Nex Machina
Housemarque back with their latest action game - Nex Machina on the surface, seems to offer the same appeal in story, world, and different character formats. Action games that will prompt you to respond to threats quickly, while avoiding so many threats that can kill you with a single touch. With their twin-stick shot format, it looks like a game ready to slam your mouse or controller across the room.
Resembling what they did with RESOGUN in the past, Housemargue does not seem to see the plot as important to enjoy their latest game, Nex Machina. There is no cut-scene or just a short novel to show you what is really going on in this world. As you know, you act as the main character that comes with using super cool motors, shooting with laser shots, with various variants of the robot being the main enemy.
A little background story that you can find directly on the official website of Housemarque for Nex Machina. He recounts the conditions of the future, in which man can no longer separate from the technolgy. Along with the addiction of portable smart devices, AI itself is getting smarter. To the extent that they begin to develop self-awareness and rebel against humans. So as you can predict, the imagined seclise, it becomes your duty and responsibility to stop the doomsday scenario.
Although it carries a genre and gameplay that is quite different from previous projects - RESOGUN, Housemarque still retains some presentation elements that will make you a stunt action game, to recognize the relationship of both. You will be faced with a futuristic world of dystopia that does not contain much information about the story, character, or enemy you face. Housemarque treats every stage of the various themes no more than a "playground" to provide the enemy on it, or rather, get you trapped and killed.
From the visual side, he does not look fantastic. But the artistic approach to his presentation that makes this game quite captivating. There are two things he borrows from RESOGRAPHY: first, it is the effect of the particles that are still destroying every destruction that exists, from the environment to the enemy, and the second - the color game. Like the neon world in the middle of a big war, Nex Machina comes with bright colors with high contrast to represent its own charm. Red enemies, brightly colored images, bright blue lights that appear when you finish the level, until the concept of the main character of the motor that may immediately remind you of Tron.
Regardless of the amount of shooting and environmental awareness you have to do, the thumb is also worth to be directed at the minimalist UI design. The Housemarque seems to understand that they do not want your actions to move, shoot, or dodge quickly constrained by too many icons that can block the view. Since it is almost impossible for you to pay attention to this UI-UI while it is busy, it is designed to make sure you can get the necessary information in an instant. From just your level level, the rest of your life, to whatever weapons you have.