SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada is an upcoming PvPvE extraction shooter that is published by Bandi Namco and created by Game Studio Inc., SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada is set in the year 2222 in a world where an environment hazard that is known as The Tears of the New Moon has killed off many humans and created new threats that stalk the lands known as Enders.

You will take on the role of a Drifter with the goal of exploring the land for resources and crystals left behind from the deadly rain known as AO crystals. To survive the world, you will be using a mech suit known as CRADLECOFFIN, a mech unit created to withstand the toxic rain.

New parts and units can be earned in-game by either looting other players’ units, finding parts in the world to research to create a full blueprint, or just by finishing certain tasks that can be picked up in between matches. Each mech has a different endurance level, load capacity, operation time, and can be further customized with many body parts and weapons to suit each sortie and try new playstyles.

Along with the CRADLECOFFIN, players will have an advanced A.I. with them that was created from the tech of the new world code-named Magus. Each model type has a different personality, and its appearance can be extensively customized.

They operate by giving tailored feedback on the objective based on analysis of your previous performance in sorties, so you don’t make the same mistakes twice. Along with giving guidance during missions, the Magus can also be used to unleash an ultimate skill that will assist the player either by attacking or defending.

An example of both is the Multi-Shot, which is shown during the training segment, you will be able to mass target enemies as the Magus unleashes blasts at them. You are still able to move and attack the targets to get rid of them quickly, the other is a weather shield that will place a giant bubble around you blocking all rainfall to keep the unit from being weakened in the toxic rainfall.

The difficulty of the game can be rather harsh, given it is an extraction shooter you will lose everything you have brought into action if you fail. Thankfully, the base weapons and mech parts are free to purchase so there is no way to be locked out from playing if you have a bad run of events. In combat, some Enders are easier to deal with in comparison to others, but you can easily get overrun if you are not aware of the surroundings. Encountering players is where I found the real enjoyment, having a death battle against two mechs is always rewarding.

If you win the fight, you will be able to loot the other players and take whatever they have collected. If you do manage to get separated from your Magus which can happen depending on how you fail a task, they will find their way back to you, but any missions you do without them will be much harder as you will have zero support, so no mini-map, no callouts, and some features such as scan and shields will be offline.

The visuals for the world feature many small clusters of biomes to travel across. The Magus designs are done well, and you can use the character creation system to design them. If you fail tasks and they are lost for some time, when they return, they will be dirty and ragged. This can be fixed by allowing them to bathe. The mechs while they are bulky, the design of them can be

changed with what parts are used. I didn’t see a way to colour it myself. Maybe in the full version this will be a feature added in.

Audio wise the voice acting is in Japanese and there was no way to change the language in the game. It was not an issue in between missions, but when playing, the subtitles are off to the left and not in the centre. Trying to read what is being said, either a warning or items nearby, I found it hard to read and keep on guard at the same time.

In conclusion, the current state of SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada is balanced, things I do hope to see get added are, being able to switch the language spoken and more servers for regions as there was a lot of bullet delay playing in Australia. As for any bugs or issues I didn’t encounter any. For extraction shooter fans this is one to keep an eye on as it has a lot of potential.

Written by: Shane Walsh