Scarlet Nexus’ Bond Enhancement Packs Provide Must-Experience Character Interactions

The Bandai Namco developed Scarlet Nexus has been consistently receiving an impressive degree of post-launch support. Aside from adding more gameplay avenues such as additional quests and combative tools, some paid content has added brand-new bonding episodes. So far, the first 2 of 3 Bond Enhancement packs have been released, and I recently dove into what they contain. Needless to say, I was quite satisfied with what was delivered, though the pricing and a few other factors might turn off some players.

The following impressions does include SPOILERS.

It’s difficult to discuss the contents of these packs without spoiling the new bond episodes, the true highlight of these DLCs. To generalize them, I was in love with the numerous interactions these new episodes provided. Both Yuito’s and Kasane’s stories have new bonding sequences, with a primary highlight being shared events with 2 other characters, making for 3-person interactions. Unlikely duos are depicted in this new direction, such as Luka and Shiden with Yuito. The former 2 party members weren’t all that close throughout the main game, but they managed to build a believable dynamic and rapport throughout this added sequence.

Expected duos are also present, such as Tsugumi and Kagero, though they face a compelling dilemma that I was glad to see addressed. Every one of these events felt purposeful and meaningful in their intended messages, truly realizing the cast to extents the main game did not manage to reach. Yuito and Kasane also have qualitative one-on-one time, leading to flashbacks of Naomi and Nagi. To be honest, it genuinely irks me that these scenes were not present throughout the main game because they really feel like they belonged there. Still, Naomi is a character that especially needed more screentime, so seeing that occur here was thrilling. Moreover, seeing Yuito and Kasane have to confront the reality of their deaths again was welcome. Even though they acknowledged those tragedies in the base game, this needed introspection was highly appreciated.

Completing these newly acquired bonding episodes gives players wholesome new artwork, neat cosmetics, and beneficial SAS abilities, so they’re worth your while on all fronts. However, it is worth noting that accessing these DLC bonding episodes requires item exchanging in the shop. That means there’s going to definitely be some grinding. Granted, it’s relatively lenient in amount, and it didn’t take me all that long, but still, that might annoy select players who solely desire to view the events. If you fall into that camp, you’re likely better off just viewing the scenes on Youtube.

I do genuinely believe the quality of added events here is worth the money, though. If you want to purchase these packs, I highly advise buying the Season Pass ($19.99) since it is cheaper than buying each Bond Enhancement pack individually. Bond Enhancement packs 1 and 2 are currently released ($7.99 each), with a third in the works for a presently undisclosed release date.

Scarlet Nexus is set in the distant future, where a psionic hormone has been discovered in the human brain. This leads to people gaining extra-sensory powers and thus changing the world. Humanity entered a new era, but deranged mutants known as Others began to descend from the sky with a hunger for human brains.

These enemies aren’t affected by mortal weapons, so humanity is forced to rely on those with abilities to save the world. Players take on the role of Yuito Sumeragi or Kasane Randall to uncover the mysteries of a Brain Punk future caught between technological dependence and psychic abilities.

In case you missed it, check out our review.

View how dedicated the game’s director is to sharing his love for the title.