Scarlet Nexus

amazon Scarlet Nexus reviews

Setting and Story

A Dystopian Future

“Scarlet Nexus” depicts a world in which the discovery of a psionic hormone in the human brain perfectly explains one thing: that certain people do possess supernatural powers. Hence, the Others Suppression Force (OSF) came into being to protect humanity from the Others-these grotesque human brain-hungry entities that descend upon malevolence. The world is painted as a dystopia in which, on either side of the world, tech meets the powers of the mind, thus forming a setting that marries cyberpunk aesthetics with praise for the supernatural.

Two Protagonists

One of the most iconic features of a game is its dual storyline structure that allows players to perceive the story through two different lenses: Yuito Sumeragi and Kasane Randall. Yuito is a good-hearted-but-a-bit-naïve young man from an influential family who joins the OSF to fulfill the dreams of a hero that once saved him. Kasane is a stoic, extremely skilled soldier bound by duty and by an enigmatic connection to Yuito.

With each protagonist having quite a unique take on the happenings of the world, the outcomes of the game will fully depend on the protagonist in play. Thus, this duality enriches the storytelling and urges the player to play through it twice in order to comprehend the full narrative.

Complicated Narrative

A complex and ambitious narrative interweaving themes of camaraderie, betrayal, and the near-impossible moralities of war is brought forth in the Scarlet Nexus. Players engage in political tangles, hidden conspiracies, and shocking revelations that question the world as they see it and the characters within.

In general, the writing has been strong with well-rounded characters and meaningful interactions. However, the narrative may sometimes test the patience of those not acquainted with Japanese storytelling conventions. Heavy use of jargon and the introduction of many plot twists add to spots where it becomes difficult to follow. For those who consider an intricate plot a favorable point, however, Scarlet Nexus is a game to consider playing.

Game Mechanics

Psychokinetic Combat

In particular, “Scarlet Nexus” shines with its combat mechanics-overlayed with the role of psychokinetic powers. Yuito and Kasane can use psychokinesis to physically object-manipulate via mind control-throwing debris, cars, and other elements in the environment against their foes. This psychokinesis fits like a round peg in a round hole into the fast-paced hack-and-slash combat, thus creating a dynamic and stunning battle layer.

While ordinary melee attacks are chained with powerful psychokinetic throws, combat remains fluid and appealing, lit up with various enemies requiring a variety of strategies for their defeat. The skill tree creates possibilities for unlocking new skills to enhance combat efficiency, making it an important factor in customizing the gameplay itself.

Brain Map and Skill Progression

Players will level up through an array of new abilities and passive skills within a skill tree known as the Brain Map. The tree branches represent different combat skills: melee attack skills, psychokinetic skills, and defense skills. Players gain Brain Points throughout the game’s course, allowing for the unlocking of these skills.

Skill progression works well in the design and customization of abilities for one’s character. Whether a player chooses to be aggressive or somewhat defensive, the Brain Map offers lots of room for a customized build. The progression is so rewarding; getting an ability really adds that little flame of enjoyment into combat, really getting players to explore further.

Party System and SAS (Struggle Arms System)

One of the most important gameplay mechanics in “Scarlet Nexus” will be the SAS which will allow players to borrow the powers of their allies. As Yuito and Kasane progress through the game with the other OSF members, they each have a unique power. In combat, players tap into those characters through the SAS, temporarily using their abilities-first pyrokinesis, teleportation, invisibility, the entire nine yards.

This means the SAS is a strategic combat system where players have to decide when to lend these abilities and how to use them. Each revert has an activation cooldown attached; therefore, players will have to choose their timings very wisely. It also helps develop relationships with party members since the stronger the bond, the stronger and longer the used ability is.

The party setup itself is well-done, as each character has his uniqueness to bring to the table. The AI-controlled party members are good fighters most of the time, and their abilities complement those of the player’s, giving rise to some very nice combinations that turn the tide of an engagement.

Exploration and Level Design

While the mega-focus of “Scarlet Nexus” will be combat, there are some elements of exploration to the game. Players venture around different environments, which can range from urban landscapes to eerie otherworldly areas. Levels have somewhat a linear design but some areas do have alternate paths and hidden items; however, the main focus is still on progressing the story and fighting.

