The extra time you took to make this review really paid off. No other review managed to sell me on the game like yours did. Thinking about the static cutscenes as a visual novel approach to portraying conversations that would be mostly motionless regardless really helped me come to terms with them. Another comparison to draw would be a bit of an evolution on the skits from the tales series which is funny because I heard Arise won't have them. (Edit: Apparently arise still haves skits, just no poat battle convos.) Congrats on another great video!
Yeah true. Most reviews in the west are always like "nah its not my type and i don't wanna try it, bad game". luckily at least some of the bigger outlets let (for example) "Strategy Fans" review strategy games which is often times not the case sadly.
Its clear that the team behind Scarlet Nexus are a unique and talented bunch that have proven themselves with this game. I am hoping Scarlet Nexus becomes successful enough for the team to get bigger budgets and to continue to produce either sequels or new IPs so that they can expand their ideas. Great video as always Alex! You're doing good work by shining a spotlight on games like this.
The director seems to be very active on Twitter, even going so far as to replying to some of the comments on my tweet about my review! I have a good feeling about it!
@@Jack-rr9nh Play it don't procastinate like me by keeping the game on the back burner and finishing some day. I AM glad i went back forced MYSELF through Phase 3 to Phase 4. This game is LiKE as if they wanted ONLY the true honest players to continue... so they put booring plot scenes during the first two Phases. Its like Nier Automata when you start Playing everything in a 2d perspective.... making you feel to unistall the garbage 🗑️ immediately. Only to realise how dumb and blind of a person you were assuming. You will miss out something that would NEVER get a sequel THANKs to very low reception rate due to it being generic at the START. Which is sad but great as well ...only the select would experience this masterpiece. If someone asked me for tips for this BEFORE starting it would be to finish One Phase then watch a gameplay walkthrough of the same Phase... as it WiLL help you reach the conclusion on why this GAME is a hidden GEM 💎 While, focussing on everyones dialogue and expression while they talk in slideshows, even if it feels boring. There are many hidden foreshadowing... hints. But, if you missed those you would be a hater of this GAME like i was and like many reviews you see on the internet regarding the Scarlet Nexus. It being a generic rushed anime game. It looked generic Kawai anime game when i was blind and lazy. But, thanks to me losing my save and starting all over again after already reached Phase 3... i had to start it all from the bottom. Which i never would HAVE i never liked it till phase 3 ! But, i had no other good GAMEs... so i literally forced myself with countless key assignments and locked combat system from the START. I focussed on the story a little this TiME... i guess i was bored 🥱 didn't think of it much. However, as i hit phase 4 everything start to make sense and i was on the Edge like a hawk. And by Phase 11 i was speechless 💬 the way everything start to make sense and the way the game compiling everything until now finally clicked all of a sudden. Scarlet Nexus is a game of Twists and Turns you might even forget a foreshadowing and a simple sentence from one of the characters ONLY to watch back a ViDEO on RUclips to realise how early the game showed signs of the known. It reminded me of Nier Automata... i don't at all like confusing story with too much going on but with this one... I AM surprised how i was able to recollect and put everything together. That just showed me how well the story was expressed and layed out. In short, just play the dam GAME. You don't want to be LiKE me after 3 of a GAMEs release finding out about its existence and realising where was i when this was released? Also, sometimes reviews of people are not honest because not all have the patience, time and understanding of the said depth in games. Not everyone can read behind the hidden meanings, not everyone can HAVE the insight and Knowledge to take it all in. Its only the select few. Thats why GAMEs like Nier Automata and Scarlet Nexus never get its shine. It gets behind the rubble forgotten aside from the very few. Don't be those very *Few*
heads up on the combat for anyone thinking of geting this game after seeing this review: use the comobo visions. by raising a character's bond level up, you get access to attacks that use the face buttons and L1/LB, and these attacks are incredibly useful. they do a lot more damage than just regular attacks, as well as a few being able to combo into each other. if you feel like the combat is a little too mash-ey, this is what you are missing
Thankfully, the idea that the combat looks mashey seems to not be a concern in the comments unlike the community posts. It seems like now it's a matter of finding the time to play the game LOL
@@BacklogBattle It took me way too long to start using combo visions. only really started using them until the last third even though I was doing a good job keeping up with all of the bond events and gifts lol. just didn't want others to make the same mistake
Really good review with some good points made, I particularly liked your part about the music and composition, as well as hearing your opinions about the static cut scenes. Glad you enjoyed the game!
I must say, this was the most detailed review of video game music I’ve ever heard. Really thoughtful. BTW I do love the game as well. Thanks for a great review.
I'm 25 hours into my first playthrough with Yuito on Hard (in the BABE facility), so won't be able to have an informed dialog on the game/review atm. I appreciate your thorough review style; thank you for taking your time!
For some reason the game reminds me of astral chain, the menu reminds me of nier automata and the anime aesthetics looks like god eater/code vein. I played and enjoyed all of those games so this game is a no brainer, must buy for me. Thanks for the wonderful review.
I LOVE the interpersonal connections in the game. They might be my favorite thing about the game. That and the world building. HOO BOY THE WORLD BUILDING.
You really went off on this video. I really appreciate how in depth you went with this and how much time you put into making this. I decided to go through with making a video myself and this video helped me realize I missed some points I wanted to talk about. You even brought up the anime. I’m honestly glad you always wait to fully complete a game before reviewing instead of making a mad dash to get out your review first. This is the biggest reason I was drawn to this channel. Keep up the good work!
You honestly write some of the most thorough and well-articulated reviews I've ever heard on RUclips. Like ACG but more thoughtful and for JRPGs haha which I appreciate because he isn't huge on the genre. Obviously can be rough that it takes a while to do such a quality review especially for a relatively smaller channel if people are on the fence about a game at launch, but I still watch a good amount for games I've already bought regardless to appreciate them more. Hope you get the growth and success you so clearly deserve for the work you put in!! 💜
Alex at it again, doing the Lord's good work of turning hesitant folks onto games that deserve more attention. (I pre-ordered this one and have only gotten to play the first 30 minutes, but I can't wait to dig more into this game. I love what I've seen.)
