Boldguy strapped in and took the whole crew along for a run through Sword Art Online: Echoes of Aincrad live on stream — and let’s just say the man came away a fan. Between the story beats and the combat, this one hit different. If you missed it live, the full playthrough is linked below.
So what is Echoes of Aincrad?
If you know Sword Art Online, you know Aincrad — the towering floating castle where players got trapped inside a VR death game, forced to clear all 100 floors to escape. Echoes of Aincrad is Bandai Namco’s brand-new action RPG built on that world, and it dropped on July 10, 2026, so Boldguy was in there while it’s still fresh.
You start as an early beta tester of the original SAO — first through the door on new quests and mechanics, just like Kirito — working through the towns, fields, dungeons and floor bosses of Aincrad. A few things that stand out:
- Real-time combat with Sword Skills. Basic attacks and dodges layered with stamina management and flashy weapon abilities. Pick one of six weapon types, each with its own move set you customize and power up as you go.
- An autonomous partner. You fight alongside an AI partner whose positioning and abilities you can tune for different fights — so you’re never quite alone out there.
- Cardinal Rank progression. Clearing quests and finding new settlements ranks you up: enemies get tougher, but the loot and vendor gear get a whole lot better.
- Death Game Mode. The one true to the anime — game over means permadeath and your save is gone. Not for the faint of heart.
Boldguy’s verdict
Boldguy wasn’t shy about it — the story is genuinely good, the kind that keeps you pushing to the next floor just to see what happens. But the combat is where it really won him over: refreshing and modern, snappy and satisfying in a way a lot of these games don’t nail. The production quality? Right up there with the big ones.
“This has been an amazing play. The story was really good, the combat’s refreshing and modern — they’re definitely up there on quality.”
— Boldguy
Watch the full playthrough
Catch every floor, every boss and every reaction. Give Boldguy a follow while you’re there — more streams like this are always on the way.
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