STACK #202 Aug 2021

GAMING REVIEWS

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MARIO GOLF: SUPER RUSH

SPORT MULTIPLAYER

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Seven years is a long time between rounds, but Mario – and a bunch of his Mushroom Kingdom friends and foes – are back on course in Mario Golf: Super Rush . For a pastime that’s simple – grab a stick and whack a ball towards a goal – there are several options. There’s old school

18-hole golf, but also gamed-up experiences such as the titular ‘Super Rush’, involving speed rounds against four opponents (human or CPU). Teeing off

and Bob-ombs can be utilised – nab three flags and sweet victory is yours. There are also pursuits purely for solo golfers, including ‘Golf Adventure’. This is a classically styled JRPG-light as you create (or import) a Mii character and gradually level them up and unlock stuff, through completing increasingly difficult challenges that also serve as golf lessons. Swing controls are simple – emulate in real life via Joy-Con or stab a button – while outside forces that affect real-life golf are in play. Weather, the roll of the green, plus many Nintendo-exclusive hazards all hinder sending that ball exactly where you want it to go. If you’re after a golf game that values fun over po-faced simulation, then it’s hard to beat Mario Golf: Super Rush . While it delivers a decent single player experience, it’s in multiplayer where it really shines. AF

IS THERE MUSH ROOM FOR MORE? Once unlocked, there are six quite varied – from lush greens to desert to the woods – courses to play with, and more are promised down the track via free updates, along with more playable characters.

together, you thwack that ball, run after it, thwack it again and sink the putt the quickest. Each character has a special move, and bonuses such as coins and life hearts dot the greens – this is, after all, a Nintendo game! ‘Battle Golf’ also takes an all-in approach, but on one nine-hole course variation on classic ‘Capture the Flag’ within the rowdy Super Golf Stadium. Everything from humble bananas to not even remotely humble Thwomps

SCARLET NEXUS

ACTION RPG MULTIPLAYER

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Welcome to the hot new cyberpunk subgenre ‘brainpunk’, and a world where psychic-powered Japanese teenagers battle against dadaist-esque hordes of brain-eating monsters. As newly accepted members of the Other Suppression Force (OSF), Yuito Sumeragi and Kasane Randall are tasked with defending

the citizens of New Himuka from attacks by the Others – a bizarre and unpredictably weird looking

narrative remains shrouded in mystery until completing run throughs as both characters.

SHARING IS CARING! Fighting alongside other OSF members means you can call on them to temporarily share their psychic abilities with you, tweaking your fighting style by adding a burn effect to your weapons, upping your defence, or even exposing invisible enemies and secrets.

group of monsters who came from the sky. They descend on the city from the extinction belt, an atmospheric phenomenon that humanity tracks, allowing the government to forecast attacks. After assaults from the Others become more unpredictable, and internal struggles within the OSF blow wide open, the world of Scarlet Nexus is thrown into complete disarray, pitting each protagonist on opposing sides. After choosing to play as either Yuito or Kasane at the game’s opening, much of Scarlet Nexus ’ broader

Yuito and Kasane each have psychokinetic abilities, allowing them to whip objects around at great speed, turning things like fridges and cars into homing projectiles during combat. Trust us, you do not want to fight these kids! Our two protagonists can also dish out physical attacks, and enter into an uber-psychic mode. After unlocking a few upgrades for increased combos and extra mobility, Scarlet Nexus ’ combat starts to take on a satisfyingly crunchy flow, with attacks moving you around the combat arena in a way that has just the right amount of choreography. Weaving together these two types of attack feels wonderfully seamless, astoundingly satisfying, and it’s the game’s biggest success. Character action games live and die on their combat systems, and in that regard, Scarlet Nexus is positively electrifying. NK

42 AUGUST 2021

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