Scarlet Nexus
An action RPG that wants to mess with your head, this alien-slaying absurd-o-fest is even more fun when it doubles down on combat
Brain-punk is just one of many silly-sounding terms coined in Scarlet Nexus. This is a sci-fi future where people’s minds have awakened to new psionic powers, just in time to protect humanity against a terrifying brain-eating alien species called Others.
However, don’t let the ridiculous terminology and anime weirdness put you off – even if you might have trouble following the game’s time-bending, mind-melting plot twists with a straight face. Under all that is a terrific character action game every bit as slick as Platinumgames’ Switch-exclusive Astral Chain.
You play as either Yuito Sumeragi or Kasane Randall, two protagonists with distinct arcs and personalities that make it worth playing through both, even if their stories and locations only diverge slightly. They’re linked by having the same power of psychokinesis – basically the ability to fling all manner of objects with the mind.
Balancing melee combat with psionic abilities feels fluid, as one charges up the other. Better yet is when you combine with your companions’ powers, such as slowing everything down with hypervelocity or enhancing your attacks with fire. These different abilities become vital to exploiting enemy weaknesses.
All of it feels good thanks to the game’s style, with every character close-up or freeze-frame punctuating just how badass your next move is going to be.
The best is when you’ve broken an enemy shield, the sound of breaking glass and glitchy bleeps prompting you to pull back the left trigger for a killer finish that never gets old.
Scarlet Nexus would have been better as just a solid 10-12hr action game like Devil May Cry, rather than also being an RPG that gets bogged down in lots of story downtime (though you can skip these scenes). Nonetheless, fans of Persona who enjoy character-bonding episodes can think of it like digesting a season’s worth of anime between fights.