izigame.me

TLDR: Synduality Echo of Ada is a misunderstood extraction shooter with some major problems, (predatory monetization, annoying grind, performance issues), that has potential in equal measure. Hosting smooth and responsive combat, as well as a interesting and engaging premise, it requires a lot of love to really shine. While I am enjoying the game, I recommend only purchasing if you are extremely curious or if it is on sale. It is not a game for everyone and is unfortunately in rough shape as of the time of writing, although there are slight improvements being made.
I originally made a review at about 20 hours of playtime, and decided to rewrite with a more assertive stance now that I have a bit more than a work week's time in. I fully believe Synduality Echo of Ada has potential as a game and is suffering from a very rough launch. I also believe that this game reached the wrong market initially. I have not followed much of the marketing for this game, I rarely do for anything, but it seems that the marketing had many expecting a PvE focused experience. PvE is a present mechanic in the game. There are rewards to be earned through PvE and Co-op gameplay. I am perfectly fine with how it is implemented currently, although for PvE enjoyers, singleplayer only enjoyers, or those who come in wanting to directly squad up with friends, I can see the frustration. There is no direct squad mechanic, you must squad up in a mission, requiring you to get lucky in queue. When you do squad up, it registers you for a single Co-op mission, that upon completion, disbands the squad. Friendly fire is enabled while in a squad. The only tangible benefit from squadding up with friends is knowing where they are on the map and having their health details. It is lackluster for those wanting/expecting a PvE/Co-op focused experience.
Despite the marketing, this game is heavily PvP. I came into it expecting that, as it is an extraction shooter. Most extraction shooters these days are PvP. Know what you are buying. Don't start leaving bad reviews because you misunderstood the genre.
That aside, this game does have some very present problems that people are rightfully speaking out about. Primarily, the monetization. Combined with the grind, it hampers the experience heavily. The battlepass in game provides usable items and cosmetics. The items are in the form of weapons and mech parts. Both of those things are lost on death. This game is full loot, so if someone kills you, what you were carrying is now theirs. It can be insured for monetary recompense, but insurance can get expensive depending on the quality of equipment you want insured. This creates a climate where everyone is afraid of using their good stuff and rides out in scrap heaps with no consequence on loss. So if you paid for the battlepass, the risk/reward ratio for taking out your fancy equipment is not encouraging. Also, pay to progress is not a good monetization strat. None of the stuff on the battlepass is pay to win, but it does give a possible progression boost. Not a good look.
On top of that is the grind. While it was lessened slightly with the most recent update, it is not a game that respects your time. I will be the first to admit that I got lucky and stumbled across what was essentially a high level murder suicide in the early stages of my game experience, netting me a solid amount of cash. I will not lie, had that not happened, my review might be different. That being said, I have nearly 1000 hours in War Thunder 100% free to play. I am not afraid of a grind. If you are though, especially for a game that requires you to pay for it, be aware that this game doesn't do handouts. Items in the store are expensive, and crafting your own also takes monetary investment. I guess your crafting machines operate like arcade cabinets or something. Some crafting recipes require complex materials that need to be crafted themselves. All of this involves a Clash of Clans-esque building timer that can be skipped if you have extra pocket money or whip out your credit card. While optional, that extra choice to use real money like some sort of scummy mobile game rubs me the wrong way.
Third and final on my list of grievances is the performance of the game. While I believe they improved it somewhat in the most recent update, I still get constant frame stutters and drops on an RTX 4070 ti Super. Not cool dude. Especially for a game that does not look revolutionary. It isn't bad, but it certainly isn't stutter worthy on my hardware. There are also limited graphical settings to add to the hurt. Fix it. Please.
Now that I smack-talked the game for five paragraphs I can address what I really want to talk about: The combat. A large majority of the negative reviews talk about the weapons being unbalanced and one faction being worthless compared to the other. I am here to tell you that they 100% have a skill issue. And guess what? I'm an association player.
To break it down, there are two factions in game. The Drifter's Association and The Black Market. ("Good" guys and "Bad" guys, respectively.) The Association is the default faction and is also the designated PvE faction. Their equipment is focused on fighting monsters, as a typical Association loadout features anti-ender, (Ender=monster), mechs and energy weapons. Energy weapons deal increased damage to Enders and feature no bullet drop, but generally have a shorter range and are weaker(?) against mechs. The Black Market on the other hand is the PvP faction, dealing in anti-mech equipment and live weapons. Live weapons use bullets and deal higher damage to mechs with a longer range, but suffer from bullet drop. A ton of Association players complain about energy weapons being useless and that the Black Market pilots rule the server. Here's what I say: You're trash. This goes back to that "wrong audience" thing I mentioned at the beginning. A lot of PvE only players got sucked into this game only to get stomped by a few guys who play PvP shooters frequently. Someone who only plays PvE games will get schwacked by even casual PvPers easily. As an avid Association player, I see it all the time. My fellow pilots hold W and drive at the target like an NPC themselves only to get demolished and shipped back to the lobby to write a bad review. This game has plenty of problems. Writing a bad review because you suck is not cool. Association players are not 100% barred from using live weapons. This game is full loot after all. Even so, energy weapons are perfectly capable of sending Black Market scum back to starter mechs. You can't just hold W and drive at your target like a CSGO bot. Tactics are important. Utilizing cover is important. Ambushing is important. Be smart, be swift, and pay attention to your opponent's loadout. Engaging a shotgunner at point blank range might not be the smartest thing. Staying at range against a sniper isn't a great idea either. Tactics people. Tactics. There is not a single time in a PvP engagement that I lost where I sat back and said "damn there was literally nothing I could have done to win that."
So, now that I bored you to death with my rant/review, do I recommend this game? Only if you're really sure or can get it on sale. I like it and am passionate about it (if you couldn't tell). I'm having a blast, and despite its (many) shortcomings, believe wholeheartedly that this game has the potential to be great. That being said, it is absolutely not for everyone. IT IS NOT PVE FOCUSED AND DOES NOT HAVE PVE ONLY. DO NOT BUY IT IF THAT IS WHAT YOU WANT. As detailed above, it also has plenty of problems. They need to be fixed. I'm giving this game a thumbs up only because it's been given enough negative ratings already. There is a good experience to be had for a certain type of person. Make sure you are that type of person before buying it in this state. I will likely update my review if things change.