I learned from a young age that I was not good at mech shooter games; however, that does not deter me from trying to compete with others. I also quickly learned that Japanese-made games are much more difficult than those from other regions. Well, SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada embodies both of those things! To shake things up even more, there is an extraction element too.
Bandai Namco Entertainment introduces SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada, a new sci-fi third-person mech shooter that merges humans and artificial intelligence. This brand-new shooter takes place in the world of Amasia, where humans and AI known as Magus work together as one. Players will join the SYNDUALITY universe as “Drifters”—a role who makes a living by collecting a rare resource known as “AO Crystals.”
The Drifters will also be accompanied by their “Cradlecoffin”—an armed vehicle that will get you mobile during their expedition through the dangerous terrestrial environment. Your goal is to safely return the AO Crystals to your home base, as you cannot be sure you’ll make it back in one piece. In fun fashion, these AO Crystals can be exchanged to upgrade the player’s home garage area—making their home comfier and aesthetically pleasing in this dystopian world.
I had the chance to check out a preview build of the mech extraction shooter, playing both the online open world PvPvE server and the solo missions. And I got to check it out at the Bandai Namco office in California with colleagues and content creators! The online open-world experience had undergone previous closed beta tests, but the Amasia solo missions were entirely fresh for this preview build. But the multiplayer Sorties were new to me!
In addition to the preview opportunity, I also got to sit down and gain some deeper insights into SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada with the producer Yôsuke Futami. Futami-san explained the focus of the game they wanted to create with the art style and game mechanics, along with how players should always trust their AI friend—their Magus. The full interview will be out leading up to the game release.
SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada Sorties (Multiplayer Mode)
Exploring the PvPvE server in SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada was an exhilarating experience! Each time you leave your personal garage, it is called a Sortie. A Sortie allows the player to be randomly spawned on a server, with a choice of the North and South areas to choose from. Futami-san explained how the build was split into North and South, with each square grid “roughly 2.5 miles by 2.5 miles” allowing 12 players in each of the North and South areas. Sometimes, the spawning felt just as chaotic as in multiplayer Call of Duty, as I appeared right next to another player. Overall, the map size was large enough for 12 players to explore without frequently encountering each other.
Sorties in SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada are brutal, but it is very high risk, high reward. I was killed a couple of times by other players, more so than the enemy NPC mobs. Don’t be deceived; NPCs deal a lot of damage as well. The overall NPC designs reminded me of the ones from the Horizon games—the animalistic, futuristic high-tech aesthetics. Whereas the concept of the Cradlecoffin reminded me of the Titans in Titanfall and Titanfall 2.
“Sorties in SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada are brutal, but it is very high risk, high reward.”
At the end of the day, you may feel alone in this post-apocalyptic world, but you will always have your Magus there with you. I have been told countless times that my Magus will always be trying to take care of me, and looking out for my best interests. So, if I want to go kill other players, my Magus will support me as best as they can. If I want to search for and mine AO Crystals, my Magus will help me do that. I thought this was both the funniest and scariest aspect of SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada. It reminded me of the movie M3GAN.
SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada Amasia Solo Missions
It was refreshing to explore the first three chapters of these solo missions without the distractions of multiplayer. This mode is accessible from the Requests tab. This is like doing closed instances similar to those in games like Star Wars: The Old Republic, EverQuest and Elder Scrolls Online where it is only you against the NPC’s. At least with Sorties, players can try to negotiate for help from other players when taking out mobs.
My main gripe of the solo missions was how much damage NPC’s did. SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada does not have a difficulty selection feature, so it is just one difficulty. I was shockingly stuck on the third chapter boss for about 40–50 minutes because I kept dying, and could not find more heals. Even peppering the enemy in and out of cover was rough. It was insane that I beat the boss with only 1 HP!
The other difficult part of the game in both the solo missions and online game mode was maintaining weapon damage. Ammo conservation was almost tied, but there was typically another gun lying around on the ground in case of emergency. However, using a damaged weapon can be unreliable since the gun jams—meaning the fire rate is reduced. I found myself doing this very often, and it was always a disaster when the better guns broke.
One of the most exciting aspects of these investigative Amasia solo missions is the availability of preset Cradlecoffins and specialized equipment. This is a great feature for new players who may not have done much in the Sorties, but can also be disappointing for those who have collected a lot of resources from them. There is a high learning curve to do these missions, but failure is technically encouraged.
For those invested in the story and world-building of Amasia, this will be a great experience. It felt like a pseudo-campaign mode, with collecting and watching the investigation recordings. It is a great prequel for fans of the anime series Synduality: Noir, offering more context to the story.
Overall Preview Impressions of SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada
SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada is an extraction shooter which incorporates many roguelike elements. Although I disliked dying in Sorties before collecting the desired resources, this made the successful runs much more rewarding. The satisfaction and thrill is what drove me to play the game more. The best part is that the game has a minimum to give back to players if they die and lose their uninsured equipment. So, players are never really stuck with the bare minimum resources and equipment for too long.
Those experienced with extraction shooters like Escape From Tarkov or Hunt: Showdown will find some familiarity with the basic concept. Those coming from Helldivers 2 will be in for a rude awakening playing this because this game can be brutal. Ultimately, I appreciated the genre mashup of SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada. Sorties combines many genres, and it’s amusing that its main goal is to mine AO Crystals to enhance your living space’s aesthetics.
Strangely enough, making a better-looking base in-game was something I got caught up in within Koei Tecmo’s Rise of the Ronin earlier this year. Even though it was an open world, action-adventure game, there were so many other ways to play the game. I think SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada can be like that too. Some players may enjoy the thrill of harvesting AO Crystals, where another player may be into PK-ing others for their resources. Some may be explorers while others may enjoy camping in the extraction zones.
“If you are into mechs and love this world built in the anime Synduality: Noir, then definitely check SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada out.”
The graphics were stunning in SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada as well. At first glance, it was strange to see a mashup of art styles for different cut scenes and gameplay moments. But eventually, it was a smart decision to do this to distinguish a tutorial that looked like a video from Vault dwellers in the Fallout games, from a video recording that used a more anime style cutscene from a Final Fantasy game.
Futami-san explained how they took inspiration from places in “Europe for the above ground [gameplay].” He expanded how they worked with an illustrator Neco-san to “help them come up with all the different art concepts, and that’s how there are multiple art styles in the game—which fits in with the story.”
The possibilities are endless, and it seems like the team at Bandai Namco are always open to player feedback and input to create a more immersive and overall better experience for the community. One key piece of feedback I heard from other people who played the earlier preview build was that the Magus talked way too much—giving out too much information and callouts. Now, the Magus has been toned down, and I feel like it provides a good amount of intel I need.
One of the funniest things I learned from this experience is that my Magus is the only person I can trust in this game. Everyone else is a variable. Futami-san stated in a jokingly but honest manner, “Yes, please trust your Magus. The Magus only cares about you, so always trust your Magus…She doesn’t tell you to do things; she tells you information. If there’s an item near you, it’s up to you what you want to do with that information.”
In a weird way, this game is almost like a social experiment because there are no chat or voice features available—only emotes. It is like when players emote in Fortnite to call a truce to dance. However, one player could easily shoot another without warning.
If you are into mechs and love this world built in the anime Synduality: Noir, then definitely check SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada out. There are so many fun and interesting things to check out in this Japanese mixed-media world of SYNDUALITY. Personally, I will be jamming out to the beats in my garage when the game drops—as other players slaughter one another on Sorties!
SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada will be out on January 24, 2025, exclusively on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam (PC).