It’s been several years since BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment is now carrying forward the so-called project SYNDUALITYconsisting of a first TV series, Synduality: Noir, announced in 2022 and published in 2023, a light novel and a manga series, both published under the name Synduality: Ellie in 2023, and SYNDUALITY Echo of Adatitle for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series expected for the beginning of near 2025. The latter was born as a spin off of the main animated series, Ada he is in fact a secondary character of Synduality: Noirwho returns for the occasion in order to help the player take the first steps within his dangerous world. After trying the closed beta from last September 13th until the 16th of the same month, we are ready to talk to you about it, sharing these first impressions with you. Happy reading.
Set in 2222, we are catapulted years after the (almost) complete destruction of humanity by a mysterious poisonous rain, the New Moon Tearsalso responsible for the creation of horrendous creatures that are now hunting the small surviving populationforced to take refuge in an underground city so as not to expose herself to the constant dangers of the surface. We will take on the role of a Driftersa pilot trained in flying CRADLECOFFINbipedal “omniclimatic” units designed to withstand the harsh conditions of the surface, with the aim of bringing back to the survivors one of the rarest resources present in their world, the mysterious crystals AO. However, we will not be alone, we will in fact have to collaborate with our personal, defined humanoid AI Magusin order to defeat the alien creatures known as Ender and survive the dangers of the surface.
We will begin our journey through a short tutorial, a mission that will test our abilities as futures Drifters. Here we will have the opportunity to learn the basics of the title, and already begin to see how to control the CRADLECOFFIN isn’t exactly that simple, especially for a fighting excessively punitive. Once you pass the tutorial, SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada reveals its first weakness: the absence of a consistent plot that pushes the player forward. The universe of Synduality it is in fact very rich, full of lore and secrets to discover, as also demonstrated by himself Synduality: Noirbut not much is taken advantage of here, relying solely on simple recognizable features for its gameplay elements. The few crumbs of lore that we will be able to obtain will be in the form of missions assigned to us by Drifter Support Associationalthough not always very exhaustive.
Within the beta we will also be able to get to know four different factions: Association HQ, Old Amasia Interim Government, Magus Lab And Artifact Forum. What leaves us disappointed is that, at least currently, these factions really mean nothingeven after about twenty hours of play, with the absence of a reputation system that provides reasons to focus more on one faction than another. There are no memorable characters and the same Magusas lovable as they were, seemed far too flat and at odds with those featured in the anime. Each faction is designed to provide very similar missions: kill X enemies, reach point A and collect the commissioned item, create a certain piece of equipment, and so on. These do not enrich the main experience in any way, and only provide the essential details for the objective we will have to complete. The beta experience only included the Northern Zone and the Southern Zonestill presenting a rather decent map to explore. As we venture across its post-apocalyptic expanses, however, we will not only have to pay attention to the enemies hidden behind every corner, but even to the rain itself, capable of breaking our protective veil, slowly damaging the CRADLECOFFIN and empowering all Ender nearby.
The latter are divided into different classes: we find i Chasersimilar to wolves that move in packs; the Crawlerssmall mines created to attack us in groups; the Gazer flying vehicles, which will attack us from above with heavy attacks with a long range; they Incubatorworms that come out of the ground and can put a player taking his first steps in serious difficulty. Defeating both human and monstrous enemies, however, is never very rewarding, given that SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada it has no experience or reward system for killing enemies on the map. With combat and enemies this challenging, it’s a relief to at least say that the PvP aspect of SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada not only is it practically non-existent, but it is also very discouraged.
If we attack other members of the association, a price will be placed on our heads and we will stop receiving missions from itinterrupting our experience until we are redeemed again. It’s a system that doesn’t reward aggression, but rather the risk of losing your life in PvP and being banned from the association due to your actions, making PvP seem somewhat unachievable and, to be honest, a waste of resources. In fact, death is punished harshly, making us lose everything we have with us, including equipment. Although money is very easy to get, dying can still be a pain in the ass. We will be forced to return to the main hub shop every time to buy the parts CRADLECOFFIN that we wish to equip, the related weapons and supplies, starting our adventure from scratch. Before leaving for a mission we will also be able to take out insurance on the pieces of equipment we take with usgetting them back in the event of premature death for a modest sum. In certain cases, when we are at the point of death, we will also be able to decide whether or not to escape from our vehicle, so as to be able to at least save the life of our Magus. If he were to lose his life we will be forced to wander without any kind of help or information, waiting to be able to get another one.
Despite these negative first impressions, it’s starting to become quite apparent how SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada It’s a title with great potential, although it seriously fails on the narrative front and the gameplay starts to become repetitive after just a few hours. The overall experience is certainly full of activities that can entertain the player, even if after a while they become repetitive, but it must be admitted that the more you play, the more you feel captivated by that “fast” gameplay mechanic. The title, although still in beta, there is no shortage of performance problems, both on the server side and frame ratealso leaving us some doubts about what the definitive multiplayer experience will be like, while the game world begins to fill too much or too little. There are many changes that I hope will be made to the finished product, but after all this was only a first (or rather second) beta experience, which leaves me slightly optimistic for the complete version, at least on the basic concept of the work.
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