First details for the recently announced Sword Art Online: Lost Song have arrived via this week’s Dengeki PlayStation.

Sword Art Online: Lost Song talks place on Svart ALfheim, a mysterious new floating continent that comes bundled with a game update to ALfheim Online. The continent is said to include a multitude of different area types, including plains, deserts, and icebergs, among other varieties. Each area is also estimated to be around 16 square kilometers in size, all of which can be freely explored on foot or in the air.

Notably, Lost Song will be the first Sword Art Online game where players can choose to play as someone other than Kirito. Although whether they’ll be able to do so with a customizable avatar is still to be determined.

Gameplay-wise, combat is now split into land and air battles, both of which play differently. Air battles, for instance, are stated to afford complete freedom of maneuverability to players, with the dimensionality therefore being of strategic importance. As such, air battles feature no auto attacks, but should players choose to not have lock-on targeting activated, they can attack any part of an enemy’s body as they choose.

As for land battles, they’re said to be the predominant form of combat in dungeons and it’s implied that jumping may be a new feature added to them. Beyond that, players can readily switch between air and land combat styles at their discretion.

Parties in the game, meanwhile, now top out at three characters, the composition of which is dictated by players. A number of new characters are set to appear in the game, although Sinon is also believed to be making a return, given her appearance in art being shown for the game.

Sword Art Online: Lost Song is due out for PlayStation 3 and PS Vita in Japan next year.

Thanks, Hachima Kikou.