The first time I lost my mech in Synduality Echo of Ada was a disaster from start to finish. I forgot to buy insurance, accidentally took too many supplies, skipped repairs when I really shouldn’t have, and then walked straight into a fight I wasn’t prepared for. A series of dumb mistakes led to my inevitable destruction, and this mech-flavored extraction shooter made sure I felt every bit of that loss. And yet, after a string of expletives directed at both the game and myself, I was already planning my next run, eager to recover what I’d lost. That’s the magic of Synduality—tense, high-stakes missions keep you coming back. But while its core combat and risk-reward mechanics are solid, the slow start and repetitive early grind could easily push some players away before they see what really makes this game shine.
https://youtu.be/l2zkiUdRvco?si=F4R348C6k4gbBTQK
A World Ruined by the Rain
The premise is intriguing: In a distant future, humanity has been nearly wiped out by a mysterious blue rain that’s deadly to humans and mutates animals and plants into towering, aggressive monsters. To survive, people have retreated underground and rely on mechs called Cradlecoffins to venture onto the surface in search of valuable energy-producing crystals. Your mission? Head topside, gather what you need to upgrade your base and make some cash, then get back before the wildlife—or worse, another player—turns your Cradlecoffin into a wreck.
Mechs With Limits
Cradlecoffins are unlike the high-speed mechs of Armored Core or the walking tanks of MechWarrior. Instead, they hit a sweet spot between speed and firepower—fast enough to maneuver, but still heavy and somewhat restricted in movement. A deep-cut comparison? They feel a lot like the mechs from Phantom Crash (2002), meaning they’re agile but nowhere near as acrobatic as something from Armored Core. If those mechs can dunk like Jordan, Cradlecoffins have the vertical leap of a potato.
Thankfully, you’re not alone out there. Every pilot is paired with a Magus, an AI companion that can be customized in both appearance and personality. Whether you want a no-nonsense tactical partner, an overenthusiastic best friend, or someone who teases you into doing better, there’s a Magus for that. They assist by marking objectives, warning of dangers, and even monitoring the deadly rain. The customization options lean heavily toward dressing up a robo-girlfriend rather than a robo-boyfriend (even AI-controlled Cradlecoffins tend to have female-voiced Magus units), but the range of personalities makes them oddly endearing. I couldn’t help but laugh when mine scolded me for complaining, essentially telling me to shut up and eat my weeds—I mean, vegetables.
Tense Encounters With Other Players
You’ll frequently cross paths with other players, but surprisingly, most aren’t immediately out for blood. Typically, encounters begin with a standoff—both mechs keeping their weapons trained on each other until someone cautiously waves. If the gesture is returned, an unspoken truce is formed, and you both part ways, never turning your back for fear of betrayal. It’s a tense, uneasy peace, as it should be in an extraction shooter, because at any moment, someone might decide that your expensive shotgun would look better in their inventory.
Despite the game’s setup, which encourages pilots to work toward humanity’s survival, there’s always a chance someone will take the opportunistic route. I’ve had my fair share of cautious interactions, but I’ve also seen people make bad choices—like one unlucky pilot who got into a rough fight with some Enders, only to be standing in the perfect position for me to land a sniper shot. I hope they had insurance. It was exhilarating, it was ruthless, and one day, someone will do the same to me. And honestly? I won’t blame them.
Of course, aggressive behavior comes with consequences. Players who repeatedly attack others get marked as hostile, making them bounty targets. If you go long enough without engaging in PvP after a few incidents, your record clears. But let’s be real—sometimes, the risk is worth it.
Strategic Choices That Matter
Each sortie demands careful planning. How far are you willing to stray from the elevators? What materials do you need? How much ammo should you bring? Do you prioritize cargo space or armor? Every decision impacts your chances of survival. Running out of supplies at the wrong time can leave you stranded, injured, and surrounded by enemies with no easy way back.
Returning with resources allows you to upgrade your base, which starts as a barren cave but gradually transforms into a more functional hub. Expanding storage, setting up production areas, and making quality-of-life improvements feels rewarding, but the process is slow.
The Grind Is Real
This brings us to Synduality’s biggest issue: the grind. The first dozen hours have you repeating the same loop—deploy, collect materials, fight Enders, dodge (or engage) other players, extract, upgrade—on a single map. While the core gameplay is enjoyable, the repetition can wear thin. Fighting Enders loses its thrill once you’ve mastered their patterns, and making real progress takes multiple runs.
Even worse, many upgrades and features are locked behind time-gated progress, forcing you to either wait it out, keep running sorties, or spend currency (either in-game or real money) to speed things up. This artificially stretched-out progression can make the early game feel frustratingly slow.
The Thrill of One Good Run
But here’s the thing—Synduality always keeps you one run away from an incredible moment. I’ve had streaks of bad luck where I lost everything, only to stumble upon the wreckage of another player’s Cradlecoffin and make it out with more loot than I started with. Moments like that keep the experience exciting, even after setbacks.
Eventually, things open up. A second map introduces new environments, tougher Enders, and more experienced players. There are also single-player missions that serve as combat gauntlets—fun but disconnected from the main progression. I wish they rewarded tangible benefits, like mech parts or currency, rather than just lore entries.
Co-op missions are another feature, though forming a team isn’t seamless. You can’t squad up with friends before deploying, so teamwork is limited to players you meet mid-mission. If you do join forces, you get a temporary shared objective—such as destroying a heavily guarded corrupted crystal. But the alliance is temporary; once the goal is completed, it’s every pilot for themselves again, which leads to some incredibly tense post-mission standoffs.
Monetization in a Paid Game
Like many modern multiplayer games, Synduality includes a battle pass and microtransactions. Given that this isn’t a free-to-play game, that stings a little. While you can grind out progress through daily and weekly missions, paying extra can significantly speed things up. To be fair, the free tier of the battle pass offers a decent amount of rewards, but if you lose those rewards in a bad run, well… that’s just how it goes.
Verdict
Synduality Echo of Ada delivers a tense, rewarding extraction shooter experience with a compelling sci-fi setting and solid mech-based combat. However, its slow early progression and repetitive structure make it a tough sell for impatient players. The grind drags down the momentum, and the optional monetization is hard to ignore in a full-priced game.
That said, once you push through the slow start, there’s a great game here—one filled with exhilarating close calls, high-risk encounters, and moments of sheer luck that turn everything around. Just make sure to buy insurance. It’s a scam, but it might be the only thing standing between you and total loss. And in Synduality, that’s all that really matters.
