Future Classic: Nex Machina
It takes a special game to receive a 100% score in RETRO GAMER and Nex Machina is truly deserving of that accolade. Darran Jones explains how fortuitous timing led to gaming’s best modern shooter
We gave it 100% when we reviewed it, now find out why it’s going to be remembered for years to come
The Background
All games begin somewhere, and for Nex Machina that somewhere happened to be in the illuminated lobby of the Hard Rock Cafe at 4AM in the morning. Harri Tikkanen and Ilari Kuittinen, the cofounders of Housemarque, had been drinking and noticed Eugene Jarvis, who had recently won the Pioneer Award at the DICE Awards event they had attended. The pair’s game, Resogun had been up for the award of best action game, but had ultimately lost out to Bioshock: Infinite. Despite losing out on an award, the nomination still proved important, as it put them within handshaking distance of one of the most revered designers of the Eighties arcade scene.
According to an interview in Engadget the pair walked up to Eugene Jarvis and said, “Hey, congratulations! We ripped off Defender – do you want to make a new game with us?” The ballsy ice breaker made quite the impression on Eugene and he went home and purchased a Playstation 4 along with a copy of Resogun. After a few further discussions with Harri and Ilari about what Nex Machina could potentially be, Eugene excited the pair with the following simple email – “I’m very impressed. Let’s fucking do it.” And fucking do it they did…
The game
From the moment you start playing Nex Machina Eugene Jarvis’ influence becomes completely obvious. As you mow down countless waves of enemies, whilst expertly dodging through curtains of luminous bullets, you can almost feel his tangible presence in the game’s design, as if he’s personally willing you on to clear that next difficult stage.
Of course, Housemarque is no stranger to making acclaimed twin-stick shooters, having created the likes of Super Stardust, Dead Nation and Alienation among others, but Nex Machina feels like it’s on a completely different level to the rest of its catalogue of hits. There’s a frantic pace to Nex Machina, a raw primal energy that’s just not found in the company’s other games and it can’t be a coincidence that the only difference that separates Nex Machina from them is the involvement of Eugene Jarvis.
In many ways Nex Machina is essentially an unofficial sequel to Robotron, or it’s what Robotron would be like if it was made today and Eugene Jarvis has access to voxels instead of pixels. Either way, the end results are the same, an exhilarating twin-stick shooter that oozes quality and continually pulls you back for one more go.
But for those who’ve never had the pleasure of playing Housemarque’s game, allow us to elaborate. It’s set in a dark dystopian future where robots have grown in intelligence and enslaved the human race, leaving you as humanity’s soul saviour. That’s quite a big ask, but luckily you’re avatar is more than equipped for the tough task at hand. In addition to being able to shoot in all directions he also has access to a useful Resogun-like dash attack, which offers brief invulnerability while it’s in use. There are also a large amount of different weapons on offer (including a powerful melee attack) all of which instantly impact the playing field and are incredibly satisfying to use (something which was a particular issue with the weedy weapons of Dead Nation).
The levels of Nex Machina are purposely designed to take place on small cube-like arenas (there’s a cool spinning effect as you move to the next level) that creates a sense of claustrophobia and fear. As a result you’re always looking for the next space you can move into and with so many hazards to negotiate the ability to create safe spaces provides much of the game’s enjoyment and strategy. While there are a set number of humans to be collected on each level (with a few hidden away in the destructible environments for good measure) you’ll spend your first few lives desperately trying to stay alive, seemingly assaulted by the endless waves that Nex Machina throws at you. Eventually, though, you start to learn patterns and feel the beautiful rhythm of Housemarque’s game. It’s a game of ebb and flow, where you look for opportunities to exploit or simply make your own with a well-timed rocket blast. The beauty of Nex Machina is that it creates order from chaos if you’re skilled enough and it’s particularly apparent when you face off against the game’s huge mayors, who really come into their own on the higher difficulty levels. Ultimately, for us, Nex Machina is the essence of videogames distilled down to its purest form and it offers endless replayability just like its obvious influence, Robotron, does.
Why IT’S a Future classic
It’s highly unlikely that any digital shooter will come close to the lightning in a bottle that Nex Machina is. Housemarque has already published a statement that it’s moving away from arcade-based shooters, so if a developer with the experience that Housemarque has in the genre can’t succeed with the backing of Sony and the assistance of one of the greatest experts within the genre then it’s highly unlikely we’ll see anything similar from any other would be challengers to Nex Machina’s throne.
Robotron: 2084 still works perfectly today because it’s pure unadulterated action. All you do is move, think and shoot – nothing more, nothing less. And yet those straightforward mechanics have remained unchanged for over 35 years. It’s too early to tell if Nex Machina will have the same impact as Robotron, but it shares the same modern niche, easily being this generation’s equivalent of a pure twitch shooter. Housemarque may have left the arcade genre but it’s left behind one hell of a videogame.