Synduality Echo of Ada
Review
Post-Apocalyptic Mecha Extraction Shooter
by James
reviewed on PC
Post-Apocalyptic Mecha Extraction Shooter
Two-hundred years ago, toxic rain fell all over the world, killing ninety percent of the planet’s population. In response, humanity created the underground Great City of Amasia; which mysteriously collapsed a few years ago, sending humanity back up to the surface. You take on the role of a Drifter, piloting a weighty bipedal mecha called a CRADLECOFFIN along with your Magus, your customisable android companion. You take an elevator from your deep underground garage and deploy to the planet's large and hostile post-apocalyptic PvPvE zones for sorties; missions with limited time for extraction. You gather energy producing AO crystals, equipment and crafting resources while fighting rogue Bandit mecha, alien Enders, toxic rain and players who have decided to forgo the Drifter Support Association to hunt you instead. With an arsenal of weaponry and mechs to choose from, and opportunities to oscillate between player competition and cooperation, does Synduality offer up enough interesting ideas, systems and variety to keep the core extraction shooter gameplay loop satisfying and engaging?
Magus Logic
Upon starting the Synduality Echo of Ada, you’re offered to choose one of four different AI Magus companions who will join you on your journey, with the option of buying more further down the line for premium currency. Each Magus model has a unique and customisable appearance, voice and personality, so choose wisely, as you don't want to be stuck with an annoying companion. After choosing Grau (GR-a-01), an AI android advertised with a sympathetic, playful and witty side, I then got to choose from one of five Magus Systems to modify my playstyle: the scouting Weather Gazer, repair-accelerating Cradle Support, offensive Anti-Enders, PvP Anti-Cradle or the damage-dampening Defensive system. Out in the field, you’ll be issuing commands to your Magus to search for crystals, analyse other CRADLECOFFINS, scan your environment and activate ultimate abilities.
Grau ended up being quite witty as she kept offering me weeds to eat that she excavated from our garage. She also started cooking me mushrooms she found on the wall along with the weeds she scrounged, so she's definitely my kind of girl.
CRADLECOFFIN Weighty Physicality
While your Magus provides the logic, your CRADLECOFFIN provides the weighty physicality so needed in a mech shooter. They have servos that provide a quick upward and sideward jump and dodge, a satisfying boost dash that overheats your system if used too long, and the ability to equip energy and ballistic weaponry and customise their body, arms and legs. My favourite combination of weaponry quickly became an energy shotgun and energy sniper rifle with a Birdwatcher body, but there are plenty of parts to choose from and weapons with multiple fire modes available. Coffins control well with both keyboard, mouse and controller, with the ability to swap which shoulder the camera is peaking over, the ADS sensitivity at different scope levels and the level of aim assist.
Style & Atmosphere
The art and atmospheric direction of Synduality takes inspiration from classic mecha and post-apocalyptic settings, with more than a sprinkling of Fallout to add some tongue-in-cheek self-aware humour. All things considered the atmosphere is very upbeat, it's not a game that takes itself seriously at all, which you'll understand when you meet Yoshio for the first time - the plush white rabbit in a pink onesie that serves as the in-game universe mascot. Yoshio's tips and tricks videos are the highlight of Synduality, they're tight and funny curated introductions to game systems, and the Fallout style works extremely well. There's some basic story at the start of the game, but beyond that most of the worldbuilding is gleaned through loading screens and quest text.
Shallow Gameplay Loop
For Synduality to succeed, its core gameplay loop must be sustaining and interesting enough to pull in the individual player to regularly play a few sorties a day, and to maintain a community of engaged players so that player interaction and PvP can continue. In your underground garage, the core gameplay loop involves taking on requests from different organisations, remodelling your garage, buying and crafting items, wishlisting items, customising your Coffin and customising your loadout. Once you're equipped and ready to go on a sortie, you can choose to insure your equipment, before heading topside, where you'll be placed on a large map with many AI enemies and players.
From here, your goal is to search for and excavate AO Crystals to use as currency, boost dash around, kill Enders, co-operate with or attack other players and collect crafting material before the battery on your mecha runs out and you must extract. To assist you, you can issue Magus orders such as AO Search to search for nearby AO Crystals, use the detailed map and repair kits whilst avoiding toxic rain that will reduce your weather resistance and power up Enders. After you extract, you'll be shown a post mission replay and results, as well as the achievements and objectives you completed, before restarting the loop in your garage.
I enjoyed my first half-dozen or so sorties, particularly the feel of piloting a CRADLECOFFIN, Boost Dashing around, the commentary by my Magus and using a shotgun up close with Enders. When I started to get bored of PvE, I tried out some PvP, successfully ganking multiple unsuspecting Drifters with a shotgun, looting their mechs and extracting. As much as PvE was fun for a while and then PvP was, I found that I no longer wanted to come back and play another round. The loop was too shallow for me, I felt that most of it was just Boost Dashing around the environment to get to crystals or other players, that the AI enemies left a lot to be desired, and that I was collecting crafting material that didn’t amount to much.
Business Model & Monetisation
Synduality is a heavily monetised game and offers a Deluxe and Ultimate Battle Pass that include equipment and mech parts that provide gameplay advantages to players with the willingness and means to pay for them. Battle Pass ranks can also be bought with SYN COINS, which are premium currency bought with real-world money. Remodelling the garage and crafting gear all take a certain amount of real-world time, which can be sped up by paying with real-world money. Buying additional Magi and changing the System on a Magus cost real-world money, as do various cosmetics and cosmetic packages.
Less than the Sum of Its Parts
Unfortunately, the aggressive monetisation and shallow gameplay loop in Synduality Echo of Ada let down some excellent stylistic choices, atmosphere and characterisation. I enjoyed the funny interactions I had with my Magus and Yoshio, as well as the art style and the feel of my Coffin on the Earth, but I don't feel I have anything to gain by continuing to play, and I don't think the monetisation is fair.
As always, follow Hooked Gamers on Instagram for news updates, reviews, competitions and more.
6.5
fun score
Pros
The feel of piloting mechs, Yoshio is a terrific mascot, Ganking noobs with a shotgun
Cons
Shallow gameplay loop, Excessive monetisation, Poor Enemy AI
