Nex Machina

88%
Game Brain Score Based on 873 reviews
  • music
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Nex Machina Game Cover
Available on PS4 (version reviewed), PCCalling Nex Machina a retro arcade shoot ‘em up doesn’t really do it justice.
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Nex Machina is a modern, cablepunk-themed twin-stick shooter by Housemarque, where you must save humans from robot overlords through intense arcade-style action. With destruction powered by voxel technology and inspired by classics like Robotron, blast your way through waves of machines and compete for high scores. The fate of humanity rests in your shooter skills – can you rise to the challenge?

  • PC
  • Phone
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Windows
  • Cloud
  • NVIDIA GeForce NOW
  • Play​Station
  • Tablet
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

88%
Audience ScoreBased on 873 reviews
music149 positive mentions
story8 negative mentions
  • Nex Machina is a visually stunning twin-stick shooter with vibrant graphics and a fantastic synthwave soundtrack that enhances the gameplay experience.
  • The gameplay is fast-paced and addictive, offering a challenging yet rewarding experience that encourages players to improve their skills and aim for high scores.
  • The game features a variety of power-ups and secrets to discover, adding depth and replayability to the overall experience.
  • The game lacks a save feature, requiring players to complete the entire arcade mode in one sitting, which can be frustrating for those with limited playtime.
  • Some players have reported issues with mouse aiming, as the lack of a visible cursor can make it difficult to aim accurately during intense gameplay.
  • The game can feel overwhelming at times due to the sheer number of visual effects and projectiles on screen, making it hard to track enemies and avoid damage.
  • music218 mentions

    The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its energetic synthwave soundtrack that perfectly complements the fast-paced gameplay and vibrant visuals. Players describe the soundtrack as "fantastic," "phenomenal," and "one of the best," enhancing the overall arcade experience and keeping the adrenaline flowing throughout. The combination of catchy tunes and immersive sound effects contributes significantly to the game's appeal, making it a standout feature for many players.

    • “The soundtrack is a fun pumping synthwave score that complements the classic arcade sound effects, a theme that permeates all of Nex Machina as the levels oscillate with a grid that ripples and warps the HD environment.”
    • “The music is absolutely fantastic, the eye candy on the screen is just a marvel and gameplay is superb.”
    • “Nex Machina is a fast-paced twin-stick shooter with some incredible synthwave soundtracks to enjoy while playing.”
    • “The music is extremely hard trying to be the Furi soundtrack but lacks the atmospheric breathing space that Furi had.”
    • “This game just tries to have that killer vibe with the motorcycle helmet, the music, but the enemies are boring, uninspiring generic machines.”
    • “I wasn't as impressed by the graphics as I could've been, but it's quite hypnotic, the music is deep and fulfilling, and the stage and menu transitions are pure slickness.”
  • gameplay197 mentions

    The gameplay of Nex Machina is characterized by its fast-paced, addictive twin-stick shooter mechanics that evoke a classic arcade feel, featuring tight controls and a chaotic yet rewarding gameplay loop. Players engage in intense action, navigating through waves of enemies while utilizing power-ups and strategic movement, although the steep difficulty and lack of tutorials can pose challenges for newcomers. Overall, the game combines stunning visuals and a pulsating soundtrack with a deep scoring system, making it a compelling experience for fans of the genre.

    • “The gameplay captures that classical arcade feel as you unleash a constant stream of energy pellets into wave after wave of enemies spawning in geometric patterns, using your dash to reposition, collecting power-ups, and dropping smart bombs when you're cornered.”
    • “This game can boast balanced gameplay and thought-out mechanics: the movement is fluid, the secondary attacks are diverse, and everything that happens is clearly telegraphed to the player.”
    • “The gameplay loop encourages experimenting to find the most optimal path through each level/enemy wave for maximum speed and scoring opportunities.”
    • “The aiming mechanic is terrible for a mouse (no crosshair), fps is locked at 60 and alt+tab doesn't work properly.”
    • “Boring and soulless, it's a fantastic demo of a beautiful graphics engine but the gameplay quickly falls into a boring been there done that lump of clay.”
    • “There's no reason for it to not include a 'save progress' option and let you keep the weapon you like, you run around picking different weapons and losing the ones you really like, the game is so fast you have no time to read or think what you're picking, the gameplay is extremely short (only 5 worlds that you need to complete in one run in order to unlock them).”
  • graphics193 mentions

