Synduality Echo of Ada review: Has striking moments, but lacks consistency

Synduality Echo of Ada is the latest entry in the vastly popular extraction shooter genre, and it aims to do something different than most other PVPVE titles available in the market. Given that I liked the anime set in the same universe, Synduality: Noir, which I think is criminally underrated, I was looking forward to dipping my toes into the game for a while.

I am gonna be honest with you. Synduality has its moments that shine in the form of the tense sorties that you will need to go on to accumulate resources. Every match is a random coin toss where you can be placed against tryhard sweats who are out for blood.

After spending around 10-ish hours roaming in the desolate landscape on my Cradlecoffin with my Magus, I can see potential in Synduality Echo of Ada. That said, as of this writing, there are a few hiccups on the road that the developers need to address.

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Synduality Echo of Ada: A rollercoaster of thrills and mediocrity

Gameplay

You can create an AI companion called Magus (Image via Bandai Namco)

Synduality Echo of Ada's gameplay revolves around you roaming a post-apocalyptic world and collecting various resources that you can sell and build your base. The premise is set in a dystopian world where the rain is so deadly that humanity has retreated into secluded underground bunkers. The only way to explore the world above is by using mechas called Cradlecoffins.

Cradlecoffins are not like your typical mecha designs that have been made popular by franchises like Gundam or Evangelion. Instead, the developers took a different approach, designing the Cradlecoffins as huge boxes that look nothing like the traditional mechs.

You can encounter AI enemies or other players (Image via Bandai Namco)

As you can expect, from the description of the coffins, they are big hulking blocky vehicles, so the movement plays out like that. Your mech can sprint, dodge and that is about it. They are bulky and slow compared to the slick movements that the genre is known for.

Once you are done creating your Magus, you will be assigned your garage which you will need to gradually restore by scavenging supplies in the overworld. This can be done by going on sorties, where you will be plunged into the ruthless apocalyptic world of Synduality Echo of Ada.

You will need to mine for materials and explore the world to find supplies. One of the best parts about this title is the fact that the inventory is not as limited as other games in this genre. You can actually collect a lot more materials and carry essential supplies before you need to return.

Shooting is extremely standard, as you can swap between various weapons using different types of ammunition to deal with threats. Some are more effective against other Cradlecoffins while others are great for shooting down the Enders. The mech gameplay is nothing exciting, as it has your standard movement abilities like sprinting and dodging.

You will have two health bars; one indicates your actual health while the other is a shield that will take damage when you are affected by environmental hazards, like rain. You can use various supplies to restore your HP/Shield, which you can buy from the shop in your garage. You can do this via the in-game money you earn by selling AO Crystals.

AO Crystals can be farmed (Image via Bandai Namco)

You can also use your currency to obtain new Cradlecoffin parts that will be significantly better than the ones you are starting with.

Your Magus acts as more than a simple guide and navigator who is there to instruct you. They come packed with various skills that will help you on the battlefield. It is recommended that you obtain a few Magus that can help you with various aspects based on what you want to do on your sortie.

Difficulty as an extraction shooter

The zones are divided into several parts (Image via Bandai Namco)

The extraction shooter genre can be extremely difficult to get into given how the PvPvE system works. However, Synduality Echo of Ada is actually a great starting point for those who want to get into the genre. The game is extremely easy to pick up and you are guaranteed to have a fun time.

From the 10 hours or so I have put into Synduality Echo of Ada, I rarely encountered any player who is ready to break the law and start shooting you on sight. Take it as The Division's Dark Zone mode for example. You can technically go rogue and start shooting other players, but the game will penalize you for that by marking you as hostile.

After you get to the second area, things start to heat up a bit, as you are likely to encounter more bandits there. They are your typical AI Cradlecoffins but are extremely hard to deal with.

One of the things that I need to give credit to the developers for is that the game does not feel grindy. You can have a relaxing experience and farm resources and if you are lucky, in a few sortie missions, you will have enough currency to buy a new Cradlecoffin.

