Bandai Namco is hard at work for their upcoming offering, which set to release on both current and next generation consoles. While on the surface, Scarlet Nexus may look like just another Anime game, its creative and design process runs deep, fueled by veteran talents from past releases such as Code Vein and the Tales of series.

The team tasked to take the game into development was formed 5 years ago, consisting of Kenji Anabuki from the ‘Tales of’ series and now Game Director, Keita Izuka of Code Vein fame and now Producer, and Kouta Ochiai from God Eater, now Art Director. With each prominent figure being added into development pool, the game is primed for a breakthrough.

In its simplest description, Scarlet Nexus is made up of two simple concepts – Scarlet meaning “red” and Nexus meaning “connection”. The game as a whole is literally the representation of a red connection or “objects or persons connected with red lines”, which is a prevailing visual, even in some of the trailers that have been already released.

Along the journey, players will be able to borrow powers from teammates, which is signified through these red tubes that hang out from the back of the character when activated. The concept of the “Kizuna” or Bond is portrayed through this borrowing of powers as they are the lines that connect you with your buddies, and is expressed through various other ways in the game.

Power of the Mind

Dubbed as a “Brainpunk Action RPG”, where the world and the technology it is based on the brain, each of the characters have special powers that utilize the mind, allowing them to wield psychokinetic or pyrokinetic abilities, among others.

It became a suitable way to encompass the game, as early art concepts of the world ended up being very cyberpunk-ish, and although this is so, the team didn’t want to just make another cyberpunk inspired world.

Set in the fictional land of New Himuka, a country so huge that the concept of overseas doesn’t even exist yet, the developers aim to make the immersion smooth and easy by introducing something familiar like 90’s inspired elements, which players can relate to right away and not get lost in a totally foreign world.

New Himuka, at its core, embodies the ultimate vision of what’s called the “Internet of Things”, as all of the technology in the world is being interacted with by our brain over a huge neural network called “Psynet”. It brings about many concerns, everyone being connected with each other, and will be a story aspect that players should look forward to.

Yuito Sumeragi and the ‘Others’

Protagonist Yuito Sumeragi, is the scion of the Sumeragi family, founders of New Himuka. He joins the 567th class of new recuits for the OSF or the “Other Suppression Force” due to being attacked by an “Other” as a kid. Upon joining is where the Scarlet Nexus will start and where his internal conflict begins as he uncovers the story piece by piece and starts to question whether or not the force has really been acting for the right reasons.

Hanabi Ichijo is Yuito’s childhood friend and was scouted by the OSF, finally reunited to help confront the threats.

The OSF is tasked to take care of scary entities called “Others”, beings that rain down from the skies in the hunt for human brains. The people have learned to set up measures to co-exist with Others in the world, and see them as natural occurrences as they fall from the “Extinction Belt” from up in the sky.

The design element for these monsters came from an artist named Masakazu Yamashiro, who seemingly captured the essence of adding grotesque elements to everyday normal items, resulting in incomprehensible creatures that the OSF are on the look out for.

Scarlet Nexus across generations

Unlike the recently released Code Vein, Scarlet Nexus is a fast paced action RPG with gameplay similar to the likes of Astral chain or Nier Automata, but allowing for a party of up to 3 characters with levels, skills, and equipment you can customize.

The skill tree is called a “Brain Map” that works like the Sphere Grid from Final Fantasy X and is divided into enhance / expand / support skills, which you can learn using BP’s. Another feature is called SAS, which allows you to use allies powers such as Hanabi’s Pyrokinesis abilities.

Battles look intense, but at the same time, feels like it may get a bit repetitive over time, which is hopefully solved by the skills you can obtain as you progress through the game.

Scarlet Nexus is confirmed to run at full HD 30fps for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox one while next-gen consoles such as the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X will enjoy performance enhancements, allowing for a 60fps clip that targets 4K resolution. PC players will take full advantage of the game, running at 4K 60fps based on the recommended specs.

No release date has been confirmed for Scarlet Nexus, but the game will make its way to the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.