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their stunning, colorful, and imaginative design, often described as "eye-candy" that enhances the overall experience. Many reviewers highlight the impressive voxel graphics and particle effects, which contribute to a vibrant and chaotic visual style that complements the fast-paced gameplay. However, some players note that the graphical intensity can occasionally overwhelm the screen, making it difficult to track action, and there are mentions of performance issues on lower-end systems.

    • “The graphical style is explosive, imaginative, exciting eye-candy that never grows old. It's like painting with video game graphics every time you play, but from a new perspective.”
    • “The visuals are incredible and the upgrades really make this special.”
    • “Fast-paced twin-stick shooter with slick neon graphics and great techno music.”
    • “The game runs poorly even with 'proper' launch options and graphical settings set to low.”
    • “Poor graphics quality, fake 4k resolution stretched from 1080p.”
    • “Graphic options are bare bones and even with maxed out settings the game is blurry as if the rendering is not at 100% resolution.”
  • replayability39 mentions

    Overall, the reviews highlight a mixed but generally positive view on replayability. Many players appreciate the high replay value due to various difficulty levels, secrets to uncover, and competitive score-chasing elements, particularly in arcade-style games. However, some critics note that a lack of diverse modes or content can limit long-term engagement, suggesting that while replayability is strong for high-score enthusiasts, it may not appeal to all players.

    • “I would argue Assault Android Cactus still manages to remain king of the genre due to its elegant, demanding yet fair design, but also its sheer replay value and skill ceiling.”
    • “✔️ Highly replayable with many secrets to uncover, adding further world mastery as you learn new paths & scoring strategies.”
    • “The small number of worlds are endlessly replayable and the competitive nature of the leaderboards will keep you coming back for weeks to come.”
    • “1.) Skimpy on modes to add variety and replayability.”
    • “Unless you like chasing a high score number, the game doesn't last that long or have that much replayability.”
    • “The only replay value here is about score breaking and I'm just not into that.”
  • story30 mentions

    The game's story is minimal and largely non-existent, revolving around a simplistic premise of a nameless hero battling a robot uprising to save humans. Players seeking a meaningful narrative or campaign will be disappointed, as the focus is primarily on fast-paced arcade-style gameplay with no cutscenes or deep plot development. Overall, the game caters to those who prioritize action and high scores over storytelling.

    • “I came here for the gripping story.”
    • “Interesting story behind this game.”
    • “Nex Machina is one of those rare games, which keeps a sliver of background story to give some context to the world, but throws out pretty much everything video games have borrowed from the movies.”
    • “The story of the game is... well, I guess it's something along the lines of machines being bad, shoot them until they die?”
    • “If you're rather interested in a story or a campaign, this game is probably not for you.”
    • “There's no story, there's no cut-scenes, you're thrown right into it from the start riding your lightcycle off a small cliff and you start shooting relentlessly until everything is dead.”
  • optimization13 mentions

    Overall, optimization for the game varies significantly among users. While some report excellent performance on higher-end PCs, achieving smooth frame rates and minimal issues, others criticize the lack of optimization on platforms like the Steam Deck and note bugs and control problems that detract from the experience. The game shows potential for great performance, but inconsistencies in optimization across different systems have led to mixed reviews.

