Hollow Realization - Sword Art Online
Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization is a role-playing game based on the [Sword Art Online light novel series] for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo Switch and Windows PC. It was released for Playsation 4 and the PS Vita on October 27, 2016 in Japan and on November 8, 2016 for North America and Europe. The Windows PC version was released on October 27, 2017 worldwide. The Nintendo Switch version was released in Japan on April 25, 2019, and worldwide on May 24, 2019. It was developed by Aquaria, a Japanese studio based out of Yokohama. It is published by Bandai Namco Entertainment.
Plot
Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization takes place inside Sword Art: Origin, a completely original in-world game that is based on a restoration of the original servers of Sword Art Online. Three years after the original Sword Art Online event, [Kirito X] is exploring Ainground a restoration of [Aincrad] that is intended for research and development. It is here that he meets Premiere, a 14-year old AI NPC that has not been coded into the game. Kirito promises to protect Premiere while they uncover the mystery of her null coding. Although Premiere was presented as not having coding, this was part of a real-world promotion where the developers patched in vocabulary and personality based on keywords presented as part of a Twitter campaign. These tweet conversations with the community would ultimately decide whether Premiere was "a good or bad girl" in the game, with players able to upload their customized personalities onto Premiere.
There are twelve endings in Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization, which are awarded based on choices made throughout the game. Each ending is based upon a particular character.
Gameplay
Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment uses a new battle system that is based around the premise of having a four-character party. Teaming up with three other characters, the player coordinates a series of Sword Skills to perform team strategies and attacks. Using the "Switch" system players will chain together attacks against powerful enemies to deliver devastating damage, utilizing aerial combos, charged attacks and other synergies.
Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment features over 300 non-player characters, each of whom can be recruited to join your party. Offering special equipment to a NPC will create a special bond with that character, which improves their strength on the battlefield. The game also introduces a number of new monsters to the series which are not seen in other Sword Art Online properties.
Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment is approximately 30 to 40 hours in length for the base game. There were three DLC packs released, each of which introduced a new area to explore. Explorer of Illusory Mists takes place in the Vulcanus Citadel, Tuner of Causality is set in the Northazrod Tundra, and The One Who Resists God is based in Elionward Dominion.
Development
Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment was first teased on September 13, 2015 at the Tokyo Game Show under the working title SAO IV. It was officially reveled on October 3, 2015 at the Dengeki Bunko Fall Fest by the publisher Bandai Namco.
During an interview at New York Comic-Con in 2016, Bandai Namco Games producer Yosuke Futami shared the thought process of starting the game at level 1 for the first time:
[...] You’ve always had to start at not-level 1 in all of the previous games—you know how Kirito would be level 100 at the start of the previous games, because he’s already that level? I wanted to create a Sword Art Online game where players can start from level 1. That’s the gameplay experience I would like to provide players. [...] Now, the player can experience how Kirito adventures through the world of Sword Art: Origin from the base level.
Players who pre-ordered Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization on the PlayStation Store in Japan were awarded early access to the game's main story one week before release.
Reception
Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment obtained a "mixed or average" score on video game review aggregation site Metacritic. IGN awared a 6.7/10 stating "a lack of tangible stakes, and some muddled RPG systems dull the blades of Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization. Push Square awarded a 7/10 stating "an improperly paced plot and annoying artificial intelligence aside, Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization is the best Sword Art Online game on PS4."