Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet Review – Immersive MMORPG In The World Of GGO

Sword Art Online (SAO) is a popular anime that has seen many games being developed from the IP to provide players the experience Kirito had. However, despite the number of SAO games that was released, none of them actually satisfies players due to the fact that it follows closely towards the story in the anime which means – it’s predictable. As an RPG where players are immersed into a VRMMORPG – the creator, Dimps, has put in their effort which allows us to feel natural and play as another version of ourselves venturing into a new VRMMO game.

That being said, like what we usually do before entering an MMORPG, we create our character either to resemble our fantasy or adorn them with funny decals and attachments to make them as hideous as possible – either extreme. Don’t worry tho, if you dislike your looks, you can always change it in your room later so it’s not like it’s going to stay that way like our PC MMORPGs. Nonetheless, we had our fun time creating our character for meme sake before venturing into the actual gameplay.

Into The World

As we put on our NerveGear or AmuSphere after character creation, we will Link Start and FullDive right into the world of Gun Gale Online (GGO). Then, you will see your character enthralled by the fascinating scenery of SBC Glocken, the main city that you spawn in. You’ll be greeted by your real life girl-friend (sad) Kureha to lead you and teach you the basics you need before venturing further into the game.

Because GGO is a VRMMO, the map is an open world where you can traverse anywhere once you head out into the Wasteland Crossroads. Before you head out into the open world, you can form a party of up to 4 members which is pretty neat as you will get supported with Healing and Buffs. But here’s the interesting part, you will meet up with iconic characters like Kirito, Asuna and Sinon from the original series. If you befriend with them by focusing on single player quests, you will eventually be able to recruit them in your party as a CPU-controlled ally.

Speaking of ally supports, you will also get a “rare item” as you go through the long tutorial – an ArFA-sys who will be your assistant and support throughout the game. The AI will also provide you an Ultimate Fiber Gun (UFG) which works like a grapple that allows you to get to higher places for a better positioning when situations are needed.

Once you’re out in the open world, you will face robots and mecha-insects where you will grind for EXP and drops. There are a wide variety of guns ranging from handguns, snipers, rifles and machine guns with each to their own strengths and weaknesses. Like the animated series, you can also equip yourself with a photon sword (light saber) just like Kirito! Each of the weapons can also be enhanced and upgraded which allows you to focus on your favorite main weapon instead of a constant grinding MMORPG unless you want new weapons.

The Story (no spoilers)

The game’s story and events follows the ARPG by Bandai Namco for the PC, PS4 and PS Vita – Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization. However instead of following fully from the canon version like the second season of the animated series, you as the player will be the “hero” in this story. Not even Kirito could steal that limelight from you! Of course following the series, the Death Gun incident will still take place in the game and you will be going through new events and obtain an element that was not shown in the canon universe which tells the story from a different perspective (your perspective).

While the game’s story isn’t pretty lengthy where you can complete it in about 30 hours, there are side quests which can prolong your gameplay. Like most MMORPGs, there’s plenty of grinding needed but not necessary if you are comfortable with your equipment and enhancing it to take on stronger mobs. Either you are out in the plains shooting random mobs or exploring a dungeon for loots, the game pretty much simulates the GGO world closely. Ammo don’t come cheap and they will deplete if you don’t use them efficiently. Though ammo do drop from the mobs occasionally.

Overall, the game acts as a prelude to the ending of SAO II. However, your journey in the game is mostly going through dungeons and completing quests to complete your ArFA-sys upgrades so that it can perform to its full potential. If you enjoy playing MMORPGs, the game actually plays like one even though it’s actually a Single Player game with multiplayer modes.

The Gameplay

The gameplay experience is just like an MMORPG, where you go around killing mobs, leveling up, defeat dungeon bosses and collecting loots to upgrade yourself. Following the story mode, you’ll go through quests that also rewards you with equipment and gold which you can spend on buying upgrades and better equipment. While the best part about playing MMORPGs are the dungeons, I’d say the fun part about it is always playing and interacting with other players.

There are multiplayer modes in the game like co-op boss raids and a PvP mode just like in any MMORPGs. Players will need to go to the lobby and either look for a room or create a room. When we were trying to check out the co-op mode, it was hard to look for a room because there wasn’t any. Only a couple of times when we tried searching for it were we successful at joining one. Maybe it was just bad timing on our end, or there were hardly anyone online at all – but considering that the co-op mode fighting raid bosses gives quite the reward, I don’t see how it’s lacking in players there. Even if we created a room of our own, we can’t start the raid because there wasn’t enough players to join.

Once we were successful at joining one as a team of four, we went ahead and fought a boss for better loots. The boss is determined by the host of the raid party where they can choose the level of bosses they would like to fight. Players will need to co-operate with the team to either kill off enemy targets, support with buffs or heal the team. Though it’s already very helpful enough with ArFA-sys around, players would usually just focus on what’s hostile against them. Ammo is also infinite in the co-op raid mode so that’s very helpful in spamming our bullets without any worries of depleting ammo.

Most of the time, we would just run around in circles trying to avoid being aggro-ed and shoot from a distance until the boss dies (run and gun). I’d say, that’s the most ideal tactic there is because the boss is huge, you wouldn’t miss it so it’s not that hard to dodge. Except that there is a timer to complete the dungeon which is within 10 minutes. If you can’t finish the raid dungeon in stipulated time, you fail. When all your teammates die, you fail.

As a PC-pro, I would suggest the game to be played on the PC as it is easier to aim on the weak spots as an FPS game. While there are some who’d prefer the auto system and are comfortable aiming with a controller on the console version, I for one preferred to aim with a mouse and keyboard. To each their own play-style, I liked the concept of the game and Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet is one of the closest games to replicate the world of GGO.

Check out our short gameplay video below:

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