    • “On my now a bit older PC, it runs fluid enough not to give me any problems and is well optimized considering how much stuff happens.”
    • “Fantastic buttery performance with a near locked 165fps at 1440p on a 1080ti/4790k.”
    • “Performance wise, it runs easily at a solid 60 on my decent i7 and a 1060, and goes much higher if you unlock it.”
    • “Optimization on Steam Deck, for example, is simply nonexistent.”
    • “Bugs not optimized, no mouse control, some obstacles feel like they're not there until you bump into them; it's just a mess. Tried to like this game, but it's not worth the price, even on sale.”
    • “Overclocked just for smoother performance.”
  • atmosphere8 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its stunning visuals, dynamic sound design, and immersive soundtrack, effectively creating a vibrant and engaging experience. However, some reviewers note that the overall design feels repetitive and lacks depth, with suggestions for a more balanced color palette to enhance the mood. While the arcade vibe is strong, comparisons to other titles indicate that it may fall short in delivering a truly atmospheric experience.

    • “I haven't played so much with it yet, but in the first minutes it becomes obvious that this shooter is beautiful in visuals, great in sounds, ultra-great music, and is a very dynamic and atmospheric shooter!”
    • “Amazing atmosphere; the game is pretty and the soundtrack really sets the mood.”
    • “Dystopian robotic cyberpunk theme - the game is dripping with atmosphere.”
    • “This game is already reliant on bright colors to draw you in and create the game's atmosphere, but there needs to be more dark colors in here as well to offset that.”
    • “Huge focus on the arcade atmosphere.”
  • stability5 mentions

    Overall, the game's stability is mixed; while many users report smooth performance and minimal issues, particularly on certain hardware, there are notable bugs and sloppiness in the online features and profile customization that detract from the experience.

    • “It runs great on my Ryzen 2400G with Vega 11.”
    • “It runs great and there are little to no problems with performance.”
    • “Runs great, looks great, is great... get on it!”
    • “As far as the bad, the online portion and profile customization parts of the game are sloppy and buggy and feel thrown together.”
  • grinding3 mentions

    Reviews indicate that grinding in the game is minimal, as players are encouraged to focus on achieving high scores rather than repetitive tasks. While the linear maps limit replayability, the game offers a rewarding experience through player accomplishments and a traditional leveling system, making it less about grinding and more about skill improvement. Overall, it’s seen as a great option for quick play sessions or cooperative gameplay.

    • “No grinding, just constant aiming for the next high score. Nex Machina is a fantastic choice if you've got 10 minutes to kill or if you've got a friend to play co-op mode with.”
    • “The linear maps will prevent replayability, and while aiming to beat the game on harder difficulties can present some replayability, it will get tedious sooner rather than later.”
    • “On top of this, you have a player profile with a level and associated currency: old-school style. This isn't some free-to-play currency that you can top up with cash, and the only way to make significant gains is through significant accomplishments. You don't get much for just grinding without any improvement.”
  • humor2 mentions

    The humor in the game is characterized by its fast-paced and amusing gameplay, complemented by a cool original soundtrack. Players particularly enjoy the hilarious fanboy responses, adding to the overall comedic experience.

    • “Fast-paced and funny gameplay with a cool soundtrack.”
    • “Wow, the fanboy response is hilarious.”
  • monetization2 mentions

    Reviews highlight significant concerns regarding monetization, particularly in paid games that incorporate microtransactions, which often lead to artificially inflated grind and a pay-to-win model. Players express frustration over technical issues, such as missing executables, and feel that these practices undermine the integrity of the game and its series.

    • “In special cases, a game's plot or progression can be negatively impacted if it's a paid game with microtransactions. The grind may be artificially inflated to incentivize players to purchase microtransactions, especially for cosmetic items.”
    • “In special cases, a game's plot or progression can be negatively impacted if it's a paid game with microtransactions. The grind is likely artificially inflated to incentivize players to purchase microtransactions, especially for cosmetic items.”
    • “Pay-to-win cash grabs, missing executables, and the game not starting are widespread issues. This shows a total disrespect for the integrity of the game's series and its customers.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

85% average critic score

Buy Nex Machina

Play time

58hMedian play time
44hAverage play time
15-72hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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