Scarlet Nexus is made by BANDI NAMCO Studios and is a single-player action role-playing game set to be released on PlayStation 4|5, Xbox One, Series X|S, and PC. This review was done on the Xbox Series X.

The story takes place in a distant future where the human race is at war with mutated creatures known as Others. Some humans have unique abilities thanks to a recently discovered psionic hormone, developing extra-sensory powers making them the defence the world needs against the Others. They are known as Other Suppression Force or OSF for short. The two main characters that Scarlet Nexus focuses on are Yuito Sumeragi, an honest and loyal man trying to uphold the honour his bloodline holds, and Kasane Randall, a silent and strong female whose reasons for joining the OSF are covered in mystery.

Both Kasane and Yuito share the same power of psychokinesis, but there is more that connects the pair and is the mystery that Scarlet Nexus has in store for the players. Players will get to experience each side of the story arc from whoever they pick at the start, and will be joined by a large roster of supporting teammates, some having a historical link to the character from the past, while others just being introduced along the way.

You can learn more about the new teammates with bond missions. Raising the friendships will reward players with more skills to use in combat and improve skills already known, so between the main story and bond missions, there are many side quests to also partake in.

Scarlet Nexus handles very well in combat, with the main focus being able to use your teammates’ abilities to exploit the weakness of the Others. This includes being able to use fire on enemies that are soaked in oil or being able to see a cloaked target. The supportive powers are a fantastic way to gain an edge in the thick of combat. The controls are easy to pick up and master. From exploring and interacting with items in the world to epic big boss fights, prompts will appear on-screen letting players know when they can interact with objects using the psychokinesis power that both main characters have. Be it a bike left in a rack or a train, many objects can be used as deadly weapons.

Scarlet Nexus uses an art style heavily influenced by anime, and after repeatedly watching the opening scenes, I was pleased to discover that an anime is in the works, aimed at keeping the story going. The limited number of areas you get to explore are full of great detail, especially when it comes to exploring the city street levels, sadly there isn’t a huge amount of variety, as you’ll be replaying an area a few times over.

Holograms line the streets, indicating areas that are under lockdown due to the response system of Other invasions, and the lighting for each area is bright and vibrant, which together shows off the amount of detail and work put into the game.

The voice actors for Scarlet Nexus have done an amazing job breathing life into their characters, helping you to connect with the supporting characters and relate to their stories. I was actually trying to research the voice actors when I accidentally discovered the anime is on the way, so this was a very pleasant surprise. I will admit I only really noticed the soundtrack during combat with boss encounters but during missions, the characters would talk to each other about current events or things that are important with the area they are exploring, and because of the quality of voiceovers, I was much more fixated on this.

Scarlet Nexus was a game I was greatly looking forward to after playing the demo. I loved every minute I experienced due to some incredible voice acting, amazing gameplay, and a fantastic story that kept me hooked and wanting to uncover the mystery that surrounds both Yuito and Kasane.

Written by: Shane Walsh