The game itself conjures a world so richly imagined that it combines images of hyper-modern cities with dreamscapes and surreal images beyond the dreams of most, engaging and rich in voices. Exploring areas can also feel repetitive, feeling like many places are nearly carbon-copies of one another in terms of aesthetics and layout. For certain players, the lack of an open-world exploration would certainly come as a disappointment, but the story completely redeems itself with its powerful narrative and energizing engagements in combat.

Side Missions and Bond Episodes

More precisely, “Scarlet Nexus” provides within the same Main Story other Sub-Missions and Bond Episodes, where players can venture further in their relationship with party members. The missions are most often combat-oriented challenges or fetch quests, rewards ranging from items to BP. Most of these side-quests aren’t groundbreaking, but they serve as fillers to those wanting to extend their play.

The Bond Episodes come as story-based interactions between the player and wayward party members. These include delving into the backstory and personality of the characters and shedding them on their motivations and relationships. The completion of the Bond Episodes not only deepens the SAS bond with such character but also gives a considerable edge to the character’s overall fighting skills.

The Bond Episodes are the best part of the game-they develop characters meaningfully, add to the narrative as a whole, and complete the experience with a refreshing break in-between battle from the main game objectives.

Visual and Audio Designs

Anime-inspired Art Style

“Scarlet Nexus” is really beautiful, standing apart from other action RPGs that have anime-influenced art styles among them. The character designs are very detailed and expressive, something unique in its kind; each member of the OSF has his own separate, outlandish look. The aesthetics of the environment are as impressive, embracing futuristic architecture and mixed with utterly surreal otherworldly elements.

This further makes the game very interesting in terms of use of color; with an overall decorative and vibrant palette, it contrasts live and bright, neon-kissed cities with dark, foreboding-fleshed Otherworlds, which can stir engaging visuals in their bleakness. It must also be said that the enemy designs are imaginative; Others look twisted and grotesque, organically and mechanically amalgamated into one.

The cutscenes are delivered in animation mixed with the visual novel’s style, wherein static character portraits appear with text. Though the visual novel’s parts do not seem so lively when compared to the animated cutscenes, they surely would be well-thought-out into the game.

Audio Design and Voice Acting

Audio design in ”Scarlet Nexus” is complimentary to the overall art style of the game; the soundtrack fuses electronic beats with orchestral components. The atmosphere of the game is enhanced by the music, a blend of adrenaline-pumping battle music and more ambient, mood-setting tracks. The sound effects are particularly satisfying and have a great amount of impact during fights, thus further immersing the player.

The voice acting is done in both Japanese and English, and both versions have strong performances from the cast. They bring the characters to life, allowing their personalities and emotions to be promulgated effectively. The delivery of the dialogue is good, and while the localization is generally strong, a few lines may come across as weird because of the translations of certain idioms or cultural references.

Performance and Technical Aspects

”Scarlet Nexus” is smoothly running on most platforms, with steady performance and few technical issues. Frame rates are consistent, and loading times are short, especially on next-gen consoles and PCs. Visual effects, especially during combat, look fantastic and do not cause any apparent slowdowns.

Very few small technical problems exist truly, from the occasional subtle clipping in some of the cutscenes to minor AI pathfinding issues. Those, however, are few and do not really mar an experience.

Scarlet Nexus – Remember more than a year ago when watching the announcement video about Scarlet Nexus during Microsoft’s “Xbox 20/20” event, the writer expected a game with a style almost like Astral Chain, from the environment to fast-paced combat.

But when experiencing the official release, the writer realized that he was wrong, the same futuristic city with houses close together, the same high-speed fighting style, the player can also choose between two characters. , but Scarlet Nexus is more than that.

Keita Iizuka, who was involved in the development of Code Vein, was selected as a producer for Scarlet Nexus, while the game’s director, Kenji Anabuki, has many years of experience with Bandai Namco’s popular Tales series ( the latest version, Tales of Arise, will be released in September).

The powerful staff of the Scarlet Nexus development team is also enough for players to see Bandai Namco’s ambition for this potential “rookie”.

Even after playing through the demo, when the writer experienced the official version, he still couldn’t help but be caught up in the rich and in-depth combat system of Scarlet Nexus.

If players think that the game is only about hitting, jumping, and dodging, then you are wrong.

