Scarlet Nexus

Scarlet Nexus is one of the best ARPGS of recent years, and a must-have for 2021.

If you enjoy an ARPG, spending time with Scarlet Nexus is a no-brainer - the story and action is strong enough to suck you in and keep you playing. With time travel, psychic powers and huge monsters to kick in the teeth, it’s one hell of a roller coaster ride from start to finish. The slight let-downs of the side quests aside, this is a more than assured entry into the genre, that wholeheartedly deserves a whirl.

Scarlet Nexus delivers a game that hits every gameplay beat flawlessly, providing the player with stylish visuals to enjoy, all mounted on characters and a narrative that only sometimes lands. However, the narrative struggles shouldn’t be nearly enough to keep anyone who loves fast-paced action games from reveling in just how fun, cool, and bombastic Scarlet Nexus’s gameplay is.

Scarlet Nexus is arguably one of Bandai Namco's best games. Its deep combat system and a plot that makes you want to know more at every turn make the game a highly recommended product for fans of the ARPG genre.

Scarlet Nexus is an amazing Japanese action RPG game, at the start it could give a feeling of an average anime game, but the amazing designs, blend of action and RPG, interesting story are a great blend to one of 2021 games you don't want to miss.

I love Scarlet Nexus. Its technological post-apocalyptic environment, smooth and flashy combat mechanic combined with its genre of an anime RPG, was just executed so well. Sure the game towards the end might seem a little bit tedious but you just can’t help but focus on the good things that made this game such an enjoyable experience. This game is to not be ignored.

Scarlet Nexus doesn't bring revolutions, but it manages to enhance its strengths with dynamic and fun gameplay, a cast of well-defined characters and a deep and mature story, all spiced up with a unique artistic style. A title definitely worth trying for all fans of Action-JRPGs.

Scarlet Nexus surprises with its ecstatic, colourful combat and cast of characters. However, experiencing the story is a test of endurance due to its dull presentation.

It’s understandable to take a look at Scarlet Nexus and write it off as “just another anime game,” but doing so would be a big mistake. This is an ambitious undertaking from Bandai Namco, one that attempts to blend the two disparate genres of character-action game and large-scale JRPG, and achieves an impressive level of success. Its combat and thin enemy variety don’t hold up all the way to the end of the combined 40 hours of its dual campaigns, but its story and characters absolutely do, and make for a surprise breakout hit of 2021.

While I did have some fun with Scarlet Nexus, I am left with the feeling that it could have been more. If there was more life to the city, and any life at all to the frequently drab mission locations, all of the traversal in the game would have felt a lot less like traversal and the world would have felt more immersive and fleshed-out. The combat has its unique aspects, but there is a repetition to it that is exposed by the volume of battles that you will fight against the same enemy types. While it is a plus that the game essentially gives you two campaigns, you may find yourself having had enough after making it through one.

Even when Scarlet Nexus fulfills its promise to deliver an entertaining combat system and the graphics are worthy of the Xbox Series X, the story lacks of sufficient basis to say it's good. The characters fall under the typical Japanese game cliché and is boring.

Going rather heavy on its convoluted, nutty storyline, Scarlet Nexus delivers on all fronts as far as its combat is concerned, with fast, flexible action that's always a joy. Bandai Namco's game is certainly bizarre, but it's also unique and well worth playing - it's the best Brain Punk game ever made.

Scarlet Nexus is a big hit when it comes to the action. With its nervous and supercharged fights, you quickly become powerful controller in hand, especially when you can borrow the power of your allies on the fly. This action is helped by framerate which does not falter on next-gen consoles despite the deluge of effects on the screen which can cause readability concerns. If the proposed universe is visually attractive, we regret not being able to enjoy it anymore because of a cruel lack of additional content. Ditto for the story which is certainly interesting but which is served by a more than minimalist staging. A good first draft which, we hope, will serve as a solid basis for a more ambitious sequel in the years to come.

While its story falls short, Scarlet Nexus is expertly elevated with stunning combat. The consistent evolution, polished control scheme, and powerful feedback make each fight more satisfying than the last. If only the game had managed to incorporate a stronger story, more depth to its character bonds, and more things to do outside of combat, Scarlet Nexus could have been something special. As it stands, it feels like a solid first step for a new IP, and one where a sequel could really steal the show.

Despite its drawbacks and anime quirks, Scarlet Nexus can’t hide the fact that is a product made with love and care. Although it stands a bit in the niche side of things due to its full-blown anime characteristics, the story is solid and the combat system fun and unique. Definitely more robust than Code Vein, Scarlet Nexus can be a fun medium while waiting for Bandai Namco’s big hitters, Tales of Arise and Elden Ring.

Even though the plot devolves into a trope-filled sludge pool by the end, I don’t feel like Scarlet Nexus was a waste of time. Yes, the excitement of combat begins to taper off towards the end of Scarlet Nexus’s twenty-odd-hour runtime--and the areas in the final stretch of the game feel overly long--but I had a good deal of fun mixing up my SAS abilities, crushing enemies in my Brain Field, and watching my team have a video game tournament at our base to settle an argument over living space boundaries. It might not be a new pinnacle of action-game storytelling, but Scarlet Nexus is still plenty of fun in the right places.

If you ignore the lackluster story Scarlet nexus will offer a great action game.

Scarlet Nexus looks and performs really well, especially on next-gen hardware, but its gameplay is noticeably last gen. While it doesn't do anything new, it also doesn't screw up the basics either and should please Xbox fans looking for an anime fix.

Scarlet Nexus aspires to be an anime. It succeeds with flying colors, as evidenced by the beautiful style, but regularly loses itself in the story that is difficult to get going and requires a lot of attention to be able to make sense of it. Thankfully, the lightning-fast battles make the heart race and leave you wondering what happened. But in a good way.

The more serious technical issues will likely be addressed in future Scarlet Nexus updates, but in the meantime, the game is still a safe bet for big anime and Japanese action-RPG fans. There's serious bang for the buck, as Scarlet Nexus has New Game Plus and is stuffed with content, being one of the few games with two playable characters where going back through with the other one is actually a worthwhile endeavor. If the combat didn't lose its luster in the last five hours or so and if it wasn't bogged down with so many boring static cut-scenes, it would be much easier to recommend it to everyone else, too.