@@BacklogBattle Unfortunately, I'm only a couple of hours in! My PS5 is in the living room, and we've had a house guest over for the past month, so my chances to play have been limited.
Having finished the game I've been looking forward to your review. I haven't been this excited about a brand new game in quite a while. It feels right that you'd pour so much attention to detail and care in the work for this review. More than just enjoying the game it's clear that you enjoyed the review process and it shows in the finished product. Good form.
Thank you so much! I've always thought that the best reviews I've made reflected my feelings and thoughts about the game I'm playing, and this certainly was one of those that really felt so much fun to play and write about!
As of right now, it’s one of my favorites of 2021 along with Monster Hunter Rise and the way it looks Monster Hunter Stories 2. Scarlet Nexus’ combat is cool and stylish! It makes you feel powerful and the story is good and opens up the more you play
we have a Christmas sale in belgium europe the 99.99€ package is on sale for only 25€ and so i didn't hesitate to purchase the game after I've watched you're review 😀 thanks so much, have a merry Christmas and a happy new year from belgium
Watching this review makes me wanna go back to the game again. I really love it for all the reasons you put here. Took a short break, but I’m definitely going back the next chance I can get.
It makes me really happy that Bandai Namco is giving their creatives the room to try new ideas and make something that really stands out like this. I'm a bit sad I can't pick it up day one, but I'll definitely be picking it up in the near future! On a side note, I'm glad you went ahead and took your time with this review, it'll definitely be one I point people toward
Alright...so I have a mighty backlog of games to play. You see, both my fiancee and I are diehard gamers. We picked up both the Xbox Series X and PS5 at launch from GameStop. As she's more a PlayStation girl and I'm an Xbox guy we have spent the better part of last year playing our favorite respective consoles. We pick up 2 to 3 games at a time so my list is rather large. I have narrowed it down to two RPG's. Scarlett Nexus or Tales of Arise...which one should I play first. I'm actually leaning towards this but I don't know yet.
the way you present this review is really outstanding (you even talked about the music) and it actually convince me to try this game tho i still stuck with yakuza series (currently playing yakuza 5 and 2 series to go ). Keep up the good work man!
Thank you! I've been trying to get good at talking about the music and felt like I had an opinion on it in this one. I frequently only talk about things in games that I want to talk about, so you won't find me going down a checklist of graphics, sound, gameplay, etc just to be aligned with everyone else's reviews! This is all to say that I'm happy you enjoyed it!
Yup. Glad I subbed. Literally just commented on your Tales of Arise combat video and went to watch this. Your review style syncs with me perfectly. Again, keep it up man!
This one too huh? :) I also loved this game. Can't wait for the DLC additions. I think the way powers work in this game is extremely well designed. No power is a 1-trick pony. They all have both offensive and defensive applications and many different uses you can come across if you think about it. My favorite example was playing the demo and getting the Oil status meaning I couldn't dodge, but realizing I could just override that using Luca's power to give myself another way to dodge. Later on in the main game, it became a process of rapidly planning moves and staying multiple steps ahead of the enemy. It's extremely fun. :) I like your point about how the story lets you play at your own pace because... that's exactly why I LOVE Namco's RPGs like this and Tales. I like a challenge, but not when it comes to the game just putting a leash on how you progress to make things artificially harder. This game's definitely not shy about giving you save points generously.. in fact I'm pretty sure you can see the save point guy standing in two places at once in at least one location. While I feel the story had a bit too much to throw at you and was pretty zany, but it was the characters that really sold me. Their personal stories start out short and may not look like much at first, but they really explore the many issues that come with living in a connected world as we do, moreso than you might think. Gemma was particularly surprising for how deep he was and.. yeah, Shiden is amazing. He actually had a personal story that REALLY applied to what I had been going through recently. I was also very impressed with him in Kasane's side of the story and the journey he took there. :D
My thoughts at Phase 6.5 . Combat is tons of fun. Side quests could use some work in future sequels. More in engine cutscenes would be welcome. Manga style cut scenes are great for bonding moments. Great new IP so far glad I got it and will try and finish Kasane run this week. Anyone confused early in the game keep playing! Arashi Spring is totally me.
While I dont necessarily agree with everything, this is certainly one of the best reviews out there for whats probably not only my favorite game of year, but also one of my favorite games ever made. I would say that ACG came to my mind while watching your review, but I just saw someone else making a similar comparison lol. But yeah, good job; lets hope this game sells well for an improved sequel or DLC
Skarlet nexus turned out to be an amazing game with awesome combat, deep characters, and crazy story. I hated shidden during the first half, of my first playthrough as yuito. but during ng+ as kasane I was just laughing how he was being lowkey bullied. Lol
A tad late to the party here but I finally watched you review and as expected I enjoyed every minute of it. by the way thank you for taking in my request of talking about the soundtrack, it was a pleasure to listen to what you have to say about it. Good work as always 😉👍
Im supporting this game just for future sequels cause what they can build off this is something special but for that they need people to support and buy the game so they can have the budget to create the goat anime rpg in a sequel
Another excellent review as usual! I think that's what we've all come to expect and that's why here for for your content! I agree with others that I appreciate the extra time you take to play through the game thoroughly, then collect your thoughts to create an excellent critique. There's no need to be in a hurry just to push the review out, we'll wait! I struggled hard learning the controls and combat in the demo, ultimately giving up on the demo after two attempts. Does the full game do a better job explaining the combat and easing you into battle? I do so want to experience the story and the stylish VN presentation and the lovely music, but I'm concerned I'm just going to be frustrated with the combat.
It's the same as the demo, so I highly recommend checking out the demo and really learning it there. It might also be your choice of character. Try both characters, if you haven't yet and see who you like more!
Im enjoying this game more than what I thought I would, great move by bandai to add it to xbox gamepass, also these guys got this japanese band called the oral cigarettes and used some of their songs for the game and anime intro, these tracks are lit, definatly a good move by them as well.
