Sword Art Online Re: Hollow Fragment (Video Game Review)

Gamers were ecstatic to hear about the Sword Art Online novel series getting its own video game and everyone knew there was a lot of fun to be had considering the story depth and the large array of monsters. Sword Art Online Re: Hollow Fragment remains true to the original material while adding enough new content for long term fans of the series. Read on to learn what we thought and our experiences with the new game!


Sword Art Online Re: Hollow Fragment has a variety of locations to explore at your own pace, and that’s one of the titles major strengths. The game has an impressive lineup of no less than 100+ characters, and this feature alone offers up a ton of replay value. To be honest, we were amazed at how detailed each character really was and the fact that they have background stories makes the game that much more immersive. It’s clear that a lot of detail went into each character’s creation and that is something gamers can appreciate.

In regards to the gameplay, Sword Art Online Re: Hollow Fragment has a very fun storyline and that is one of the best parts of the game. Depending on the character you choose, this can change drastically as some of the characters are melee based, others ranged, but overall you might find yourself trying to kill enemies with a variety of movements. Sure, you do get the normal button mashing here and there, but in the end, there are plenty of moves that you can do to that helps the game not become repetitive.

There are tons of dungeons in Sword Art Online Re: Hollow Fragment , and each one does have its own appeal. Filled with creatures, these can be a slaughter fest at times, although most of the enemies won’t attack you unless you enter a fight with them, in pure MMORPG fashion. And this is not the only thing that Sword Art Online Re: Hollow Fragment borrows from the aforementioned genre, as it also provides you multiplayer abilities like guild creation, although this is limited to 4 characters.

The dating simulation concepts added an impressive element to the story considering the anime origins of the game. With so much content in this game, it can be hard to cover it all, and that’s why the recommended option here is to take things one area at a time, pretty much like in any MMO. The sheer gameplay is also very impressive and nicely designed, with so many possibilities that you will always come back to the title! However, the camera could be a little better for sure, but overall the development team did a solid job with Sword Art Online Re: Hollow Fragment. Gamers can appreciate the fact that they brought in a lot of new elements when compared to other games in this series which overall created a game that is equally fun for new and old fans alike.

Performance-wise, Sword Art Online Re: Hollow Fragment runs flawlessly, and the animations as well as every other movement in the game looks fantastic. This aids the gameplay a lot and enriches the experience, since there aren’t any game breaking bugs or stuff like that. This might not be the most impressive RPG on PS4, at least from a visual perspective, but the anime theme is cute and functional, not to mention that the RPG elements during the gameplay are solid. At the same time, this provides you with a lot of replay value and the game is just a blast to play. If you feel that you want a neat RPG for your PS4 and one that offers dozens of hours of enjoyment, then Sword Art Online Re: Hollow Fragment is indeed a worthwhile choice!

Score: 8 out of 10
Reviewed for PS4