The fact that there’s some overlap at times across the two campaigns, especially in the earlier stages, doesn’t do it any favours. Though it’s fun to play through the story after finishing it one character and then seeing it from the perspective of the other, the fact that Scarlet Nexus almost seems to be willfully tripping over itself in the narrative department can be quite frustrating at times. And with Yuito and Kasane each having a separate campaign of their own, that’s something that gets old quickly. Plot holes and narrative inconsistencies are a dime a dozen, and from characters behaving in ways that make no sense in context of what’s going on in the plot to plot twists and revelations seemingly coming out of nowhere at times, Scarlet Nexus’ story keeps stumbling over itself. Meanwhile, the writing is also far from perfect. Other than the two protagonists, I didn’t really care much for most of the characters, and was wavering between indifference and being annoyed. The vast majority of characters in the game’s massive cast are anime tropes in both visual design and personality, and though the game certainly makes an attempt to flesh out the backstories of each of these characters, I largely found myself disconnected from most of them. But the narrative’s qualities largely exist on a very superficial level- though fun at times in a very stupid kind of way, by and large, Scarlet Nexus’ storytelling is rough and uneven. Conspiracies, battling against oppressive forces, civil uprisings, large-scale conflicts between warring nations, time travel, and of course, the fight against them Others themselves are all pieces of the puzzle here, and sure enough, you can’t fault Scarlet Nexus for being ambitious. Scarlet Nexus’ dual protagonists, Kasane and Yuito, are both cadets in the OSF who’ve just become new soldiers after completing their training, and the story… it goes places. " Scarlet Nexus is decent, enjoyable game, but one that fails to live up to its exciting potential. " And standing against them is the OSF, the Other Suppression Force, an elite group of soldiers who use their brain powers to protect the world from the threat of these monsters. Here, it comes in the form of the Others, weird and twisted monsters born under mysterious circumstances that descend from the sky to literally eat human brains. With that, however, comes trouble, as it often does with any kind of progress. Technology based on powers arising out of the human brain have dragged the world kicking and screaming into the future, with superpowered people with all sorts of extrasensory abilities found everywhere. The result? A decent, enjoyable game, but one that fails to live up to its exciting potential.īandai Namco’s newest action RPG is set in a futuristic cyberpunk setting, or “brainpunk”, as the developers like to call it. As the game progresses, while those two elements – the combat and the world – remain consistently compelling, everything else around them fades away into mediocrity. The game’s opening minutes go out of their way to convey the idea that the adventure to follow, though one that will rely on anime tropes, is trying to set itself apart from the crowd in several ways, and with combat that’s instantly fun and world-building that immediately pulls you in, Scarlet Nexus is certainly successful in convincing you that it’s got some unusual charms up its sleeve. Humanity has had to adapt to survive.Scarlet Nexus makes a solid first impression. They feast on human brains, and resist traditional combat techniques. However, shortly after this discovery, otherworldly monsters called Others descend from the sky and attack. In the far future, humanity has discovered a hormone that unlocks psionic abilities in almost everyone. You can also give them gifts, which they’ll use and keep in their personal spaces in the hideouts between missions. As your bond level increases, so do the abilities you gain from your party members in combat. Doing so makes for a deeper connection with them. In-between chapter missions, you’ll have the chance to bond with your team. Or, have you doused an enemy in oil? Grab Hanabi’s pyrokinesis to light them ablaze. Did you soak an enemy in water? Borrow Shiden’s electricity powers to stun that enemy. Using what the game calls the Struggle Arms System (SAS) - which is a virtual link between soldiers - you can temporarily share powers with other characters to take advantage of enemy weaknesses and status effects.