Finally someone doing this game some justice, so many reviewers for some reason just...didn't get it?, like they were playing it and it just flew wayyyyy over their heads or somthing. It's not that complicated lol. I disagree about the music. But at the same time. Music is subjective, and telling someone they are wrong when it comes to music tastes is like telling someone they are wrong for the kind of food they like lol. I knew the time you were taking on this would be worth while. Tho i am the type to have my own opinion aka not having somone decide for me..*blunt way to put it?* I like to see other people's opinions as a means to more or less see where the game stands in the public eye. I got a feeling this game will get slept on HARD! Due to so many big names playing it and not giving it a chance. Would hate see them pick up the trails series lmao. Forgot to mention, man. You're amazing the gaming world needs people like you sir. One's that will take the time to really enjoy games like this. Please keep up the good work. I don't have agree with you all the time. So long as someone's out there giving these games the love they deserve.
Thank you! I'm actually really happy to read your comment and hear your perspective! I believe that reviews aren't just about one person's perspective, but all about creating conversations about the game. Granted, we're extremely protective of spoilers (we have the Discord for that), but it's nice to also read other people's experiences! So thank you for taking the time to share yours!
Great job Alex. I really want to give this game a try. And your review helped me to decide. But sadly I'm gonna wait a little to grab it since I'm a little out of funds atm. Thanks for your excellent work.
This game does look and sound cool to me, but I don't know how I feel about game-ifying character bonding. I don't think I like the idea of having to play some kind of social minigame to get combat perks/abilities. If it were just a 100% optional thing with nothing but further story bites, I'd be fine with it...
A perfect review for a perfect game. I hope your review gets the game more attention like it deserves. I've been really surprised the game hasn't been extremely popular. I love everything about this game.
I played the demo..and I felt very meh about it..but ive been waffling about this game for the longest time..unlike the feeling ingot from the demo...this feels like another God Eater 3...which I spent almost 300hrs playing....might have to buy this now..awesome review
Another great review man. Thank you for your hard work. I’m playing through the game now. Really enjoying it so far. I’m really digging the creature designs. They give me a Silent Hill vibe. Really crazy designs.
Scarlet Nexus is really a great game. I'm currently playing with Kasane (Hard) on phase 12 and will be playing with Yuito next. Really great review on a really great game! (Edit: typo mistakos)
Good to see your review finally! I was looking forward to this- I was excited for this game and its good to see it is getting positive response. The only small thing that absurdly bothers me though is that- the objects that you throw at enemies, they despawn and disappear too quickly! I've not played the game yet so maybe it isn't that noticable then but whenever I watch the gameplay that's like the only thing that always bothers me! But still, Im really looking forward to this game!
If it's a concern that there won't be any items to throw, that definitely was not a worry of mine! There's a lot of items to fling around, and you'll just need to move towards portions of the arena to get closer. Outside of that, you'd be more concerned about the combat than anything that you might not even notice! I hope you do enjoy it when you play it!
Great review as always 👍 I really need to join your patreon to show some support for your constant stream of high quality reviews. I especially love how much time and effort you put into these games. Many other reviews particularly of this game seemed rather shallow in comparison
excellent detail and analysis as usual! looking forward to this one. too many in my backlog, tho. also need to play nier replicant. and cris tales is coming up soon.
Great review! I'm glad to see this game do well. I'll probably pick it up and play in the future. I got sidetracked when it came out and dived into another game.
There's a lot of great games out, so I understand! But this game is definitely one of the best games this year, so if you got time to spare (it's shorter than most), I think you'll like it a ton!
@@BacklogBattle You covered all the bases, from the combat system, through character progression, to story and more. But I think what I really like is the whole vibe of the channel. To me, it seems like you combine genuine expertise with a warm and positive outlook. It's hard to exactly put my finger on, but when you posted that you had this review in the works, I knew that I wouldn't need to look up any others.
Great review, I'm really want to play this game, sadly the price of this games is a little out of my reach right now. But I gonna get it as soon as possible.
It's my hope that as the channel grows, I get to do raffles for games like this. That way, everyone's backlog can be filled with great games! I hope that when you do get the game that you enjoy it immensely!
Great review for a great game. I'm still on my first playthrough with Yuito and have 29 hours playtime. My only gripe honestly is the dialogue can get pretty cringe, to much apologising and saying thank you for my liking but still doesn't take away how good of a game this is
I really like this game. Going through my 2nd playtrhough, after beating it and to see the story from the other side. I really like the combat + lite RPG mechanics. I would recommend it for those to would like to get into Action RPG games.
35 hours in and the only thing I'm liking is the combat. Really disliking the writing. Extremely blant environments. Glad people are enjoying it though.
You know if tales of arise wasn't coming out like literally within a couple of months from now then this would have been my game I was anticipating. Though to be fair I honestly forgot that this game even existed and it wasn't until I was watching A Vtuber specifically Calliope Mori, play through the demo and got me to try the demo out for myself. Right off the batt I adored the combat system and the character designs and the music especially since the combat was to quote me and a friend of mine Astral chain but better than Astral chain's combat. Mostly it's because of the use of how your psychic powers work and how your party members work in conjunction with those powers. I was surprised at how fluid everything was feeling including how fast combat was as both characters. Not to mention from what little story I did look from the demo it felt really really interesting even with my complete dislike of the slide show cut scenes as I called those. I think that's like my main complaint with the game is the slideshow cut scenes as while they are unique and interesting it completely breaks the flow of the plot by going from comic book cut scene to beautifully choreographed cut scenes that we're used to but these are done really really good and I wish there was more of those. Also while I really really really really definitely enjoying my time with the demo and I would love to get the game, Tales of Arise, since day 1, became my top priority and with Ghost of Tsushima announcing a director's cut and I missed out on it, I have a much better opportunity to get that game. Don't get me wrong though I'm definitely not gonna forget scarlet Nexus to the point where I'm gonna do the lazy route and watch the anime version because I did that with the world ends with you and long story short it looked like the game and it had the story from the game but it felt lazy and weak in comparison to the game so I will definitely keep scarlet Nexus in mind and will most likely get it somewhere in the future. Great review as always Alex!
