Summary
- Sword Art Online: Variant Showdown is back on mobile after fixes, new content, and new characters.
- The game features an original story with Kirito and friends exploring a new VR title, Cross Edge.
- Players can recruit characters through a lottery system, enjoy an action combat system, and fight with unique abilities.
A Sword Art Online mobile game launched back in 2022 is finally back after a major re-launch following massive complaints from fans about game-breaking bugs and technical issues. Sword Art Online: Variant Showdown is fully available on mobile platforms once again after publisher Bandai Namco pulled it from online stores in 2023, giving fans another chance to try it out.
The massive anime franchise is still going strong after over a decade since the original television series first aired, with numerous Sword Art Online video games taking the story in all-new directions. Most have taken the form of action role-playing games featuring a mix of original characters and returning cast members, though the series has seen a few mobile games as well.
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Fortunately for fans, the mobile RPG Sword Art Online: Variant Showdown is finally back online after over a year of maintenance with a brand-new trailer announcing its relaunch showing off the gameplay and some of the new additions. The newly relaunched game will reportedly have a new power-up system, characters, and game modes, along with a fully voiced main storyline, and seemingly an array of bug fixes.
SAO Mobile Game Resurfaces With New Content
Following the trend of many other games based on the anime franchise, Sword Art Online: Variant Showdown presents an original story in which Kirito and his friends investigate a brand-new VR title called Cross Edge. The story reportedly connects its events to those from the original Sword Art Online anime series and the new version will even add some returning characters like Agil the blacksmith.
As for the gameplay, Variant Showdown features an action combat system in which players sidestep attacks and follow up with their own unique abilities while controlling a cast of characters from throughout the franchise. To recruit new characters to use in battle, players can engage with the game’s lottery system akin to Genshin Impact to pad out their rosters of playable heroes.
For fans looking for an action RPG experience on consoles or PC, there is no shortage of video games based on the hit anime series, with the latest being Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream, available on current-gen platforms. The anime franchise is still ongoing with new animated content as well, with its latest spin-off series Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online currently in its second season.
