Is this a return to form for mech games?
First it was battle royales that seemed to pop up everywhere in games, now it’s the extraction shooter. With more than a few upcoming games in the genre, Synduality: Echo of Ada looks to differentiate themselves by letting players control mechs in their game. Developed by Game Studio Inc. and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, the game takes place in a world ravaged by toxic rain and the appearances of creatures known as the “Enders.” As a Drifter; a type of mercenary, players must venture out into this hazardous environment to gather valuable resources, battling both hostile creatures and other human players.
MSRP: $39.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, PC
Price I’d Pay: $39.99
Synduality is, at its core, an extraction shooter which combines PvP and PvE mechanics. Players will load into hostile zones filled with resources to harvest and enemies to battle. The primary objective is to extract with the resources, return to your base with them and upgrade your mech and gear only to go out and do it all over again. The mechs that players will command are known as “Cradlecoffins’ and while there is a wide variety of mechs to choose from, all of them play very similar in nature. What makes these mechs feel different is the AI companions that players can choose from known as a “Magus” companion.
The Magus companions provide support for the player and act as their alert system in the mech. Players can choose from a variety of personality types all of which basically are various kinds of waifu/husbando. Players are also able to dress up their Magus in various outfits. Unfortunately, while the Magus serves a useful role, the interactions with the AI in game can feel shallow. Much of the conversations that players will partake in will be with their AI and while the idea of having them is appealing; I just wish they presented a deeper, richer connection with the player.
The biggest problem that I found with Synduality is the progression system, which revolves around players surviving with loot from the surface to upgrade their mechs. This process becomes tedious really quickly as the opening hours of the game is very, very, very grindy and samey feeling. There are AI controlled Cradlecoffins around and player-controlled ones. I will say that I never was attacked by players in the opening area as I think we all were trying to get a feel for what we were even doing. If players do fall in combat on the surface, they will lose anything they are carrying that isn’t insured. Insurance is your friend early on; trust me it becomes more tedious if you lose everything and have to start over.
Synduality: Echo of Ada presents an ambitious concept, trying to blend PvPvE gameplay with mech-based combat in a dystopian world. While there are some things that shine, like the strong visual design; it just doesn’t offset how extremely slow and grindy the early game is. For fans of the genre, Synduality might offer some enjoyment, but they shouldn’t expect anything groundbreaking. For anyone else I would wait until there is more of a dynamic and engaging experience, especially when it comes to the slow early game.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