People keep bringing up Astral Chain and I'm not really quite sure the comparison is sound anymore. Astral Chain is a Platinum game, so it's mostly character action with lots of focus on combos and the like. Scarlet Nexus is more than just the combos, utilizing your party's abilities to help you get through some of the tougher battles. It's why I focused on that in my review.
@@BacklogBattle Me and my friend were mostly comparing the gameplay style of both titles and while Astral Chain's was fun, it did take a long while to get used to vs. Scarlet Nexus which is very simple and fun to master right out of the gate.
I only played the demo on PS4 (I have a video on that one here: ruclips.net/video/d02Eby8YNjo/видео.html), but regardless of whether you play it on the base or Pro, the game runs at a solid 30fps. I didn't quite mind it, and it still played well imo!
This the review that I really waited for, sold me on the game even more... but my wallet doesn't agree with my wanting of the game :( Though, great vid pops!
Two very different games. As I said, Scarlet Nexus is party based and is easy to pick up and play, so the depth comes from your party skills, how you incorporate them into combos, and what kinds of powers are more effective towards enemies. Astral Chain’s control scheme takes a bit to get used to and is more focused on individual skill, but is very rewarding in that way. All depends on what you want to play now
This game looks very confusing and complicated to play. I've watched a lot of reviews and I'm trying to understand it. I guess I'm just not sold on the game. Wonderful review though. Intense
I see this game getting some hate and being slung as 'generic' and 'lazy'. Tbh, I really don't see why.. The combat is solid, the characters are pretty good and the art and music are fantastic.
I hope you're not spending a lot of time trying to argue with those people. In fact, I hope you're spending all the time to get the Platinum or all the Achievements or whatever your goals are!
thank you for the video, i am so happy you saved me money. for me this game is ugly as F and so boring,great video awesome work.respect.the dumbest unboxing channel on RUclips proudly subscribed
The extra time you took to make this review really paid off. No other review managed to sell me on the game like yours did.
Thinking about the static cutscenes as a visual novel approach to portraying conversations that would be mostly motionless regardless really helped me come to terms with them. Another comparison to draw would be a bit of an evolution on the skits from the tales series which is funny because I heard Arise won't have them. (Edit: Apparently arise still haves skits, just no poat battle convos.)
Congrats on another great video!
Thank you so much! It always makes me happy to read comments saying that the wait for my videos are worth it! And yes, onward to Arise!
Yeah true. Most reviews in the west are always like "nah its not my type and i don't wanna try it, bad game". luckily at least some of the bigger outlets let (for example) "Strategy Fans" review strategy games which is often times not the case sadly.
so many damn skits in arise
Its clear that the team behind Scarlet Nexus are a unique and talented bunch that have proven themselves with this game. I am hoping Scarlet Nexus becomes successful enough for the team to get bigger budgets and to continue to produce either sequels or new IPs so that they can expand their ideas. Great video as always Alex! You're doing good work by shining a spotlight on games like this.
The director seems to be very active on Twitter, even going so far as to replying to some of the comments on my tweet about my review! I have a good feeling about it!
Hmm... Everyone is saying it's a bad genshin inspired game tho
@@Jack-rr9nh I've literally never heard that once, so clearly not "everyone" is saying that :)
@@Jack-rr9nh Play it don't procastinate like me by keeping the game on the back burner and finishing some day. I AM glad i went back forced MYSELF through Phase 3 to Phase 4. This game is LiKE as if they wanted ONLY the true honest players to continue... so they put booring plot scenes during the first two Phases.
Its like Nier Automata when you start Playing everything in a 2d perspective.... making you feel to unistall the garbage 🗑️ immediately. Only to realise how dumb and blind of a person you were assuming. You will miss out something that would NEVER get a sequel THANKs to very low reception rate due to it being generic at the START. Which is sad but great as well ...only the select would experience this masterpiece.
If someone asked me for tips for this BEFORE starting it would be to finish One Phase then watch a gameplay walkthrough of the same Phase... as it WiLL help you reach the conclusion on why this GAME is a hidden GEM 💎 While, focussing on everyones dialogue and expression while they talk in slideshows, even if it feels boring.
There are many hidden foreshadowing... hints. But, if you missed those you would be a hater of this GAME like i was and like many reviews you see on the internet regarding the Scarlet Nexus. It being a generic rushed anime game. It looked generic Kawai anime game when i was blind and lazy.
But, thanks to me losing my save and starting all over again after already reached Phase 3... i had to start it all from the bottom. Which i never would HAVE i never liked it till phase 3 !
But, i had no other good GAMEs... so i literally forced myself with countless key assignments and locked combat system from the START. I focussed on the story a little this TiME... i guess i was bored 🥱 didn't think of it much.
However, as i hit phase 4 everything start to make sense and i was on the Edge like a hawk. And by Phase 11 i was speechless 💬 the way everything start to make sense and the way the game compiling everything until now finally clicked all of a sudden.
Scarlet Nexus is a game of Twists and Turns you might even forget a foreshadowing and a simple sentence from one of the characters ONLY to watch back a ViDEO on RUclips to realise how early the game showed signs of the known. It reminded me of Nier Automata... i don't at all like confusing story with too much going on but with this one... I AM surprised how i was able to recollect and put everything together. That just showed me how well the story was expressed and layed out.
In short, just play the dam GAME. You don't want to be LiKE me after 3 of a GAMEs release finding out about its existence and realising where was i when this was released?
Also, sometimes reviews of people are not honest because not all have the patience, time and understanding of the said depth in games. Not everyone can read behind the hidden meanings, not everyone can HAVE the insight and Knowledge to take it all in. Its only the select few.
Thats why GAMEs like Nier Automata and Scarlet Nexus never get its shine. It gets behind the rubble forgotten aside from the very few.
