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Scarlet Nexus is here! Over the years, Bandai Namco has made a bit of a name for itself as being the anime gaming publisher. One only needs to throw a sideways glance at their publishing history to see what we're talking about. Dragon Ball games, Tales franchise, Soulcalibur, Naruto, One Piece, God Eater... even their more "grounded" titles such as Ace Combat have the trademark anime stylizations. To that end, today we'll discuss their next flagship, because Scarlet Nexus PC gameplay looks extremely promising.
Now, it's worth pointing out that we do have a technical overview article already, if that's what interests you. There, you'll find things like PC system requirements and pre-order content. This article will, on the other hand, will look at Scarlet Nexus purely from the perspectives of style and gameplay. We were wondering ourselves how similar Scarlet Nexus may or may not be to, say, Code Vein.
So, if you, too, would like to learn what makes Scarlet Nexus special when compared to the rest of Bandai Namco's extensive repertoire, you're at the right place. With a psionic hormone discovered in the human brain, use your acute extra-sensory abilities and unlock the mysteries of a Brain Punk future caught between technology and psychic abilities!
Pre-Order Scarlet Nexus today to get the exclusive cosmetics & costumes!
What is Scarlet Nexus, Genre-Wise?
Strangely enough, we've seen some amount of confusion online on what Scarlet Nexus is, and what it isn't. In simplest possible terms, we are looking at a trademark Bandai Namco action-adventure from the third-person perspective. That being said, Scarlet Nexus will not be a Soulslike as, say, God Eater or Code Vein were. Gameplay footage suggests that the game might play more like an offshoot of, say, Devil May Cry instead.
According to early previews, this is mostly true. Scarlet Nexus seems to tread a fine line between a genuine character action game and a linear-progression RPG. What that means, in theory, is that we should be looking at a game that takes the best of both worlds and builds atop their foundations. In practice, things are looking mighty fine indeed.
Scarlet Nexus PC Gameplay - What Will It Look Like?
Set in a far distant future, Scarlet Nexus' moment-to-moment gameplay consists of genre tropes such as... walking and fighting. Bet you didn't see that coming. All jokes aside, though, previews suggest that there's going to be an element of free-form exploration and character progression in this game. We'd expect there to be a central hub area that plays host to more linear "dungeons", though mid-tier "open-world" areas aren't too big of a stretch, either. Note, however, that Scarlet Nexus as a whole is not an open-world game.
The combat consists of fast and flashy melee attacks combined with excessive use of Brainpunk's own Psychokinesis abilities. Basically, your selected protagonists will have acute extra-sensory abilities stemming from a psionic hormone discovered in the human brain, and they'll be throwing cars at Other Suppression Force (OSF) to kill them! As an extra, your character (of which there are two, each with their own story to tell) can take up their compatriots' signature abilities, too. These range from Combat timings seem to be tight and finely tuned, and the movement is satisfyingly snappy. Do note, however, that Scarlet Nexus does not have attack cancellation. So, it's going to be an all-in sort of situation.
As you'd expect, there's more to Scarlet Nexus PC gameplay than just combat, though. From what we've seen so far, inter-relationships between characters and disposition building will play a major role between encounters. Special side-quests, customizations, and progression options will all come into play here. However, it's worth pointing out that we don't yet know how deep the interaction system goes. We'll have to wait and see on the 25th.
How Does Scarlet Nexus Differentiate Itself?
Finally, you're probably wondering what is it that makes Scarlet Nexus so special in today's market. Aside from the subject matter, Scarlet Nexus does seem to be significantly more polished and coherent than many other anime-style video games. It's got an identity all of its own, and though the red/black color scheme is rather passé in 2021, we found ourselves appreciating it in this particular context.
While the gameplay itself seems pretty great, it's the narrative that we're most interested in. You see, Scarlet Nexus won't let you build your own characters, but you will have the opportunity to choose between Yuito and Kasane, the male and the female protagonists, respectively. What makes this important is that each of these characters will have a narrative of their own, meaning we're getting two main stories packed into one. Neat, right?
Then there's the fact that Bandai Namco has branded Scarlet Nexus as 'Brainpunk'.
What makes Scarlet Nexus 'Brain Punk'?
Bandai Namco has described Scarlet Nexus as a 'Brain Punk' future Japanese sci-fi action-adventure. Basically, you complete the stories of Yuito and Kasane, elite psionics each armed with a talent in psychokinesis, to unlock the mysteries of a Brain Punk future caught between technology and psychic abilities. Far as we can tell, this is a compelling way of differentiating their game from virtually everything else on the market. Doubly so after the proliferation of Cyberpunk as a video game setting. If you look the term up right now, the only thing you'll find is Scarlet Nexus. Clearly, the strategy is working out. "But," you might be thinking, "what does that even mean?"
From what we've seen so far, set in a far-distant future, Scarlet Nexus envisions a world where the majority of tech development actually went into the newly discovered psychic abilities. People can straight-up control the physical world via telekinesis and a variety of other, technologically-enhanced variants of it. This would all be well and good, of course, if Others hadn't attacked. These strange monstrosities are made up of elements of living creatures and various objects, and they're bound to be somehow related to the Brainpunk future of Scarlet Nexus.
Truthfully, the setup reminds us of Neon Genesis Evangelion and of certain stories of cosmic horror. The intermingling of living and non-living harkens back to the human mind's tendency to categorize the unknown according to that which is known. What should your brain do, then, when confronted with something so ridiculously foreign and alien that it cannot keep up with what it's seeing? We're hoping that the big reveal is that the Other Suppression Force aren't actually table lamps with goat legs, but that their true forms are so incomprehensible that these strange amalgamations are the only way for the characters' brains to visualize them.
Wrap-Up!
Scarlet Nexus is set and primed to come out on June 25th, and you can place a pre-purchase on the game and its Deluxe Edition right now, if you'd like. Doing so will afford you several extra goodies, all of them purely cosmetic. By pre-ordering Scarlet Nexus, you'll also secure a lovely pre-release discount, so make that a consideration, too.
In other news, surely you've been keeping track of E3 2021, yeah? If not, and if you're in need of a fast and loose crash course on the biggest news of this year's E3, we've got you covered. Further, if you're a fan of 4X titles, you may wish to look into the ongoing Humankind Closed Beta? Trust us - it's a real hoot.
Have fun!
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