If I could have any superpower in the world, it would be shapeshifting. I’d be staggered by (and immensely jealous of) any trans person who would not immediately say the same. Psychokinesis would be pretty high up the list too, although it’s always been a very ‘meh’ power in games – that’s why I’m so glad Scarlet Nexus makes it seem cool again.
There are a million and one superpowers out there, from the obvious ones like super strength to the more niche abilities you see in Misfits and D-list X-Men, but of the headliners, most seem like more trouble than they’re worth. Why would you want super speed? So you could run everywhere like a bellend? We saw the dangers of that in The Boys. Super strength? Sorry, we don’t live in the Stone Age anymore, being proper strong isn’t really a personality. Either you can open jars easily – in which case, your superpower is jar opening – or you use it to fight people, and how often does your regular life call for you to win fist fights? Same goes for invulnerability – I’ve suffered zero mortal wounds thus far, so that power seems like a waste. Plus, if it means you live forever, that power would turn into a Monkey’s Paw situation very quickly. Flight? Eh, maybe. Just seems like walking, but in the air, and unless this is a world where multiple people have powers, that would just put a target on your back. Invisibility? Gross. Pervert.
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Shapeshifting aside, psychokinesis is the clear standout. Right now, if I wanted a drink of juice, I’d have to get up, get a glass out of the cupboard, walk to the fridge, fill the glass, close the fridge, then walk back to my desk. At that point, I’d drink the entire glass of juice out of sheer exhaustion, and need to get up and repeat the whole process. With psychokinesis, a simple flick of the wrist and the job is done.
There’s an innate limitlessness to psychokinesis that gaming cannot account for. Super speed or super strength is easy – the character can move faster or hit harder, and the game’s environment, enemies, and pretty much everything else are attuned to this potential. Flight? Again, just walking in the air, fairly easy to implement into a virtual space. psychokinesis makes every object interactable, and increases how you can interact with each object tenfold – that’s much harder to implement. Despite how visually impressive psychokinesis can be, it has always felt held back in gaming, limited to specific movements in specific contexts rather than giving you true freedom. Scarlet Nexus is a huge step in the right direction.
Scarlet Nexus doesn’t have true freedom – it is still a video game, and one that sits a few echelons below the likes of Red Dead Redemption 2 and The Last of Us Part 2 when it comes to budget. You can't pick up the table at the hideout where you and your squadmates gather, hanging bikes on the walls and flopping down on random piles of pillows. When Kasane signs her name, she holds the pen between her fingertips, rather than swirling it through the air magically. In battle though, we see the psychokinesis come alive.
Psychokinesis in gaming is often just a throwing mechanic with some fancy animations. Holding down RT essentially serves this purpose in Scarlet Nexus, but when you hold LT, that's where the fun starts. With these special psychokinetic throws, you can control your powers and make them feel godlike. Pick up an iron girder? Spiral it around to hit every Other in sigh. A derailed train? Back on the track like Fatman Scoop and wipe your foes out. A chandelier? Don't you mean a spinning top? It's not just picking things up and throwing them like Eleven in Stranger Things – although she does deserve her own game. It's much more controlled, much more interesting, and far cooler.
The battle system in Scarlet Nexus takes a while to get used to, and the chaos can become overwhelming. Our own Cian Maher compared the game to Genshin Impact's combat system unfavourably, finding the switch between party members – or party members' powers – far more seamless and effective in Genshin. I understand where he's coming from, but I like that Scarlet Nexus makes it clear that I'm playing as Kasane and that we're all in it together, as opposed to Genshin when I can ditch my Traveler altogether and load out my party with favourites. Side note – if you do this, I find you a deeply untrustworthy person.
Psychokinesis isn’t perfect in Scarlet Nexus – Kasane would still have to get up from her desk to pour herself a glass of juice – but it opens the door to a superpower gaming has long been phoning in. For that alone, its combat is worth celebrating.
Next: After Scarlet Nexus, No One Is Allowed To Use ‘Others’ Any More
