I don’t know how many of you know this but I’m still less than a year into owning a PS5. So when a massive sale on games happened and I was given a PS5 gift card I splurged on some games. Scarlet Nexus was a game that a lot of people recommended to me so it was first on my list to try out. It stars either Yuito or Kasana depending on who’s route you pick at the start of the game. Both are members of the Other Suppression Force (OSF) tasked with defeating the mysterious monsters called the Others. As they conduct their missions they discover there are a lot of hidden secrets about the organization they work for, the world around them and themselves.

The story here is easily the highlight of the game as it is an incredible tale. Both Yuito and Kasana face incredible emotional challenges in each of their routes involving their close friends and loved ones. As such both of them have to take on the incredible mantle of leadership for their platoons as they explore the world and unravel the secrets hidden from them. This is where the story excels best and why it’s so hard to really talk about it. The way the secrets are kept hidden and revealed steadily as the plot progresses is masterfully done. There’s secrets upon secrets and so once you reach a certain point the story manages to continue to surprise you with the reveals one after another. I also love how both Yuito and Kasana find out different secrets unique to their route. Sure you do get to hear what they are later in the game but it’s not the same as playing both routes and seeing them revealed.

I also love how complex the characters are as they do a great job captivating the player. Both Yuito and Kasana have incredible secrets of their own that even they are not aware of. So it builds upon the already existing myriad of secrets of the world around them. You have incredible reveals involving their origins, how they actually met each other for the first time, their powers and even what is happening to them as the story progresses. Again this is a game that’s really hard to talk about and be spoiler free as it is the secrets and how they are used to tell the story that make it so amazing. So of course the problem is giving an example gives away one of these incredible moments and causes me to rob you of the shock that comes with them. Though I will also say that for character development both of the main characters are also able to develop bonds with the supporting cast. This is done by giving them gifts or using them on missions and you unlock new powers and support conversations to get to know them better. So a mini story unfolds with each character and while I didn’t like all of them, due to personal preference, I thought all of the characters were well developed.

Moving onto the game play this is something I enjoyed but I will say in an amazing game like this it’s the weak link. All characters have their own unique power called psionics. So Yuito and Kasana have psychokinesis which allows you to move objects. Other characters have teleportation, electric, clairvoyance, duplication and many more unique to them. As the main character you mainly use your own power but you can also tab into the powers of any other character. Finding ways to mix and match powers such as teleportation and invincibility to find ideal combos is a lot of fun. Plus it never gets old to just throw random stuff at your enemies from afar. You also have a wide array of customization options. A weapon, up to three slots for upgrades per character and a grid of unlockable features that you can spend points gained by leveling up to access.

So the gameplay is a lot of fun, but there’s a reason why I feel it’s the weak link. The buttons are rather challenging to get used to. A lot of the powers and features require two button combinations where as in my experience I’m used to using single button inputs in succession. This meant getting the hang of the powers wasn’t my only challenge but also mastering the buttons themselves. Over time I did get the hang of it but at no point did I enjoy the button layout. As far as critics go it’s a very minor one.

Overall Scarlet Nexus is a deep and compelling game full of secrets that you unravel slowly and continuously for hours. Then you get to see some of the secrets unfold in a new light all over again by playing a second route after you’re done. Which means you get hours and hours of entertainment to make this a worthwhile purchase. The characters are equally as awe inspiring and mysterious as the story. The only drawback is the button combinations needed for the controls were noticeably hard for me to get used to, but not a serious problem when that’s the only thing I can say that’s remotely negative.