Synduality: Echo of Ada – A Comprehensive Review
I have been captivated by Synduality: Echo of Ada since Bandai Namco first unveiled it during the 2022 Tokyo Game Show. The concept of navigating an intricate world within a mech, accompanied by a customizable AI partner (either a waifu or husbando), holds great appeal. However, my enthusiasm required recalibration upon discovering that the game would be an online-exclusive title.
A Unique Gameplay Experience
Synduality places players in the role of a Drifter, whose primary objective is to collect materials while piloting a mech unit known as the Cradle Coffin. Accompanying you on your journey is an AI partner, referred to as Magus, whose appearance can be tailored to your preferences.
Customization of Your Magus
At the beginning of the game, you’ll have the opportunity to create your first Magus. The customization options allow for minute adjustments to facial features and body proportions, with mouse controls offering greater precision than a gamepad. This feature enhances the personalization aspect, allowing players to create a companion that resonates with them.
Resource Collection and Environmental Challenges
One of the key resources you’ll need to gather are AO (Amorphous Orange) Crystals, which are essential for generating income. These crystals are found in outcrops that appear at designated locations. However, drilling through these outcrops to extract the crystals is time-consuming and noisy, drawing the attention of monsters known as Enders, who will attack any nearby Cradle.
The environment in Synduality is fraught with challenges, including hazardous toxic rain that can damage both the Drifter and their Cradle. Although the rain temporarily strengthens the Enders, it also boosts the quality of the AO Crystals harvested, incentivizing players to take risks for potentially greater rewards—especially in late-game missions where high-grade crystals are required.
The Role of Magus in Exploration
Your Magus is crucial for exploration, assisting in identifying valuable items and detecting nearby Enders and other players. It’s essential to approach other players with caution; while some may be friendly and offer to form cooperative parties, others may resort to robbery, demanding your hard-earned loot.
The game design even accommodates players opting to take the ‘dark side’ by becoming bounty targets themselves. While this offers an alternate mission line, it necessitates completing specialized missions in designated maps geared toward aggressive playstyles. Interestingly, a ranking ceiling exists for bounty targets, which may affect competitive dynamics within the player community.
Returning Safely with Loot
After gathering sufficient resources, players must navigate their Cradle to a Return Elevator to secure their items and Cradle. Failing to reach safety before being destroyed results in losing all loot and unit parts. Fortunately, purchasing insurance for parts can offer compensation in future sessions, adding a layer of strategy to resource management.
Following a successful return, your Magus will recap your session, highlighting routes and items collected, alongside data on interactions with other players. Initially engaging, this feature can become monotonous over time, with repetitive dialogue leading many to skip the debrief altogether.
Base Development as a Source of Motivation
Players start with a dilapidated base that can be renovated using collected materials. Upgrades not only improve inventory capacity and repair costs but also enhance the overall gameplay experience. A well-developed base becomes a central motivational factor, showcasing how your AI partner interacts with the upgraded environment.
Diverse Mission Structure
Complete several online missions to unlock a new set line of single-player missions provided by the Amasia Collapse Investigation Committee. These missions deviate significantly from the main extraction shooter gameplay and require strategic resource management with a fixed gear loadout, enhancing challenge levels.
During these missions, you will locate record logs that unveil narrative insights and enrich the game’s lore. The limitations imposed on available resources increase the challenge, leading players to hope for a future update allowing custom loadouts for these missions.
Performance and Graphical Expectations
From a technical perspective, players may encounter performance restrictions while attempting to play at maximum graphics settings. On a standard PS5, prioritizing graphics can lead to an unstable frame rate. Players with older hardware may need to focus on performance settings, sacrificing visual fidelity without encountering significant downsides.
In my experience during the open network test on PC, even high-end setups struggled with graphics on full settings. Fortunately, the full release allows for more adjustable graphical options, enabling a better balance between aesthetics and performance.
Game Structure and Monetization
Synduality: Echo of Ada operates as a live service title, featuring daily and weekly missions that provide additional experience points towards unlocking rewards in the Drifter Pass, which resets approximately every three months. The game incorporates a premium currency, Syn Coins, primarily available through microtransactions. However, the shop does not feature gacha mechanics or loot boxes, which is a positive aspect for players wary of such practices.
The majority of available purchases are cosmetic items related to Magus, including additional outfits and accessories. There are also options to accelerate progress in the Drifter Pass through Syn Coin expenditure!
Personalization Limitations
While players have the ability to assemble a roster of multiple Magi, the interaction between them is notably limited. Only the currently selected Magus appears in all main menu scenes, creating a disconnect that may disappoint those wishing for richer inter-Magus interactions.
Furthermore, customization options for mech units, specifically the Cradle Coffins, are disappointingly sparse. Players cannot alter the colors of mech parts like they can with Magus attire, which detracts from the overall personalization experience.
The development team’s approach to incorporating realism is evident in the eventual breakdown of mech parts and the limited repair options. While seeking to create a sense of survival, this feature may feel contrary to player expectations set by similar games that celebrate mech customization.
Final Thoughts
Synduality: Echo of Ada shows promise as a creative mech-based third-person shooter with engaging exploration elements and a customizable partner system. However, the lack of customization options for the mechs themselves is a critical shortfall that limits its appeal, particularly for fans longing for deeper personalization experiences.
As Bandai Namco continues to evolve this title as a live service game, hopes for enhancements in gameplay features exist. Nonetheless, the time-intensive nature of live service titles raises concerns, especially regarding the sustainability of content and features once the game transitions to offline status.
For those interested, Synduality: Echo of Ada is available worldwide on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC.
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