Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet U.S. Launch Update Includes 4 New Characters

When players load up Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet today, they should be noticing something new. To celebrate the game's North American and European launch days, four new NPC characters are being added to the fray, and they're all very familiar to most people who have followed the franchise since its inception. All four new characters are from Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online, and the list includes Fukaziroh, Pitohui, Llenn, and M.

Bandai Namco notes in a new blog post that "sub-scenarios" have been added for each new character, but that's just one part of what the launch day patch has to offer. Alongside the new additions, players will be able to access new avatar costumes from Asuna's shop, and avatar face parts that would make them take on the faces of the four new characters. Okay, when we say it that way, it sounds a little creepy -- but it honestly opens up the field for more unique character customizations, which is a major part of this new game.

But wait, there's more: a brand new Hero Battle mode was added with the patch as well, giving players the chance to fight as franchise hero Kirito as well as several other familiar characters from throughout the series, like Asuna and Sinon. It's an online battle mode, which might spice up interaction between players when they're not on their own missions.

A few other updates include an increase in level caps, giving players the chance to go all the way up to level 150. The players A.I. companion, known as the Arfa-SYS, has also been given the ability to level up, even if they're not part of the party while players are battling. This means that your A.I. companion will never fall too far behind you, and depends on the player character leveling up in order to do so itself. All of this serves to help the player carve out their own story within the rather meta world of Gun Gale Online, all in the saber-wielding shadow of Kirito.

Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet is now available worldwide for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.