MADNESS: Project Nexus

"'MADNESS: Project Nexus is a third-person Run n' Gun / Beat'Em Up filled with arcade-style action and button-mashing brutality. Shoot, stab, bash, chop, and slaughter your way through over 16 hours of intense combat. Your wits will be challenged. Your nerves will be tested. Blood will probably get all over everything... what a day to leave your raincoat at home! But that's alright. Wading through the dismembered remnants of those who fell to your bullets and steel, only one thing crosses your mind: They asked for this. And you're glad that they did.' - Steam Store Page"

The Game
MADNESS: Project Nexus (originally Madness Project Nexus 2) is a singleplayer, 3D third-person Run n’ Gun / Beat’Em Up shooter game created by Gibbing Tree. It is a sequel to the original Flash game, Madness: Project Nexus Classic. MADNESS: Project Nexus revolves around the Flash series, Madness Combat. It is a violent, action animation series with the main character being Hank J. Wimbleton.

The game was in development for 7 years, with only 2 main developers working on the game. There was also a Kickstarter related to the game, however it barely reached its goal. It is run in the engine Unity, unlike its Flash game. The models, art, textures, everything related to graphics were made by Matt Jolly. The programming was handled by Michael Swain.

There is an official Discord server and Twitter for the game.

There are 4 modes currently implemented into the game: Story Campaign, Arena Combat, The Playground, and Training. Story and Arena mode contain around 8+ hours of playable content.

Content
The objective in this game shifts each room. Some you must clear, some you must kill a certain amount of enemies, and some you have to complete puzzles. Using your fists, melee weapons, or guns, you can execute any enemy in any way.

Your health is in the form of Corpus Blocks. They are red blocks that get damaged when you get hit. When it is destroyed, you lose a Corpus Block. When there is no more Corpus Blocks, you die.

4 gameplay difficulties exist:


 * Tourist - The easiest difficulty in the game. All enemies are significantly easy to kill, and deal less damage. Every gun contains 2 magazines, and Corpus boxes heal all of your Corpus. Description: "We didn't call this difficulty "Baby Mode" because we don't want to shame players for wanting to experience the game without the stress of intense combat and failure looming over them. We made this game for everyone to enjoy any way that they like.  But yeah, this difficulty is for teensy little babies."


 * Normal - The standard, default difficulty in the game. Enemies have decent health. Guns found in lockers or boxes have one and a half magazines. Corpus boxes still fill you up all the way. Description: "The recommended difficulty for most players. Make no mistake: enemies will be challenging and the combat will be fierce. The pacing, however, will give you just enough time to breathe. Don't expect an easy ride."


 * Tough - The "hardest" difficulty in the game, next to Madness. Enemies have improved Corpus, making them harder to kill. Only one magazine is found in guns in lockers or boxes. Corpus boxes only heal one Corpus, too.   Description: "The difficulty of choice for experienced players. Steer away from this challenge rating if you haven't notarized your living will. You probably won't stand a chance against the merciless bloodlust of your enemies, but we're secretly rooting for you."


 * Madness - The ultimate, hardest difficulty in the game that can only be unlocked by beating the stage on Tough. This difficulty is close to the Madness animations. Every enemy loses a Corpus in a few hits, including you. All guns have no spare magazines. Corpus boxes only heal one Corpus. Description: "If you've got a deathwish and seek to fulfill the deathwishes of others, this is our recommended level of difficulty. You and your opponents have dramatically reduced health, and enemies will be relentless. Expect them to hold nothing back. Only available on stages you've completed on Tough difficulty."

Story Campaign
"Take the reigns of the antiheroes of the Madness universe! Infiltrate heavily guarded installations, survive cultist-ridden tunnel networks, fight back against dynamite-wielding cannibal bandits, and dodge the grasp of armor-plated Mag Agents over three times your size...all while unearthing the terrible secrets of Project Nexus itself.

Play solo or locally with up to three other people (using Xbox-compatible controllers)." - Store Description

There are currently 19 stages and 7 "hubs" included in the game.


 * The Outskirts
 * The Escape
 * Power Play
 * Road to Nexus City
 * Industrial Sector
 * Warehouse Raid
 * Boom Factory
 * The Station Fortres
 * Residential Sector
 * Inner City
 * Beat the Streets
 * The Scenic Route
 * Commercial District
 * Seeking Asylum
 * Sleeper Labs (M:PN)
 * Deep Storage


 * Mining Sector
 * Flood Control
 * Chasms
 * The Last Leg
 * Science Tower
 * Base Jumping
 * Shakedown
 * Climb
 * The Rush
 * Abandoned Sector
 * No Levels

There are multiple playable characters, such as:


 * Hank J. Wimbleton
 * Sanford
 * Deimos
 * Jebediah Christoff

Arena Combat
"Build your custom warrior from the ground up! You'll advance through specialized skill tiers and train a unique Madness warrior who is equipped to take on wave after wave of never-ending badguys in combat environments that range from killer game shows to haunted houses to high speed trains. Build your own custom weapons and outfit them with the latest technology to give yourself the edge you're going to need to pull through." - Store Description

As you work under Doc's hands, you have your own tasks to do. Build your own Agency, complete missions, and KILL people. Soon enough, it will be time to Enmesh the Mandatus...

Arena Mode takes place in Nevada Central, where murder is common and the streets are bright. You play as a character that YOU get to choose. First, you choose an origin, with certain skills and unique traits. Customizing, weapons, training, it's all up to you. Soon enough, you'll be an unstoppable killing machine, but you might have to give it all away someday.

There are 3 current level types:


 * Battle Rooms - Survive and kill a set amount of enemies.
 * Siege - Defend the objective from an incoming swarm of enemies.
 * Infiltration - Clear the rooms of enemies and sweep out the entire area.

Including 9 Origins to choose from:


 * Noob
 * Undercover agent
 * Experiment
 * Mercenary
 * Patient
 * Disquieted (1 Imprint Required)
 * Offering (1 Imprint Required)
 * Tinkerer (2 Imprints Required)
 * Massive (2 Imprints Required)

The Playground
"Play god in a secure combat environment and pit squads of bad guys against one another for your own satisfaction. Toss them any weapons you like, or have them go at it with their bare fists. Or, jump down into the fray yourself and show them who's boss!" - Store Description

Spawn 1 Grunt, spawn a huge Mag Agent, who would win? Of course, the Mag Agent would win! That's what Playground is for!

In The Playground, you can spawn ANY unit in the game. (well, mostly.) You can also spawn any weapon you'd like, from a BNP-9 to a goddamn Minigun, the choice is yours! And guess what? You can become any character as well! Wanna be a grunt? Hell yeah! Wanna be Burger Gil? Why the hell not?! Wanna become god of the universe? You can do that!

Training
A distorted memory of Madness Combat 2 and 3. Fight through the AAHW in what looks to be the scenery of Madness Combat 2, and kill the Sheriff.

Training Mode teaches you the basic fundamentals of the game. Stuff like shooting, attacking, blocking, dual wielding, etc. is taught in the Training Mode. It goes through a map based off of Madness Combat 2.