SWORD ART ONLINE_ HOLLOW REALIZATION_20161115212538

Sword Art Online games are known for offering opportunities to get to know your party members. You lot're encouraged to interact with people you recognize from the anime and calorie-free novel series. While in earlier games, information technology could sometimes feel like all yous were doing was working toward a fanservice scene with your favorite graphic symbol, Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization feels like it makes the interactions feel a little more pertinent to the state of affairs.

Basically, people are able to interact with characters like Asuna, Leafa, Silica, Strea, so on. These characters take various traits that can influence their actions and personalities. Praising and encouraging them during in the field, likewise every bit taking time to walk and talk with them in town, tin modify their behaviors and increase their amore. While this may seem, on the surface, like it's giving Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization a dating arrangement, it'due south actually a means of ensuring the characters human activity the way you want in battle and get them shut enough to join you lot, receive gifts, and engage in pillow talk.

SWORD ART ONLINE_ HOLLOW REALIZATION_20161115212740

It's actually a rather complicated organisation. Let'southward outset with Sword Fine art Online: Hollow Realization'southward personality arrangement. Every character can have six traits. Asuna starts out with the peppery, cool, smart, caring, kind, and nosy personality traits. I wanted her to be a dedicated assaulter, which meant I needed to focus on improving her scarlet natures, similar fiery and warlike. The best way I establish to do this was to praise actions in battle that had peppery attached to them. I wanted Silica to buff upwards and back up my party, which ways encouraging the green traits similar Smart and Timid. It can get pretty complicated, but praising and interacting with people yous intend to utilize often will assistance you on your manner.

But, equally complicated equally the personality organisation is, Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization's amore organisation is easier to sympathize. Talking with people makes them similar you. You lot actually take to spend free time with them in town, engaging in what is pretty similar to a visual novel or dating simulation. Equally you spend fourth dimension together, perhaps fifty-fifty property hands if y'all're close enough, you lot'll come across a centre above their head. This ways you tin take part in a chat where you nod yep or shake your head no to indicate interest and engage in interactions. Zooming in lets you agree or disagree. Pulling dorsum lets you press the square button to engage in interactions. A throbbing heart will appear, also as a feeling approximate in the upper left corner. You want to await until the heart is a royal color to offset spamming actions to increase her feelings, and you tin't practise that until y'all talk first.

Now, hither'due south why you want to do that, even if you accept no interest in Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization's pillow talk events and virtual relationships with characters. (Though, if y'all want pillow talk, that happens after reaching level four analogousness.) You lot need to accomplish certain levels to add people who aren't main characters to your group, though all of the primary characters similar Asuna and Silica volition already arrive at that level due to your shared history. You besides demand people to be at the fifth level to actually give them equipment. This is huge every bit y'all get toward the endgame, as it ways they'll take stronger, better, and more constructive equipment.

SWORD ART ONLINE_ HOLLOW REALIZATION_20161115213059

It's a good thing the characters of Sword Fine art Online: Hollow Realization will offer incentive to increase good will, because sometimes the game itself doesn't do enough to stay in your good graces. Information technology keeps crashing on me. Things have gotten slightly better since the 1.01 patch was released, simply this is one of the few PlayStation 4 games that just decides to randomly shut things down. The first 3 times, it happened when I was in field areas, exploring and battling. Some other time, it happened when I sent Kirito over to the inn. It'southward an odd feeling and feel, since I accept a launch PlayStation iv with the stock difficult bulldoze and have been playing a physical copy of the game. The simply other title to ever crash on me was a digital copy of Assassin'south Creed Iv: Blackness Flag.

In both anime series and video games, y'all're encouraged to get shut to characters. Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization helps you connect to these characters from the Sword Fine art Online series in meaningful ways. Yes, spending time with them helps yous get to know them. Maybe it even means seeing them when they're at their most attractive. Just, it also means making them better partners for you. They'll exist stronger and more than competent if you connect with them, which is a really interesting way to show relationship growth in a game.

Sword Fine art Online: Hollow Realization is now available for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita.

Jenni Lada

Jenni is Editor-in-Chief at Siliconera and has been playing games since getting access to her parents' Intellivision equally a toddler. She continues to play on every possible platform and loves all of the systems she owns. (These include a PS4, Switch, Xbox One, WonderSwan Color and even a Vectrex!) You lot may have as well seen her piece of work at GamerTell, Cheat Code Key, Michibiku and PlayStation LifeStyle.