Don't be those very *Few*
@@killakame-3434 You make a fair point. I'll definitely give this game a try
heads up on the combat for anyone thinking of geting this game after seeing this review: use the comobo visions. by raising a character's bond level up, you get access to attacks that use the face buttons and L1/LB, and these attacks are incredibly useful. they do a lot more damage than just regular attacks, as well as a few being able to combo into each other.
if you feel like the combat is a little too mash-ey, this is what you are missing
Thankfully, the idea that the combat looks mashey seems to not be a concern in the comments unlike the community posts. It seems like now it's a matter of finding the time to play the game LOL
@@BacklogBattle It took me way too long to start using combo visions. only really started using them until the last third even though I was doing a good job keeping up with all of the bond events and gifts lol.
just didn't want others to make the same mistake
Thank you for the tip, I'mma be starting the game soon and definitely am gonna make sure to work on my bonds throughout the game even more now! 💯😃
THIS REVIEW WAS SO WELL ARTICULATED!!!!!! WELL DONE!!
CURRENTLY PLAYING CANT WAIT TO FINISH!!
Hope you enjoy the ending/s! If you got time, play through it again as the other protagonist!
@@BacklogBattle Most def playing both options .
@@BacklogBattle update finished Yurito story line currently on Kasana
Really good review with some good points made, I particularly liked your part about the music and composition, as well as hearing your opinions about the static cut scenes. Glad you enjoyed the game!
Thank you! I always try to do something new for each review, and the music part was definitely one of the newer things I wanted to try out!
I must say, this was the most detailed review of video game music I’ve ever heard. Really thoughtful. BTW I do love the game as well. Thanks for a great review.
This game is an absolute blast. My favorite of 2021 so far.
Been thinking of a Hard play through if I have the time! I really enjoyed the combat!
@@BacklogBattle I start all playthroughs on the highest difficult available to cut through on achievements lol.
I'm 25 hours into my first playthrough with Yuito on Hard (in the BABE facility), so won't be able to have an informed dialog on the game/review atm. I appreciate your thorough review style; thank you for taking your time!
You're welcome! Was an awesome experience that I'm proud to share with all of you!
For some reason the game reminds me of astral chain, the menu reminds me of nier automata and the anime aesthetics looks like god eater/code vein. I played and enjoyed all of those games so this game is a no brainer, must buy for me.
Thanks for the wonderful review.
It does feel like it’s inspired by multiple games, and you hit the nail in the head! Let me know what you think of it once you’ve played it!
I LOVE the interpersonal connections in the game. They might be my favorite thing about the game. That and the world building. HOO BOY THE WORLD BUILDING.
I do hope it gets a sequel!
You really went off on this video. I really appreciate how in depth you went with this and how much time you put into making this. I decided to go through with making a video myself and this video helped me realize I missed some points I wanted to talk about. You even brought up the anime. I’m honestly glad you always wait to fully complete a game before reviewing instead of making a mad dash to get out your review first. This is the biggest reason I was drawn to this channel. Keep up the good work!
Thank you so much! I'm glad the work put into the review came across in the video!
Great review! Scarlet nexus is currently my GOTY
I keep thinking about GOTY contenders and there's certainly a lot so far. I have to think about this more...
You honestly write some of the most thorough and well-articulated reviews I've ever heard on RUclips.
Like ACG but more thoughtful and for JRPGs haha which I appreciate because he isn't huge on the genre.
Obviously can be rough that it takes a while to do such a quality review especially for a relatively smaller channel if people are on the fence about a game at launch, but I still watch a good amount for games I've already bought regardless to appreciate them more. Hope you get the growth and success you so clearly deserve for the work you put in!! 💜
Wow, to be compared to someone like ACG is an honor! Thank you so much for your comment! This truly made my day!
Excellent review, Alex!
I’m almost done with Kasane’s Story and thrilled with what I’m playing so far.
Namco Bandai did a great job with this one!
Yea! Kasane's bae!
Alex at it again, doing the Lord's good work of turning hesitant folks onto games that deserve more attention.
(I pre-ordered this one and have only gotten to play the first 30 minutes, but I can't wait to dig more into this game. I love what I've seen.)
I hope you're enjoying it! How far are you in it now?
@@BacklogBattle Unfortunately, I'm only a couple of hours in! My PS5 is in the living room, and we've had a house guest over for the past month, so my chances to play have been limited.
Having finished the game I've been looking forward to your review. I haven't been this excited about a brand new game in quite a while. It feels right that you'd pour so much attention to detail and care in the work for this review. More than just enjoying the game it's clear that you enjoyed the review process and it shows in the finished product. Good form.
Thank you so much! I've always thought that the best reviews I've made reflected my feelings and thoughts about the game I'm playing, and this certainly was one of those that really felt so much fun to play and write about!
As of right now, it’s one of my favorites of 2021 along with Monster Hunter Rise and the way it looks Monster Hunter Stories 2. Scarlet Nexus’ combat is cool and stylish! It makes you feel powerful and the story is good and opens up the more you play
It's such a wild ride, and some of the songs *are* legit good!
I really appreciate your reviews and lack of spoilers. I will be picking up this game soonish!
I'm happy to see you're picking it up! It really is one of the best games of the year!
we have a Christmas sale in belgium europe the 99.99€ package is on sale for only 25€ and so i didn't hesitate to purchase the game after I've watched you're review 😀
thanks so much, have a merry Christmas and a happy new year from belgium
Watching this review makes me wanna go back to the game again. I really love it for all the reasons you put here.
Took a short break, but I’m definitely going back the next chance I can get.
Whose playthrough are you working on right now?
@@BacklogBattle Kasane’s, on chapter 7.
It’s such a solid story, and I’m excited to see how it all looks like from Yuito’s story.
That's what that second playthrough's gonna be all about!
It makes me really happy that Bandai Namco is giving their creatives the room to try new ideas and make something that really stands out like this.
I'm a bit sad I can't pick it up day one, but I'll definitely be picking it up in the near future!
On a side note, I'm glad you went ahead and took your time with this review, it'll definitely be one I point people toward
That's awesome! Thank you! I'd be honored to be the one to show the world of Scarlet Nexus to anyone interested!
Alright...so I have a mighty backlog of games to play. You see, both my fiancee and I are diehard gamers. We picked up both the Xbox Series X and PS5 at launch from GameStop. As she's more a PlayStation girl and I'm an Xbox guy we have spent the better part of last year playing our favorite respective consoles. We pick up 2 to 3 games at a time so my list is rather large. I have narrowed it down to two RPG's. Scarlett Nexus or Tales of Arise...which one should I play first. I'm actually leaning towards this but I don't know yet.
