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Like the porridge from Goldilocks, it has to be just right - you can’t have it unfold too quickly nor can you have it take too long.
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More: Living in the database: Sword Art Online Fatal Bullet reviewįor every story, pacing serves as the backbone to a well-scripted tale. Instead, SAO: Alicization Lycoris’ narrative woes suffer from something more fundamental.
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I consider those to be minor issues that are pretty much unavoidable for this type of genre. It’s one thing if the issues were limited to tropes typically seen in anime-style storytelling or even the kind of light novels that Sword Art Online has its origins in.
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It is at this point, however, that the game’s narrative starts to go a bit out of control. From the slow life in the tiny, quaint village to exploring the surrounding alpine environs, I found myself just walking around before leaving the village to proceed with the main campaign.Įventually, Kirito and Eugeo become trainees at the North Centoria Imperial Sword Mastery Academy. As someone who grew up in a small, quiet town and currently resides close to Lake Tahoe, there were a lot of things that resonated with me as I started playing. This early part of the narrative would prove to be one of my favorite parts of the game. The fate of Alice would prove to be the overarching thread that binds the main plot of the game, making for an intriguing start to SAO: Alicization Lycoris’ story. The young lad, Eugeo, would prove to be a key character in the series - a brother of sorts to Kirito who ends up accompanying him during his long journey through the virtual setting of Underworld.Ī big part of Eugeo’s decision to leave his home involves a search for childhood friend Alice, who was taken from the village after breaking a taboo. The scene picks up from the second episode of the 2019 anime as Kirito encounters a young boy underneath a large overgrown tree. After a quick, action-packed scene to introduce the combat, I was impressed by the early sequences that followed as series mainstay Kirito finds himself trapped in a virtual game setting with no way to log out. More: All Sword Art Online Fatal Bullet Skills, Skill Levels & Stat Requirementsįor its part, Alicization Lycoris kicks off with a promising start. More, however, is not necessarily better, and a heavy yet unfocused narrative can end up being an anchor that weighs down a game instead. Given how additional storytelling is a common refrain that I mention in video game reviews over the years, I certainly welcome the prospects of a chunkier narrative for SAO: Alicization Lycoris. In fact, an improved narrative was one of the things I wished for with Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet, a game that I enjoyed playing. And it’s a pretty long one.įor someone who loves to see good storytelling in my games, that sounds like a great move. Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris wants to tell you a story.
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