The indie section of PAX always has a wide array of different types of games going for it. This PAX Aus 2024, I was eager to find some visual novel goodness. Artificial Nexus is more than what I needed to scratch that itch.
Artificial Nexus comes from Too Many Teeth Studios, a Melbourne-based developer that’s no stranger to narrative-based affairs. Last year, they released The Many Deaths of Lily Kosen, an engaging and eerie visual novel that had players fighting off their demons. That prior foray was purely text and narrative choices and nothing else. This new title is more ambitious, adding a more involved story and point-and-click elements.
You are Susan, a green-haired amnesiac woman who has woken up in a mysterious complex following a rest in a coffin-like pod. Only scarcely remembering your name and not much else about yourself or how you got there, you’re to escape this building and get answers. What awaits is a classic escape room situation.
Even being on the busy and packed PAX Aus 2024 show floor, Artificial Nexus is a title that reeled me in and muted everything else going on around me. You go about a series of rooms, inspecting and interacting with objects, finding clues and items to go about progressing through the building and finding more of the mystery within. For another character to bounce off of, Susan can refer to Hank, another figure she talks to over a telecom to help her uncover the mystery. Unlike Lily Kosen prior, Artificial Nexus also has voice acting for its cast.
Artificial Nexus comparisons and inspirations can certainly be drawn to the beloved Zero Escape series, a franchise of escape room visual novel titles. A developer from Too Many Teeth Studios confirmed as much. I’m quite curious to see where the game goes and am entirely there along for the ride with Susan to piece the mystery together.
Something entirely novel is a moment where Susan notes a fire extinguisher to potentially help her with her escape. The only problem is she forgets what they’re called, instead nominating her own name for it. In the current demo, you can name the fire extinguisher. Play it at PAX Aus 2024 and you can vote for what the final nickname for it will be in the game. I’ve got my fingers crossed for my vote in Ruby Red.
Artificial Nexus’ demo can also currently be played on Steam. The developer tells me the full release will come sometime in the first quarter of 2025 and has been in development for about a year. Stay tuned for more PAX Aus 2024 goodness.
About the Author
Charlie Kelly
She/Her, They/Them
Charlie loves her video games as much as she loves dumb, charming JRPG protagonists: probably way too much. You can often catch her spending too much time being emotional over LGBT stories in games. She also thinks Yakuza 6 is the best one.
