Based on Sword Art Online by Reki Kawahara and Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online by Keiichi Sigsawa, SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream is an online MMOJRPG that brings characters from this anime and light novel franchise together to take part in this story about the VR world going into cahoots. The game features a large roster of notable cast and includes a solo-player campaign along with a 20-player co-op feature. But does it live up to the franchise’s legacy? Or will it be as bad as SAO’s Fairy Dance Arc?

SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream has a simple story; there’s a new VR update called Galaxia. This latest feature allows players to relive past experiences thanks to advanced VR and AI technology. Additionally, players can bring their friends to share these past experiences. However, something goes wrong, not only causing issues with the update but also altering the memories of Kirito and his friends. Players from SAO, GGO, Ordinal Scale, and the Underworld must work together to uncover the truth and solve the mystery.

There is a roster of 20 characters to choose from, including main heroes like Kirito and Asuna, side characters like Sinon, Yuna, and Alice, and antagonists like Death Gun, Quinella, and Heathcliff. These characters are placed into five different classes and have unique abilities. For example, some can fly, and gun users have different gameplay mechanics than the sword wielders. This adds variety to the roster and makes each character feel distinct. While each class offers three to four characters to choose from, their movesets are completely different, making it feel like you need to master each character individually rather than just the class they’re in. 

The combat system is easy to follow, and using a controller is highly recommended. Every character has their own main attack, heavy attack, three special attacks, and an ultimate move. What’s great about the single-player campaign is that the AI teammates who tag along with you can actually fight; they can even activate their special moves on their own. Unless you’re doing boss battles or named enemy fights, you can literally do nothing and have your teammates do all the work. In addition, while SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream is an online game, you can still play the solo campaign if the multiplayer is under maintenance or you have connection issues.

Without spoiling anything, playing through the single-player campaign feels like a multiverse plot seen in other franchises, and one of the main story beats somewhat reminds me of Five Nights At Freddy’s: Help Wanted. Characters from different games/virtual worlds meet for the first time. Meanwhile, old foes who were defeated in the anime make a return. And due to some dealing with altered memories, it’s like we’re watching an alternate SAO universe. It’s really funny and adds some shock value that will leave you asking questions like “Wait, isn’t that person supposed to be dead?” and “Why is this character chill with this evil dude?”

It’s a great story, but unfortunately, it does not give a definite answer to why some of the bad guys make a return, which is a shame. Also, some of the bad guys who become our allies end up being the comic relief rather than creating tension within the group. This is disappointing considering some of these characters caused so many problems for not only Kirito, but for many VR players, and the Japanese Government. Now, they’re reduced to being funny and complying with the team? It doesn’t seem to match their motives or personality at all.

Now let’s discuss the game’s multiplayer feature. SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream has done a great job of ensuring 20 different players can work together with no issues. There are two multiplayer modes, the free-roam and the co-op campaign. The free-roam allows 20 players to enter a giant open world and grind for a set amount of time (but you can leave early as long as you don’t abuse it). You can buddy up or go alone, it’s completely up to you. But it’s best to partner with someone, especially if it’s your first time and don’t have better weapons and accessories. However, playing on this mode tends to be a bit boring as there is nothing much to do here but explore and fight monsters.

The co-op mode involves 20 players partaking in 3 rounds of dungeoneering. The first round is a solo quest for your randomised party of four, ranging between an escort mission, clearing a maze or any other activity. The next is when you meet with the rest of the players to activate a tower, whilst fending off attacking monsters. The last is where you fight the final boss together. From there, the game calculates who gets the final hit and which team deserves the MVP award. If you get MVP, not only do you get level-up bonuses, but you also get better rewards, like legendary weapons. It’s a great feature to showcase teamwork, as well as incentivise groups to be the very best. As mentioned earlier, there wasn’t a single connection or lag issue encountered during my multiple co-op sessions, leading to a flawless gameplay experience. Also, the reward system is somewhat of a homage to SWORD ART ONLINE season 1, where it rewards the player who dealt the final hit a rare item.

Sword Art Online: Fractured Daydream is a solid game, especially if you haven’t played SAO’s previous offerings and only know the franchise based on the anime. The multiplayer runs well, the story is engaging, and there is room for replayability. However, it has some flaws. The game lets us visit the different virtual worlds it has to offer. However, many of them miss the mark, more specifically, ALFheim. This is disappointing because, in the anime, it’s seen as this fairy/mythology-heavy world with an underground city and glowing towns. In SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream, it has been reduced to a field of flowers. This is especially disappointing because it’s the first virtual world you enter and I didn’t know where I was until it was explained to me through character dialogue and cut scenes. What’s also upsetting is that we barely got to visit The Underworld and that place has been reduced to one boss fight. A single boss fight!? Out of all the places this game makes us visit, it seems Gun Gale Online is where we see more effort in terms of location design. It’s like we’re in the actual game seen in the anime.

Another thing worth noting is the game’s drop system, which makes sense as it encourages players to engage in co-op features. If you want the best loot, you’re better off playing the multiplayer campaign, as the single-player drops are underwhelming. It’s very unlikely to get a legendary item in the solo campaign, with rare items being the best you can expect. However, if you want to play as your favourite character in the multiplayer areas, you first need to unlock them in the single-player campaign. This creates a minor catch-22 situation. If you want good items to help in the solo campaign, you need to play multiplayer. But if you haven’t progressed far enough in the story, you’re stuck playing as Kirito and Quinella in co-op until you unlock your favourites, which is a frustrating road block on either side.