Bandai Namco has revealed the next effort in its ongoing bid to dominate action games with an anime-style aesthetic with its newest original title, Scarlet Nexus. Revealed in a trailer during Microsoft’s May 2020 Inside Xbox livestream, the game promises “Brain Punk” action antics and a story from staff involved with Tales of Vesperia. The main character appears to be a young man named Yuito Sumeragi. He’s a member of the OSF, an elite group of psychic soldiers charged with destroying the “Others,” monsters that can’t be harmed through normal means.
Here’s a trailer for Scarlet Nexus:
As a teaser, this doesn’t show much in the way of actual Scarlet Nexus gameplay, but emphasizes a lot of flashy finishing moves as Yuito uses his powers to weaponize debris, form energy blades, and chop up baddies. Visually, the game appears to have a sci-fi, cyberpunk aesthetic going for it, with lots of neon, urban wear, and holographic doo-dads. It’s a departure from the gothic stylings of Code Vein and the apocalyptic fashion of God Eater, two other Bandai Namco anime-style action titles.
Scarlet Nexus is due out on both Xbox One and Xbox Series X. It’ll be compatible with 4K resolutions on the Xbox Series X, but not the Xbox One or Xbox One S. The game will use Microsoft’s “Smart Delivery” system, an upgrade program of sorts similar to PlayStation’s “cross-buy” functionality. Smart Delivery will automatically upgrade Xbox One copies of Scarlet Nexus to the Xbox Series X version, if the owner decides to purchase the new console, and vice versa. Other Smart Delivery-compatible games include Yakuza: Like A Dragon and Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla.
