Today's surprise announcement during Tokyo Game Show 2021 that Scarlet Nexus would be coming to Xbox Game Pass was definitely a welcome one. It's one of the best JRPGs of the year and it seems like it might have been skipped over by many potential fans due to some of the other games that were released around it.
Hopefully, now that it's on Game Pass, subscribers won't miss it again because it brings a lot to the table and is definitely worth a play especially for those who are looking for a game on the Xbox to fill the gaps left by some PlayStation exclusives like Persona 5 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
Scarlet Nexus' High Concept Plot
Unfortunately, it seems like Scarlet Nexus lost a lot of people with its seemingly convoluted plot that was displayed in its marketing. Sometimes to the game's detriment, Scarlet Nexus is a little bit difficult to explain because of its mix of narrative and gaming genres. The game coined the term "brain punk" which was used in its marketing which, prior to the game's use of it, wasn't an established genre, making it hard for many gaming fans to know what it was actually about before making a purchase.
Thanks to Game Pass, however, subscribers don't necessarily need to "get it" before giving the game a try. The $60 price tag that Scarlet Nexus had at its release was something of an obstacle in the way of potential fans taking the plunge into its world, but now that it's free for subscribers, they'll be able to give the game a try without needing to worry too much.
If a subscriber decides to give Scarlet Nexus a chance, they'll likely discover just how interesting the game actually is. While the marketing did a serviceable job of trying to sell the title, Scarlet Nexus' plot is best experienced firsthand. The many twists and turns of the narrative are potentially confusing to try and explain to those not familiar with it, but end up making a lot of sense within the context of the game itself. What's more, its story is told through a dual-narrative that allows players to see on both sides of one of the central conflicts to the entire game. While it might be hard to explain, it's certainly one of gaming's most interesting narratives this year and Game Pass subscribers can try it out for no additional cost.
Supporting JRPGs on Xbox Platforms
While it certainly fluctuates from year to year, it seems like Xbox has something of a JRPG problem. Many JRPG titles don't sell nearly as well on Microsoft's consoles when compared to their sales on the PlayStation causing some studios to go exclusively to Sony for publishing. As mentioned above, Xbox is missing some of the biggest JRPG releases of the past console generation with titles like Persona 5/Persona 5 Royal and Final Fantasy 7 Remake skipping the platform altogether. Although it might not be held in as high regard as those two titles, Scarlet Nexus is one of the best JRPGs this year and deserves to be given a shot, even if it falls far from traditional entries in the genre in terms of gameplay.
Despite not being from a long-established IP, Scarlet Nexus stands confidently next to the likes of Persona 5 and FF7 Remake, but unlike the latter two games, is available to be played on Xbox consoles. It should be a no-brainer for JRPG fans who subscribe to Game Pass to try out Scarlet Nexus. Not only will they get to play one of 2021's best JRPGs, but, if enough people play it, they could also send a message to Microsoft and to JRPG publishers that there's a demand for the genre on Xbox platforms.
Scarlet Nexus is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.