• Sword Art Online: Variant Showdown is set to return after a year-long hiatus
• The ARPG was pulled from launch after it was first released to address a number of issues
• It now returns with new features, a redesigned UI and more!

Despite being a fairly successful release, one year ago the recently unveiled ARPG Sword Art Online: Variant was pulled from storefronts for an extended hiatus. While it may have been a bizarre choice at the time, I’m pleased to report you won’t need to wait any longer to dive back in, as Sword Art Online: Variant returns today!

As before, Sword Art Online: Variant adapts the hit anime series, which sees protagonist Kirito and numerous other people trapped in the titular full-dive VR game Sword Art Online. The 3D ARPG chronicles the series and features numerous characters from through its run duking it out against bosses and enemies.

Now, as for what’s new in this re-release, we’ve got the following. Teams of three can now team up for multiplayer battles where you take on powerful bosses to get rare rewards, armour items will now be available as rewards from stages with higher grades depending on the difficulty, and finally, the main story is now fully voiced throughout!

A sword by any other name

As noted way back when this first happened, the decision to pull Sword Art Online: Variant Showdown from release was quite an interesting one, and not necessarily in a good way. While the new additions are intriguing, I am slightly sceptical that it’ll be enough to win back players. You only get one chance to make a good first impression after all; but for those super-fans of the series and Kirito’s adventurers, I’m sure this return is very welcome.

In any case, if you’re a fan of animesque mobile ARPGs, puzzlers or otherwise, there’s plenty to choose from if you fancy looking! Why not take the opportunity to dig into our list of the top 15 best anime games inspired by, or simply like, this popular animation medium?