Get Game Pass and play Scarlet Nexus on your Xbox and buy Tales of Arise on PlayStation 😉
the way you present this review is really outstanding (you even talked about the music) and it actually convince me to try this game tho i still stuck with yakuza series (currently playing yakuza 5 and 2 series to go ). Keep up the good work man!
Thank you! I've been trying to get good at talking about the music and felt like I had an opinion on it in this one. I frequently only talk about things in games that I want to talk about, so you won't find me going down a checklist of graphics, sound, gameplay, etc just to be aligned with everyone else's reviews! This is all to say that I'm happy you enjoyed it!
Yup. Glad I subbed. Literally just commented on your Tales of Arise combat video and went to watch this. Your review style syncs with me perfectly. Again, keep it up man!
Thank you so much! And yea I remember! 😉
This one too huh? :) I also loved this game. Can't wait for the DLC additions. I think the way powers work in this game is extremely well designed. No power is a 1-trick pony. They all have both offensive and defensive applications and many different uses you can come across if you think about it. My favorite example was playing the demo and getting the Oil status meaning I couldn't dodge, but realizing I could just override that using Luca's power to give myself another way to dodge. Later on in the main game, it became a process of rapidly planning moves and staying multiple steps ahead of the enemy. It's extremely fun. :)
I like your point about how the story lets you play at your own pace because... that's exactly why I LOVE Namco's RPGs like this and Tales. I like a challenge, but not when it comes to the game just putting a leash on how you progress to make things artificially harder. This game's definitely not shy about giving you save points generously.. in fact I'm pretty sure you can see the save point guy standing in two places at once in at least one location.
While I feel the story had a bit too much to throw at you and was pretty zany, but it was the characters that really sold me. Their personal stories start out short and may not look like much at first, but they really explore the many issues that come with living in a connected world as we do, moreso than you might think. Gemma was particularly surprising for how deep he was and.. yeah, Shiden is amazing. He actually had a personal story that REALLY applied to what I had been going through recently. I was also very impressed with him in Kasane's side of the story and the journey he took there. :D
My thoughts at Phase 6.5 . Combat is tons of fun. Side quests could use some work in future sequels. More in engine cutscenes would be welcome. Manga style cut scenes are great for bonding moments. Great new IP so far glad I got it and will try and finish Kasane run this week. Anyone confused early in the game keep playing! Arashi Spring is totally me.
Arashi definitely grew on me! She's a very interesting character!
Great review. The story blew me away and the combat is a ton of fun.
I'll keep an eye for this game during upcoming Black Friday sales
While I dont necessarily agree with everything, this is certainly one of the best reviews out there for whats probably not only my favorite game of year, but also one of my favorite games ever made.
I would say that ACG came to my mind while watching your review, but I just saw someone else making a similar comparison lol. But yeah, good job; lets hope this game sells well for an improved sequel or DLC
Thank you for the kind words! I’m always trying to improve my videos, so I have to ask: what aspects of my review remind you of ACG?
Skarlet nexus turned out to be an amazing game with awesome combat, deep characters, and crazy story.
I hated shidden during the first half, of my first playthrough as yuito. but during ng+ as kasane I was just laughing how he was being lowkey bullied. Lol
I was having doubts about buying it until now, but now I REALLY want to play it. Thank you!
You're welcome! I'm happy to see that I presented some things about the game that you really like!
A tad late to the party here but I finally watched you review and as expected I enjoyed every minute of it.
by the way thank you for taking in my request of talking about the soundtrack, it was a pleasure to listen to what you have to say about it.
Good work as always 😉👍
You're welcome! I've always wanted to get better at talking about music, so I figured why not with Scarlet Nexus!
I know I'm late to the party but I bought this on sale I came for the action and let the story take me for a ride so far I'm enjoying this game
Thanks for the review Alex!
My pleasure!
Im supporting this game just for future sequels cause what they can build off this is something special but for that they need people to support and buy the game so they can have the budget to create the goat anime rpg in a sequel
I've heard multiple people say that this game has less budget and I just don't see it.
Another excellent review as usual! I think that's what we've all come to expect and that's why here for for your content! I agree with others that I appreciate the extra time you take to play through the game thoroughly, then collect your thoughts to create an excellent critique. There's no need to be in a hurry just to push the review out, we'll wait!
I struggled hard learning the controls and combat in the demo, ultimately giving up on the demo after two attempts. Does the full game do a better job explaining the combat and easing you into battle? I do so want to experience the story and the stylish VN presentation and the lovely music, but I'm concerned I'm just going to be frustrated with the combat.
It's the same as the demo, so I highly recommend checking out the demo and really learning it there. It might also be your choice of character. Try both characters, if you haven't yet and see who you like more!
You gave me the final push to buy it. Great review! You deserve more subscribers.
Thank you so much! Hope you're enjoying the game!
great video and review. Loving this game, About 22 hrs in. Been losing sleep lol
Im enjoying this game more than what I thought I would, great move by bandai to add it to xbox gamepass, also these guys got this japanese band called the oral cigarettes and used some of their songs for the game and anime intro, these tracks are lit, definatly a good move by them as well.
I sadly couldn’t post the song due to copyright, but their songs are bangers!
I don't watch anime and I don't play JRPG games but I did enjoy this.
Finally someone doing this game some justice, so many reviewers for some reason just...didn't get it?, like they were playing it and it just flew wayyyyy over their heads or somthing. It's not that complicated lol.
I disagree about the music. But at the same time. Music is subjective, and telling someone they are wrong when it comes to music tastes is like telling someone they are wrong for the kind of food they like lol.
I knew the time you were taking on this would be worth while. Tho i am the type to have my own opinion aka not having somone decide for me..*blunt way to put it?* I like to see other people's opinions as a means to more or less see where the game stands in the public eye. I got a feeling this game will get slept on HARD! Due to so many big names playing it and not giving it a chance. Would hate see them pick up the trails series lmao.
