When I started Scarlet Nexus I had no idea what I was in for. At the start of the game you can choose to play as one of two of the main characters, Kasane Randall or Yuito Sumeragi. Setting up the gameplay controls is easy with being able to turn subtitles on as well as being able to set the difficulty of the game to your style. I usually go with the casual setting the first time playing a game so I can enjoy the story.
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| Startig Scarlet Nexus |
I chose to play as Kasane with my first playthrough and Yuito my second. While both their stories overlap the majority of Scarlet Nexus shows the story from their perspective. You do get answers with the story faster with Kasane and Yuito's story is more of a slow burn with answers getting revealed later. Both are very well done and it's interesting to see how events unfold for each character.
Scarlet Nexus is set in the distant future and an alternate reality where humanity has developed advanced technology and has a society based on the substance in human brains. Basically humans have extrasensory powers and can send messages directly to each other's brains. People with exceptional combat abilities are recruited to join a special military force organization called the OSF (Others Suppression Force) in order to fight strange monsters known as Others. Kasane and Yuito are new members of the OSF and depending who you chose to play through the story, you get a different intro for them. Since I went with Kasane, I got an introduction of Kasane with her sister who is also a part of the OSF. This introduces the battle tutorial and shows Kasane's abilities of psychokinesis which means she can lift and throw things with her mind. You can have a party of four which includes Kasane and the other team members in your party have a variety of mind powers such as controlling electricity or being able to make duplicates of a person or things.
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| Kasane's team |
Another thing that Kasane can do is link minds with her teammates and borrow their power for a brief time. This makes for a unique and fun combat style throughout the game. The design for the Others is very much a science fiction strange creature mixed with every day objects. It looks really cool and each creature design stands out and no two are alike. Combat is fast paced and always interesting. The story sets it up that the Others fall from the sky from a place called the Extinction Belt and no one is sure why. Scarlet Nexus explores this mystery with Kasane and Yuito and the reveals in the story are intense, but tell a great story.
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| Fighting an Other. |
As you level up you are able to unlock stronger abilities on the brain map as well as providing new combat abilities. It's easy to navigate and level grinding doesn't feel like a chore because the gameplay is so much fun. Scarlet Nexus does the action JRPG really well with these details. The voice acting is great as well with the Japanese and English cast. There are some anime tropes here and there, but the story itself is so good that doesn't detract from the game at all.
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| Unlocking abilities on the brain map. |
There are side quests too, but honestly these don't feel as great as the main story of the game. Some of them feel like tedious fetch quests and some can't be completed until certain story parts of the game. I feel that the side quests didn't really need to be in there because they don't necessarily add anything to the story and feel like a chore to do. One thing I did like was the bonding portions of the game. Your team has a home base where they can relax and unwind. You can give your teammates gifts they like and this will increase your bonding level with them. This also unlocks some nice bonding cutscenes with each person depending on what they like. For example one character really likes having tea and talking about gardening. It adds another nice layer of depth to the characters in the story.
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| Kasane and teammates at the home base. |
It can be very easy to write off Scarlet Nexus as just another anime game, but it's so much more. The combat is smart, the art style is gorgeous, and the story itself is excellent. Sometimes the combat in boss battles can be a little clunky, but the overall enjoyment I had playing the game allows me to forgive that. There's a lot of great twists and reveals that add to the science fiction element of the game and getting to see it from Kasane's viewpoint and later on Yuito's adds to that storytelling. The story and characters are what really make Scarlet Nexus shine and that is what kept me playing all the way to the end.
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| Taking a break at a save point. |
*Scarlet Nexus is available to play on the following platforms: Microsoft Windows, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
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