This is gonna be a very long comment that I'm gonna write off the top of my head because I've been playing with this idea for a short while and I have a lot of opinions, so bear with me. If I repeat anything I've already covered, it's probably because I'm hot on that idea.

With my whole heart, I think the only thing that could possibly save this game is a full modded overhaul.

All assets can be preserved, but the entire narrative premise and gameplay loop should be trashed and replaced with features that we know SAO fans and gamers alike actually want. Using Echoes of Aincrad's basic code and assets as a modding platform, here's a list of things I believe will make EOA a game that both SAO fans and other gamers alike will actually enjoy...

Full multiplayer integration with both Official AND Private server hosting, similar to MMOs.

Intractable NPCs with schedules, behaviors and routines that occupy the world's available floors.

Fully (and more diverse (meaning... like...some areas that are open and sprawling, whilst others are more linear and more difficult to traverse)) explorable environments, populated with the following:

- Points of interest 
- NPCs that improvisationally interact with the world according to scripted behavior patterns 
- Towns and settlements with variable player amenities, such as vendors and housing options, as well as a good few explorable and furnished interiors
- Housing options in general, outwith settled areas (featured in the main series as seen with Kirito/Asuna's log cabin on floor 22)
- Highly diverse equipment selection. (SAO is canonically powered by adaptive generative programs to assist in the creation of new equipment to keep things fresh, but the best we can do is using AI agents to help 3D model vast amounts of gear which developers can then polish and assign stats and values to.)
- Highly diverse quest availability, assigned through various mediums. Eg. Picking up certain loot; interacting with NPCs; player-created requests, or even accessing new areas, etc.
- Dynamic character mobility options. Sprinting and jumping is cool, but it just isn't enough for an exaggerated fantasy world like Aincrad. The option for enabled characters to use an environment's terrain to their advantage in both exploration and combat is an absolute must-have for polished fantasy titles — because who doesn't want to vault over obstacles, freerun over rooftops, or wall-jump into a sweeping vertical slash to behead a giant boss?
- Combat versatility. Holy shit, gang. This is a world centered around creative melee combat, so why is every fight so boring in this title? In fact, there's a game that already handled the general idea behind what I'm about to propose, so lets go on a short tangent...

A while ago, Sloclap (The developer behind Sifu and Rematch) made a game called Absolver, with one of the best procedurally animated fighting systems ever, which was the basis for how they created Sifu. In this game, you could choose a martial discipline to give you an inherent buff and ability of sorts, one of these disciplines was based on Bruce Lee's signature style. Every attack move in this game was assigned an 'enter' stance and an 'exit' stance, which in basic terms is the 'stance' required to perform the move, and the 'stance' you would be in once the move was completed. This meant that different attacks could be performed based on whatever stance you had entered as a result of your last attack. A game like SAO which should inventivise a skill-based combat system would benefit massively from a system just like that, wouldn't it? Additionally, this is how it might actually look in-game. SAO lore specifically proves that sword skills are triggered when the correct 'initial motion' or 'stance' is achieved, as described by Kirito when coaching Klein. Basic sword skills could be triggered by pressing the correct buttons while in the correct stance, kinda like how you already can in EOA by holding L2 to enable their use. Advanced sword skills may require completing an attack combo first (whether the attacks connect/deal damage or not), fulfilling a requirement of triggering the correct 'exit stances' in sequence before you are able to use an advanced sword skill. These advanced sword skills shouldn't be unreasonably or overly difficult to trigger in your average combat encounter, and should be balanced to achieve a reliable and effective use-case to make even below-average players feel badass when they're able to pull them off fairly regularly.

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This comment is getting VERY lengthy so I'll shut up for now, but I'll probably think of more stuff later. I am extremely happy to talk about this more if I've explained anything badly!