I bought Scarlet Nexus for the Playstation 5 the day it came out. I was in the mood for a post-apocalyptic action RPG where psionic anime kids battle aliens from the stratosphere as part of a loose confederation of psi-fighters as they manage their real-life relationships.
And then — there was Scarlet Nexus.
The game follows either Yuito or Kasane, both new recruits to the Other Suppression Force (OSF), a multinational team of psychics dedicating their lives to using their powers to defeat Others. Others are mysterious creatures that descend at times from the Extinction Belt that surrounds the Earth. Civilization crumbled when the invasions began 2,000 years prior, and humanity has retreated to a very few safe sanctuaries. But now it seems humanity’s time has finally come to an end — unless Yuito and Kasane, working mostly separately but sometimes together — can solve the mystery of the Others and of their own unique powers.
The plot alternates between action chapters and interlude chapters. Action chapters have one of the protagonists sent out on a series of missions, either alone or with up to three of their team mates. The protagonists can borrow the powers of their teammates to enhance their own abilities; there’s a number of useful combos, but I soon settled on the few that work best for me. Fighting well eventually powers up a “brain drive”, which turns the power level and fighting ability up a few notches. Brain drive power can also be spent by summoning a “brain field”, which turns the world into neon and burns out the protagonist’s telekinetic powers in a burst of destruction. (This power can kill its wielder if used for too long).
The interlude chambers take place in the team’s “hideout”. It’s there that the protagonist builds their social connection with their team, occasionally members of the other team, and certain NPCs. This is done by exchanging data gathered from the action missions to the merchant NPC for presents which are then given to teammates. If they like you enough, you get a bonding episode that will deepen your connection and make the power sharing that more powerful. If enough team members bond, the whole team will level up.
These connections will become extremely important in the later game.
A skill tree provides even more customization; there’s a few really mandatory skills to learn, and many others that may fit well with your playstyle.
The plot has a hundred twists, turns, deaths and betrayals. It edges uncomfortably into body horror at times. Your enemies will become your friends; your friends, enemies. Everyone is hiding something — even you.
Kasane’s story took me about 32 hours to complete. There is an NG+ mode that lets you carry your gear and relationship levels to a new game. There’s also different difficulty levels. “Normal” had the right level of challenge for me. During the final fight, I was defeated after almost an hour in. I replayed it on “Story” mode — not because it was too hard, but because I just wanted to hurry to see the end.
I haven’t played Yuito’s story, yet, but I’ve heard it has as many twists as Kasane’s. I’m hoping my boyfriend will play it so I can watch 🙂
One of the best games I’ve played this year.