Forgot to mention, man. You're amazing the gaming world needs people like you sir. One's that will take the time to really enjoy games like this. Please keep up the good work. I don't have agree with you all the time. So long as someone's out there giving these games the love they deserve.
Thank you! I'm actually really happy to read your comment and hear your perspective! I believe that reviews aren't just about one person's perspective, but all about creating conversations about the game. Granted, we're extremely protective of spoilers (we have the Discord for that), but it's nice to also read other people's experiences! So thank you for taking the time to share yours!
Great job Alex. I really want to give this game a try. And your review helped me to decide. But sadly I'm gonna wait a little to grab it since I'm a little out of funds atm. Thanks for your excellent work.
You're welcome! Thanks for checking out the review! And here's hoping you can afford to check this game out soon!
This game does look and sound cool to me, but I don't know how I feel about game-ifying character bonding. I don't think I like the idea of having to play some kind of social minigame to get combat perks/abilities. If it were just a 100% optional thing with nothing but further story bites, I'd be fine with it...
You don’t have to watch them in the entirety. You could always just skip most of them.
A perfect review for a perfect game. I hope your review gets the game more attention like it deserves. I've been really surprised the game hasn't been extremely popular. I love everything about this game.
Thank you! I hope more people share it everywhere! I put a lot of heart and work into this one!
I played the demo..and I felt very meh about it..but ive been waffling about this game for the longest time..unlike the feeling ingot from the demo...this feels like another God Eater 3...which I spent almost 300hrs playing....might have to buy this now..awesome review
Another great review man. Thank you for your hard work. I’m playing through the game now. Really enjoying it so far. I’m really digging the creature designs. They give me a Silent Hill vibe. Really crazy designs.
Those creatures really made me try to dissect what these Others were all about! It's kinda crazy and cool at the same time!
Gave me a silent hill vibe too!!
I wish the enemies weren't so ridiculous and more scary but other than that it's pretty good fun
Scarlet Nexus is really a great game. I'm currently playing with Kasane (Hard) on phase 12 and will be playing with Yuito next.
Really great review on a really great game!
(Edit: typo mistakos)
Thank you! Glad you liked it! Good luck in that phase!
Good to see your review finally! I was looking forward to this- I was excited for this game and its good to see it is getting positive response. The only small thing that absurdly bothers me though is that- the objects that you throw at enemies, they despawn and disappear too quickly! I've not played the game yet so maybe it isn't that noticable then but whenever I watch the gameplay that's like the only thing that always bothers me! But still, Im really looking forward to this game!
If it's a concern that there won't be any items to throw, that definitely was not a worry of mine! There's a lot of items to fling around, and you'll just need to move towards portions of the arena to get closer. Outside of that, you'd be more concerned about the combat than anything that you might not even notice! I hope you do enjoy it when you play it!
@@BacklogBattle thanks a lot! Gonna have a good time when I play! :)
Great review as always 👍 I really need to join your patreon to show some support for your constant stream of high quality reviews. I especially love how much time and effort you put into these games. Many other reviews particularly of this game seemed rather shallow in comparison
That would be awesome! I'm always reluctant in asking people to join my Patreon, but I hope you do consider it!
Awesome channel name with great and clear review skills!
Thank you so much!
This is extremely thorough. Well done!
Thank you so much!
excellent detail and analysis as usual! looking forward to this one. too many in my backlog, tho. also need to play nier replicant. and cris tales is coming up soon.
I'm looking forward to Cris Tales as well!
Great review! I'm glad to see this game do well. I'll probably pick it up and play in the future. I got sidetracked when it came out and dived into another game.
There's a lot of great games out, so I understand! But this game is definitely one of the best games this year, so if you got time to spare (it's shorter than most), I think you'll like it a ton!
love you reviews always good quality video and informative.
Thank you for your support over the past few months!
Thanks! I've been waiting for this video, and here it is with everything I wanted to know!
Thank you so much for watching it! Which part did you find interesting?
@@BacklogBattle You covered all the bases, from the combat system, through character progression, to story and more. But I think what I really like is the whole vibe of the channel. To me, it seems like you combine genuine expertise with a warm and positive outlook. It's hard to exactly put my finger on, but when you posted that you had this review in the works, I knew that I wouldn't need to look up any others.
Over a year later I’m still dying to get my hands on this game! I hope we get a switch port but it seems too heavy for it to handle 😂
Not sure if you have a PC or Xbox, but it’s available on Game Pass!
Great review, I'm really want to play this game, sadly the price of this games is a little out of my reach right now. But I gonna get it as soon as possible.
It's my hope that as the channel grows, I get to do raffles for games like this. That way, everyone's backlog can be filled with great games!
I hope that when you do get the game that you enjoy it immensely!
Great review as always! Scarlet Nexus certainly became a must-play this year!
I do hope more people play it! It's an incredible game!
Awesome video man, excited to play the game! 💯😃
been waiting for your review! woo!
Hope you enjoyed it!
Great review as usual! Wishlisting the game on Steam for now... My SSD is full... Lol.
Time to clear some of those apps and games clogging up the SSD!
Great review for a great game. I'm still on my first playthrough with Yuito and have 29 hours playtime. My only gripe honestly is the dialogue can get pretty cringe, to much apologising and saying thank you for my liking but still doesn't take away how good of a game this is
I do feel that Kasane's route is the stronger of the two, honestly.
It's gonna be a while before I get to this game, running through all the Yakuza games right now, but deffo gonna get to this
It'll be worth it! Thanks again for watching!
I really like this game.
Going through my 2nd playtrhough, after beating it and to see the story from the other side. I really like the combat + lite RPG mechanics.
I would recommend it for those to would like to get into Action RPG games.
That's awesome! Who did you play as on your first playthrough?
35 hours in and the only thing I'm liking is the combat. Really disliking the writing. Extremely blant environments. Glad people are enjoying it though.
Great review.
Glad you think so!
This game looks like it was made for me. Great review. Downloading now.
It’s such a wild ride! Hope you enjoy it!
