NeXus – One Core

Developer: Hyde Games | Publisher: Bulkypix / Plug In Digital | Release Date: 2015 | Genre: Action  | Website: Official Website | Format: Digital Download

The genre may not be as crowded as it is on mobile devices, but endless runners still need effort to stand out on PC. Instead of featuring a tacked-on story, NeXus: One Core simply provides you with a spaceship and challenges you to survive a high-speed obstacle course. It is a pure arcade experience where quick reflexes and a little luck are all you need to have fun.

Unlike the usual side or chase camera views usually associated with the genre, NeXus: One Core is viewed from a top-down perspective. This makes the game appear like a vertical-scrolling shooter, but unfortunately, your spaceship is unarmed. It can, however, toggle between two different colors at the tap of a button, which is essential to your survival. As you weave through the obstacles that make up the randomly generated courses in the game, you’ll encounter colored barriers. If you attempt to fly through these barriers when your ship’s color does not match the color of the barrier, you are toast. This means you not only have to pay attention to the usual obstacles in your path but also the color of the barriers in order to change your ship accordingly.

It is quite tricky initially, and the fact that some obstacles react to your ship’s color doesn’t make things any easier. For example, a stationary obstacle might start moving as soon as you switch your ship’s color, which means you have to pay attention to your surroundings. Pressing both color-switching buttons will “merge” your ship’s colors, allowing you to pass barriers that are a mixture of both colors. The biggest challenge in the game is carefully weaving through obstacles at high speeds while reacting fast enough to the upcoming barriers. Until you hone your reflexes, it can be frustrating to crash into obstacles because you switched to the wrong color or weren’t fast enough to react to the switch. Practice makes perfect, though, and since the levels are made up of patterns, you can learn to recognize obstacle sequences, which makes things a little easier.

NeXus: One Core can be played either solo or co-op, but both share the same game modes. Survival is the most basic mode, where you aim to make it as far as possible before your luck runs out. In “Collect” mode, there are color-coded items on the level that can only be grabbed if your ship is the same color. Finally, life mode gives you three lives instead of the usual one chance to see how far you can get. Initially, only the “Easy” difficulty setting is available for each mode, but as you hit certain milestones, you unlock the normal, hard, and “Nexus” settings. Along the way, you’ll also unlock four new ships to pilot.

As much fun as the game is in solo mode, the co-op mode really sets it apart. It can be played locally or using Steam Remote Play Together, and it provides each player with a colored ship. Players cannot switch colors as in the solo mode, so they must carefully choose the correct barriers to fly through. However, players must merge their ships to pass through when a mixed-color barrier approaches. Since players are both in control of the merged ship, this can lead to pandemonium, and the co-op mode definitely has a more frantic feel. It takes teamwork to get anywhere, but it is really a lot of fun.

Visually, the game looks pretty good, but to ensure that you can see what is happening at all times, there are no crazy special effects. You can customize your ship’s colors, so if certain color combinations stand out more to you than others, you are free to use these instead of the default blue and yellow. Obviously, when you switch the colors of your ship, the barrier colors also reflect these changes. In addition to selecting the resolution and visual quality of the game, you can enable or disable motion blur, SSAO, and anti-aliasing. NeXus: One Core might not look as flashy as some other games, but it does have a nice futuristic look, with plenty of glow and light trails.

The game soundtrack consists of some nice electronic music, which matches the fast-paced gameplay. Although you cannot use your own music in the game, you can manage the included playlist to ensure you only hear the tracks you like. While we were unfamiliar with the music by Evil Zebra Destroyer, Tall Ships, Laszlo, and the others included in the soundtrack, the songs never became annoying or obtrusive. Thankfully, the music also doesn’t stop and restart each time you die, which is something we really dislike in this genre. Using a controller to maneuver your spaceship is highly recommended, and a couple of controllers definitely make things a little easier in the co-op mode. Moving the ship around is handled with the analog stick, while the shoulder buttons are used for switching colors. You can also perform a dash move, which allows your ship to quickly cover a short distance and is ideal for dodging unexpected obstacles. Tracks are always set in a straight line, but thanks to the layout of the obstacles, your ship will be moving sideways a lot, which makes the dash move very handy.

Players who demand a story mode or easy games to have fun might find NeXus: One Core a little too unforgiving. The game definitely requires quick reflexes and persistence, especially if you want to have a shot at the leaderboards. Death is a frequent occurrence, but thanks to how quickly you can restart and get back in the game, it definitely has that “just one more try” factor. The randomized elements also mean that the replay value is quite high, and of course, the co-op mode is a must for anyone who enjoys gaming with friends.

*Review originally published in 2015.