Both director and producer Scarlet Nexus have been involved in projects in the famous Tales series, so the game also inherits the team fighting style from Tales of titles.

The two main characters, in addition to their Psychokinesis ability, can also use the abilities of their teammates through the SAS – Struggle Arms System.

In each different situation or a different playstyle, you choose, depending on how you choose your teammates.

For example, when facing fast monsters (Others), using Arashi Spring’s ability (time delay) is most suitable.

If players prefer stealth gameplay to sneak up on Others, then Kagero Donne’s stealth ability is the best option.

Regarding the main character’s Psychokinesis ability, in addition to normal combo attacks, players can control surrounding materials as weapons to defeat enemies.

That is, in Scarlet Nexus, consecutive attacks will be interspersed with … scraps of bottles flying directly into the face of enemies, along with “bundles” which is the added ability from the main character’s teammates.

Not only that, the Others in the game can be killed faster by lightning and fire attacks, depending on their weakness.

For example, Others that contain oil are killed faster when the protagonist uses Hanabi Ichijo’s Pyrokinesis (fire) ability.

The player can also use the protagonist’s Psychokinesis to manipulate special materials, deal more damage to the Others, or make them more susceptible to certain attributes.

For example, when the player controls a bucket of water that pours directly on Others’ heads, making them vulnerable to electrical attacks.

Scarlet Nexus gives players a “pantry” to choose from, everything else is up to you to choose what suits your taste best.

Scarlet Nexus gives players a choice between two main characters: Kasane Randall and Yuito Sumeragi.

Each person presents a different perspective on the story in Scarlet Nexus, the first part may not be much different when both are rookies in the ranks of OSF – Other Suppression Force, but later on, the plot of the two characters begins to go in two separate directions.

Playing both characters is essential for players to enjoy the full story of Scarlet Nexus.

Yuito Sumeragi is a superior character when he was born in a family with money and full rights, but Yuito did not rely on it but worked hard to advance with his ability.

Kasane Randall has an unfortunate past when her parents died because of Others, was brought in by the rich Randal family, and cared for by her foster sister Naomi Randal, so Kasane has an extremely emotional attachment and cares for Naomi.

Yuito in the past was saved by a girl who looks a lot like Kasane, so he pays a lot of attention to her, while Naomi Randall has a crush on Yuito.

The secondary characters in Scarlet Nexus not only serve as teammates to use their powers but also have connecting chapters (Bond Episodes).

Scarlet Nexus has a very ordinary look compared to the massive inside it.

The design of the main character Yuito Sumeragi from appearance to a weapon is very “traditional” compared to Kasane Randall with her “Batman-style” weapon, Katana sword, and “popular” style hairstyle.

The beginning of Scarlet Nexus’s story might mislead players as more of Bandai’s casual anime title than their ambitious experiment, which could be bad news for a newborn rookie.

Contrary to the side characters, Scarlet Nexus side quests are quite repetitive and not as interesting as the main plot and Bond Episodes, like “get to this point”, then “kill this monster” or “pick this up”.

The rewards of the side quests are also not great when most of the items players can visit the shop to buy.

And in battle, sometimes you will feel your attacks, or your scraps are missed because the Target system has limitations when the Others move out of ammo range.

where can you get a Scarlet Nexus online

SCARLET NEXUS – PlayStation 4: Buy it now

Scarlet Nexus (PS5): Buy it now

Scarlet Nexus [Xbox Series X]: Buy it now

PS5 – Scarlet Nexus – [PAL EU – NO NTSC]: Buy it now

Conclusion

Scarlet Nexus is a bold and daring game that can enter the action RPG genre and stand different from the current titles in the arena at this time. With its combat, storytelling, and visuals, the game is an exciting journey through a dystopian future ruled by psychic powers and grievous moral dilemmas. There are some unfortunate instances of ported complexity within the narrative, and repetitive instances present, but it bears the weight of a great play that one cannot afford to miss if loving that kind of stuff.

For the action-packed fast-paced, twist-plot, character-driven fans, “Scarlet Nexus” is an impressive and different yet gratifying foreground. Be it anime-influenced aesthetics, a dual protagonist system, dynamic combat-perhaps “Scarlet Nexus” has it all for gamers. It rewards players who dare venture through different paths, try new things, and get engaged in the game, making it a worthy addition to the collection of any gamer.