You know if tales of arise wasn't coming out like literally within a couple of months from now then this would have been my game I was anticipating. Though to be fair I honestly forgot that this game even existed and it wasn't until I was watching A Vtuber specifically Calliope Mori, play through the demo and got me to try the demo out for myself. Right off the batt I adored the combat system and the character designs and the music especially since the combat was to quote me and a friend of mine Astral chain but better than Astral chain's combat. Mostly it's because of the use of how your psychic powers work and how your party members work in conjunction with those powers. I was surprised at how fluid everything was feeling including how fast combat was as both characters. Not to mention from what little story I did look from the demo it felt really really interesting even with my complete dislike of the slide show cut scenes as I called those. I think that's like my main complaint with the game is the slideshow cut scenes as while they are unique and interesting it completely breaks the flow of the plot by going from comic book cut scene to beautifully choreographed cut scenes that we're used to but these are done really really good and I wish there was more of those. Also while I really really really really definitely enjoying my time with the demo and I would love to get the game, Tales of Arise, since day 1, became my top priority and with Ghost of Tsushima announcing a director's cut and I missed out on it, I have a much better opportunity to get that game. Don't get me wrong though I'm definitely not gonna forget scarlet Nexus to the point where I'm gonna do the lazy route and watch the anime version because I did that with the world ends with you and long story short it looked like the game and it had the story from the game but it felt lazy and weak in comparison to the game so I will definitely keep scarlet Nexus in mind and will most likely get it somewhere in the future. Great review as always Alex!
People keep bringing up Astral Chain and I'm not really quite sure the comparison is sound anymore. Astral Chain is a Platinum game, so it's mostly character action with lots of focus on combos and the like. Scarlet Nexus is more than just the combos, utilizing your party's abilities to help you get through some of the tougher battles. It's why I focused on that in my review.
@@BacklogBattle Me and my friend were mostly comparing the gameplay style of both titles and while Astral Chain's was fun, it did take a long while to get used to vs. Scarlet Nexus which is very simple and fun to master right out of the gate.
If i can only buy one, which one would i pick tales of arise or scarlet?
Tales!
This reminds me a bit of Astral Chain. I'm picking it up this weekend to play.
The controls in this one are far more intuitive than Astral Chain’s!
As soon as I get a Series X, this'll be one of the first games I play.
I'm actually looking to get one too!
I didn’t wanna play this game cause I just finished arise then I skip 20 seconds I heard similar to vein I’m like hold on I’m buying it now
Hope you enjoy it!
Excellent game, glad to you see you also enjoyed it!
I did! Thank you for watching!
Omg I'm loving this game I'm only in the underground train area but this game is damn 🔥absolutely love it so far
Great to hear! Don't forget to work on those bonds when they open up!
@@BacklogBattle ohh yeah on top of that and side quest when available thank ya
How does it play on the PS4?
I only played the demo on PS4 (I have a video on that one here: ruclips.net/video/d02Eby8YNjo/видео.html), but regardless of whether you play it on the base or Pro, the game runs at a solid 30fps. I didn't quite mind it, and it still played well imo!
This the review that I really waited for, sold me on the game even more... but my wallet doesn't agree with my wanting of the game :( Though, great vid pops!
Thank you so much for watching as always!
Looking forward to this and the anime!
Have you played it yet? :)
@@BacklogBattle I'll probably play it when the Steam comes out
I would love some more persona like jrpg 😝
astral chain or scarlet nexus... who has the better and more indepth combat.
Two very different games. As I said, Scarlet Nexus is party based and is easy to pick up and play, so the depth comes from your party skills, how you incorporate them into combos, and what kinds of powers are more effective towards enemies. Astral Chain’s control scheme takes a bit to get used to and is more focused on individual skill, but is very rewarding in that way.
All depends on what you want to play now
@@BacklogBattle actually I have played both those games and just wanted ur opinion.
@@dante19890 I like both lol
This game looks very confusing and complicated to play. I've watched a lot of reviews and I'm trying to understand it. I guess I'm just not sold on the game. Wonderful review though. Intense
Is there anything I can do to help? It’s actually not as complicated and confusing as it looks!
@@BacklogBattle Great review. I have a copy of the game. Maybe I'll throw it in today
I thought that till I tried the demo and realized its pretty simple when you actually get your hands on it
"Balan Wonderland" hahaha, no one will ever say that game's name correctly!
And no one ever will!
Gotta finish xenoblade 1&2, DQ11, persona 4, trails of cold steel 1- 4 and ys 8, and FF9/7 remake. Then ill look into this lol
whew, good luck. all of these are pretty long games
@Xanndovo thanks dude! I’ve put in quite a bit of time in them but you’re totally right, they are long. Worth it and so fun though!
@@boombap08 Indeed! I'll never forget my experience with these games. Heck, I still have to beat cold steel 1-4
I just wish the environments didn’t looks so bland.
At least you get moved from one place to another at a fairly quick clip, so you don't have to be around the same bland environments!
Good game
I see this game getting some hate and being slung as 'generic' and 'lazy'. Tbh, I really don't see why.. The combat is solid, the characters are pretty good and the art and music are fantastic.
I hope you're not spending a lot of time trying to argue with those people. In fact, I hope you're spending all the time to get the Platinum or all the Achievements or whatever your goals are!
@@BacklogBattle lol Of course not! I'm playing it right now..! Had to skip work though.. Sshhh 🤫
@@EnnuiPilgrim the characters were pretty generic.
@@jkarma3356 I probably haven't gotten that far yet, but I like Kagero, Kokura, and Luka so far. I think they're great..
@@EnnuiPilgrim i played the game twice and cannot even rememeber most of the characters lmao.
thank you for the video, i am so happy you saved me money. for me this game is ugly as F and so boring,great video awesome work.respect.the dumbest unboxing channel on RUclips proudly subscribed
Welcome to the community!
@@BacklogBattle thank you mate. It’s truly awesome you actually reply back to your comment,big respect to you and can’t wait more awesome content
I hav scarlet nexis
Best review i watched
You explain The game much more in depth 👍
Thank you for watching!