotion.
- Disgust (weight 0.01): Disgust was primarily driven by the game's overall poor quality, specifically highlighting outdated and unappealing 3D models. The unrewarding gameplay loop, characterized by enemies with excessively high HP and meager rewards, also contributed to this negative sentiment.
- Caution (weight 0.01): Caution was expressed regarding the game's downloadable content (DLC), specifically advising against purchasing it at full price due to its perceived poor quality and value.
- Mild frustration (weight 0.01): Mild frustration arose from minor gameplay annoyances such as repetitive grinding, slow dialogue pacing, and unengaging side quests, alongside general combat issues.
- Mixed (weight 0.01): Players experienced mixed feelings due to the game presenting a stark contrast between its positive aspects, such as improved combat and performance, and significant negative elements like repetitive gameplay loops, missing features, and regressions in open-world design.
- Appreciation (weight 0.01): Appreciation was expressed for the game's unique story elements, with some reviewers considering it a "work of art," and for its successful homage paid to previous games and beloved characters within the franchise.
- Desire (weight 0.01): Players expressed a desire for more character-specific content and a clearer, more intuitive system for navigating side missions.
- Mild suggestion (weight 0): A mild suggestion was made regarding the improvement or customization of companion fighting styles.
- Mild disappointment (weight 0): Mild disappointment was noted concerning changes made to character designs.
- Admiration (weight 0): Admiration was expressed specifically for the game's animations.
- Ambivalence (weight 0): Ambivalence reflected a reviewer's mixed feelings about the game, leading to a conditional recommendation rather than a clear positive or negative stance.
- Regret (weight 0): Regret was expressed directly concerning the decision to purchase the game.
- Confusion (weight 0): Confusion arose from a significant discrepancy between the game's advertised description and its actual performance or compatibility, leading to a misleading experience.
- Betrayal (weight 0): A sense of betrayal was felt due to the perceived lack of quality and innovation in the game, suggesting a breach of trust in the developers' commitment to the series.}