Sometimes, a game comes along that feels perfectly fitted to your tastes, and yet you somehow had no idea it even existed. It leaves you wondering how it managed to fly so completely under your radar. Nitro Gen Omega, developed by DESTINYbit and published by Beep Japan, is one of those games for me. 

Set in the distant future, humanity once fought a great war against machines. We lost. Now, the world below is ruled by these robotic forces, while the last remnants of civilisation survive in sprawling cities suspended high above the ground. In this bleak post-apocalyptic society, mercenaries risk their lives battling the machines in hopes of carving out a living. To everyone else, they’re known as “Fools”. A name given to those who still think they can survive this dying world.

To be blunt: surviving is difficult. It has a deep combat system that will absolutely punish you if you fail to pay attention. Simplified, it comes down to two phases: the planning phase and the resolution phase. And much like its name, you need to focus on the planning to win these fights. Unlike other tactical RPGs, such as Fire Emblem, which use grid-like arenas, Nitro Gen Omega instead uses a compass-style arena split into four zones.

Your mech occupies one of these zones, while the enemies sit in another; both of you can move freely between them. During the planning phase, you assign actions to your crew, carefully choosing different attacks such as rockets or the mech’s guns, defensive manoeuvres like smoke grenades, scans, and movement options between the zones.

A lot of my strategy came from baiting enemy manoeuvres to avoid their movement to minimise damage, especially against agile enemies. Once these decisions are locked in on the timeline, the resolution phase begins, and every action plays out stylishly.

Your mech itself is operated by four crew roles: a pilot, an engineer, a gunner, and an operator, with each serving an important task during combat. The pilot obviously steers the ship, the gunner uses the weapons, for example. Success depends heavily on how well you utilise each role, which is why the game punishes careless decision-making. This said, I do think Nitro Gen Omega risks losing some players early on. The combat systems are dense, the tutorials can feel a little overwhelming, and there’s definitely a learning curve before the mechanics fully make sense.

A few different mechs are available: The Monki, the starter mech. It’s quite balanced and is a great way to learn. Then there are the Ocelot and the Patriot, which can be unlocked via side quests. Both of these mechs have very different playstyle mechanics, but the stability-focused Ocelot was an added challenge; when it worked, the revolver cannon made combat a breeze.

The game also gives players a decent amount of freedom with their crew. There’s a custom character creator in the main menu that lets you shape your squad the way you want, and as you progress, you can hire additional members to replace your injured crew. That last point becomes important quickly because, as I mentioned, this is not a forgiving game. Crew members can suffer injuries during missions, and if things go really badly, they can die permanently.

Outside of combat, your mech requires constant upkeep via scrap that you obtain when victorious in combat. Aboard your airship, supplies are essential to keeping the ship operational, which can be found at the many outposts you’ll stop by on your journey. Each outpost usually has different vendors where a variety of items can be bought. These include mech upgrades, games or books that, when used by your crew, upgrade their abilities. Fixers offer side quests that, when completed, give you valuable resources.

On your airship, you can spend activity tokens on additional ship interactions, too, and these systems ended up being more enjoyable than I expected. Head to the gym and let two characters do yoga to bond and boost their happiness, or work out with weights to reduce fatigue. Upstairs, there is a spot for characters to chill out with a book or game, or play some guitar to boost happiness as well. 

Nitro Gen Omega oozes style thanks to its art direction, blending anime character designs with crazy animations and really solid UI work that I haven’t seen since a game like Persona. Whether it’s the dramatic pre-combat cinematics or simply watching your crew relax on the ship, there’s a strong sense of personality throughout the entire experience. The soundtrack complements this perfectly, too, with a surprisingly chill score that has that JRPG feeling.

Nitro Gen Omega is a stylish tactical RPG with a beautiful art design, a slick UI and amazing animations. However, I can see some players being turned away by having to learn the many combat systems it throws at you, even if it’s fun once you get used to it. Overall, I still think this game is worth your time. 

Written by: Dylan Kocins