Synduality: Echo of Ada is part mech suit battler, part AI life sim

In the future, humanity is left devastated. Disastrous poison rain engulfs the land of Amasia and there isn't much left for the remaining humans to do other than struggle to survive, scavenge for parts, and try to uncover the truth of how this post-apocalypse came to be. In Synduality: Echo of Ada, players fight for resources, search for information, and also try to keep their underground home looking spiffy for their AI companion. After all, the world's collapse is no excuse for a messy home life.

Shacknews recently had the opportunity to try out the early portions of Synduality: Echo of Ada. The game's core loop is about exploring the surface world, searching for precious resources, and surviving against hostile forces, whether they be computer-controlled foes or other players. The story takes place in the year 2222 following the collapse of Amasia, humanity's home world. Players take on the role of a Drifter, who explores the world in a Cradlecoffin, which is an upgradable land-based mech suit. He doesn't explore the world alone, as he's joined by a Magus named Ada. A Magus is an AI companion who helps navigate the Cradlecoffin and also acts as Alba's most loyal friend. Numerous customization options are available, allowing users to change various visual and personality aspects of the main characters.

To help humanity survive, players embark on missions that mainly involve collecting AO Crystals. The player's Magus will guide them along the way and can also utilize special abilities, such as energy recovery or barrier protection. The surface is a dangerous place filled with mechanical creatures known as Enders. While one would expect Cradlecoffins to be armed to the teeth, resources can sometimes be limited. On top of that, there's only so much battery life on the Cradlecoffin. Time management is a critical factor, because a mission failure means the loss of any collected resources and an added penalty. Therefore, players must be tactical whenever they're exploring the surface, whether it means avoiding detection from enemies or taking cover from poison rain, which can gradually deplete health.

Enders aren't the only dangers on the surface. As one might expect in a post-apocalyptic landscape, there are tribes of CPU-controlled raiders looking to hoard supplies. They'll attack on sight and they'll sometimes roll in numbers, so the best course of action can sometimes be to run. The other thing to keep in mind is that other players will also be present on the surface. It's possible to run into another active player. Other players are fellow members of the Amasia Collapse Investigation Committee, so they should be allies. Of course, let's stress that part: They should be allies. Because PvP gaming is what it is, it is entirely possible that they will fire upon you and try to steal your supplies. They might even steal your Magus, though that scenario never arose during this session. At that point, it's best to run for survival. During my time with the game, my Magus informed me that players attacking other players would be met with penalties from the committee. With that said, if another player is carrying enough supplies, sometimes attacking them and collecting their hefty spoils is worth eating any potential penalty.

While Synduality is mainly about PvPvE exploration, the narrative can get more involved through a single-player component. After completing some core objectives, players will unlock solo missions that shed light on how Amasia came to be in the state that it is in. In these solo missions, players are placed in unique stages built for a single-player experience. There will be no other players to get in the way and the usual penalty for failure will not apply during these outings. Completing these missions often involves collecting surveillance logs from enemy camps. These logs will play out via audio recordings, animated cutscenes, or diary entries and will further detail the final days of Amasia through the perspective of a Drifter named Alba and his Magus named Ada. Ultimately, the goal of these missions is to put the pieces together and solve the mystery of how Amasia fell.

Between missions, players are encouraged to turn their underground garage into the home they want it to be. This means upgrading different parts of it to allow for additional upgrades. As players renovate their base, they'll notice their Magus take an active role in keeping it neat and tidy. They'll also encourage players to add various cosmetics to make it more livable. While this aspect of the game wasn't fully explorable, I was able to make my Magus happy by purchasing new outfits with in-game currency.

Synduality: Echo of Ada looks like a different kind of mech-based extraction shooter, one that will look to engage players for a long time to come. I did leave with questions about the late game, but the idea of the game's lore being tied to single-player sounds interesting. Those interested in learning more won't have to wait very much longer. An Open Network Test will run on Steam starting Thursday, December 12 and run through Friday, December 20. Anybody who pre-orders the game will get a bonus 48 hours of Open Network Test time that goes through the last weekend. Synduality: Echo of Ada will release on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on Friday, January 24.

This preview is based on an early PC version played on-site at the Bandai Namco offices in Irvine, CA. Lodging was provided by Bandai Namco.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?