Another great aspect of the game is that the folks who start killing other players at random get kicked out of the Drifter's Support Association and are forced into a lobby where it is only PvP. This is a great way to encourage friendly behavior and ensure that you work together with others. Albeit, some players will always be out for blood, so make sure to watch your back.

Visuals

You will come across other Association members who you can either team up with or shoot on sight (Image via Bandai Namco)

I have a lot to talk about the visuals of Synduality Echo of Ada. I will not say it is bad per se; it has the look of almost every cel-shaded anime-styled game that came during the mid-2010s. But the environment can become extremely bland to look at.

There are various ruins, forest, and grassland sections in the two regions of the game, but it all comes down to a weird blue-ish filter that makes the game look monotonous all over. These are just my opinions but I do feel like Synduality Echo of Ada would have benefitted from a more vibrant color palette.

Performance

From my experience, the PC version of Synduality Echo of Ada lacks optimization. I don't have a top-of-the-line machine by any means, but what I have should run the game at 100 FPS at the very least. Here are the specifications:

Ryzen 5 5600X
AMD RX 6600 8GB VRAM
32 GB RAM DDR4

The visuals of the game do not warrant a 60-65 FPS performance on my rig and I do hope that the developers will introduce hotfixes to sort these issues.

The bad: A mech game without the pizzazz of being a pilot

Synduality Echo of Ada has its fair share of issues (Image via Bandai Namco)

Synduality Echo of Ada's gameplay will feel extremely fun in the beginning. That said, after going through the initial 10 hours and expecting things to change, I was extremely disappointed as that was not the case. The sorties became the same runs over and over and I honestly started getting bored.

Given most of the time other players will not mess with you and will carry about their own business, your combat experience comes from AI enemies. It is kind of disappointing that there are only five or so types of foes that you will encounter minus the AI Cradlecoffins.

The combat definitely does not help the game's case. It is very simplistic, which can either be a deal maker or a breaker for many. Personally, I got tired of shooting the same five enemies in the same ways after a few sorties.

Resource collecting can get extremely monotonous and boring at times and something that the game suffers from is not having a single-player plot. The story is mostly told via the environment, and it is easily missable. I honestly think a campaign would have really helped the title.

The game is also heavily unoptimized for the PC version. The visuals do not warrant the performance, as my rig could hardly push above 70 FPS. The rain is also not visible at times, leading to you having to rely on audio cues and your Magus's instructions to take cover.

Another disappointing aspect that I need to talk about is the hefty monetization of almost everything in the game. Firstly, you need to pay $40 to get into the world of Synduality Echo of Ada. Then comes the fact that everything about this game is heavily monetized. Want to change the looks of your Magus? Pay up. Want to get a different Magus? Time to swipe your card.

The game focuses way too much on monetization instead of progression, which can hinder the enjoyment. If it were free-to-play I wouldn't have criticized this aspect so much, but the minimum $40 requirement to get into the world of Synduality Echo of Ada alongside the constant monetization is absurd.

In conclusion

The title has potential but lacks the power, currently (Image via Bandai Namco)

Synduality Echo of Ada is a game that, I think, needed more time in the oven. Heeding feedback from the alpha tests could have created a better standing ground for the game in an already saturated genre. Again, it is not a bad title per se, but it needs a lot of work to become successful.

The monetization especially hurts Synduality Echo of Ada's reputation a lot, and, as stated previously, it focuses more on microtransactions than actual progression. The performance and mediocre combat do not help the case at all and you might get bored after a few hours.

If you are looking forward to picking something to have a mindless adventure for a few hours without worrying too much about the hardcore action of something like Tarkov, Synduality can be for you. Despite its jank and monetization issues, it still provides a casual extraction shooter experience with the added touch of exploring the world in a mech. It is also extremely casual-friendly.

Synduality Echo of Ada, as of writing this review, feels like wasted potential. It could have used a single-player mode to build up on the lore and the game world and given you a heart-touching story that could justify the pricing. Maybe it has a future, but it heavily depends on how the developers decide to play their cards next.