Scarlet Nexus Review
There is no shortage of anime video games on the market, even if most of those games are based on existing anime franchises like the countless Naruto fighting games or the upcoming Demon Slayer arena brawler. Scarlet Nexus from Bandai Namco Entertainment is doing things a little differently, delivering a video game first and the anime adaptation coming later. It’s really no surprise that a Scarlet Nexus anime adaptation is on the way, since the game is essentially a shonen anime season in video game form. Scarlet Nexus is set in a futuristic world where the majority of the population has psychic powers, which are used to fight strange beings known as the Others. The first few hours of Scarlet Nexus introduce a lot of unique concepts at once, and it does so through tiresome exposition dumps delivered via static cut-scenes. Unfortunately, these static cut-scenes are a constant presence throughout the game. The voice lines are well acted by the actors, but their work is wasted on emotionless speakers. The static cut-scenes are especially unfortunate because the story of Scarlet Nexus is otherwise very interesting, picking up hours and constantly delivering one intriguing plot twist after another. Something big, unexpected, and disturbing happens in the early chapters of the game that will keep players hooked to the point where they have to see what happens next. Each of the Scarlet Nexus chapters is well paced, like a great anime episode, making it hard to put down the controller.
By the time Scarlet Nexus players reach the end of the story, things are going to get weird, and while it won’t win any awards for its narrative, its entertainment value is undeniable. Scarlet Nexus offers a unique yet exciting story and would probably be better received when presented in the form of an actual anime. The video game version uses static cut-scenes for some of the more action-packed moments and is filled with excessive dialogue that one would have to assume was cut for the TV version. Scarlet Nexus’ has an almost entertaining story, but the way it’s presented doesn’t help it. Those issues extend to Scarlet Nexus’ Bond Episodes, where players have the option to participate in their hideout between chapters. Scarlet Nexus Bond Episodes unlock special combat bonuses and thus compel players to complete them, although they are often dull conversations between characters or repeated side missions. Scarlet Nexus Bond Episodes usually have one or two interesting revelations about the characters and their motivations, so they’re worth doing for that reason along with the gameplay benefits. However, actually sitting in on these conversations is not recommended. A better way to experience them is to skip the static cut-scenes and read the recap in the pause menu. That way players can get the most important information without having to sit through excessive and mostly uninteresting chatter.
The cut-scenes for the Scarlet Nexus main story should not be skipped, but players can still improve their pacing greatly. The best way to play Scarlet Nexus is to read the subtitles and force the dialogue to skip because the players will almost certainly be reading faster than the actors delivering their lines. This will shave a significant amount of time off one’s Scarlet Nexus playthrough, and make the game more fun overall. In between the long static cut-scenes are stretches of gameplay where players battle Others using an ever-growing arsenal of psychic abilities, and this is where Scarlet Nexus truly shines. Scarlet Nexus regularly adds new combat mechanics to the mix for the first half of the game, giving players new tools to work with and new strategies to try while on the field. Figuring out the best way to take out each type of Other is fun, and the psychiatrist powers add a lot to the experience as well. Scarlet Nexus playable heroes Yuito and Kasane aren’t limited to just hacking-and-slashing Others, but instead can use their psychic abilities to hurl large objects at them as well. New party members lend their special abilities to Yuito and Kasane, and players will eventually get into the rhythm of cycling through all the different powers they have at their disposal. In a single match, players can throw a car at an opponent, set fire to their sword, slow down time to unleash melee combo attacks, and then teleport to safety before even being able to react their opponent. Upgrading Yuito and Kasane’s “brain map” unlocks an ability that allows players to have two psychic powers active at once, making combat even more entertaining.
Scarlet Nexus players are able to unleash these abilities on Others, all of whom have their own quirks and powers that players need to consider. The enemy design of Scarlet Nexus is impressive, where players have to take on a whole range of original and strange monsters. The Scarlet Nexus bosses are especially good, and it’s always fun to see the twisted designs the developers have come up with for each creature. The only annoyance is the reskinning and recycling of enemies in later areas of the game, so even though Scarlet Nexus has amazing combat, it’s starting to outstay its welcome. Fighting the same enemies over and over again for the 20+ hours it takes to get through a playthrough becomes tiresome, a problem exacerbated by the fact that enemies level up alongside the player and become more tankier near the end. Combine this with some annoying enemy behaviors that make them a chore to fight and even exciting combat starts to fail. Repeated enemy encounters in Scarlet Nexus aren’t helped by the game’s “dungeons”. The Scarlet Nexus dungeons are visited multiple times throughout the main story and much of the side content also has players retreading familiar ground. Dungeons tend to have generic designs, like a construction site, an old hospital, etc., and that certainly doesn’t help keep things interesting.
While the dungeons aren’t the most original design ever, at least everything in Scarlet Nexus looks good. Scarlet Nexus’ anime-inspired graphics really shine, and the game runs incredibly smoothly when played on next-generation hardware. Sometimes the action on the screen can be very busy, which makes the consistent performance of the game even more impressive. Scarlet Nexus runs great on next-gen hardware for the most part, but we experienced a lot of crashes on the Xbox Series X version of the game. One of the most frustrating times this happened was during a long, multi-phase boss fight, and the crash sent us back to the very beginning. Other than the crashes, the game ran very well, maintaining its frame rate with zero dips. More serious technical issues will likely be addressed in future Scarlet Nexus updates, but for now, the game is still safe for big anime and Japanese action-RPG fans. There’s a serious bang for the buck, as Scarlet Nexus comes with New Game Plus and loads of content, being one of the few games with two playable characters where returning the other is actually a worthwhile addition. effort. If the combat hadn’t lost its luster in the last five hours or so and if it hadn’t been bogged down with so many boring static cut-scenes, it would have been easier to recommend it to everyone too. Scarlet Nexus is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Today Technology reviewed the PC version of the game. Today Technology reviewed Scarlet Nexus on a Neuron 4000D from Origin PC. Origin offers a variety of customizable PCs that can meet any gamers’ needs. Read more about Neuron here.