John Carver

EDIT - forgot to mention the amazing synth soundtrack, was worried it'd sound like a generic sci fi jrpg ost without Go Shiina onboard but they did not dissapoint. Bandai's attempt a character focused RPG drawing from Devil May Cry 5, Nier Automata and Astral Chain.The story is actually interesting and gets complicated as you get deeper into the game with them learning their lessons from previous games (God Eater, Code Vein) and actually having impactful moments stay that way without nonsense like reviving dead characters break the mood (people do die in this story, just won't say who or what). Gameplay wise it's almost perfect...if the combat wasn't so floaty and weightless (no deep impactful sound effects or emphasis on the hit makes it look like a knife literally cutting through butter) it would've been a perfect system to go with the story. Performance wise on PC its very well optimized and barely has, if any, frame drops and is one of the better looking games this year with its unique aesthetic and "brainpunk" world. Overall, after having experienced the entirety of the God Eater franchise and Code Vein, Scarlet Nexus is definitely one of Bandai Namco's best releases to date. Hope Tales of Arise gets this much attention and more considering its their main franchise.