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MADNESS: Project Nexus

MADNESS: Project Nexus

GIBBING TREE, LLC · released Sep 28, 2021

ActionIndiePC

MADNESS: Project Nexus is a third-person Run n' Gun / Beat'Em Up filled with arcade-style action and button-mashing brutality. Gun your way through droves of bad guys in the Story Campaign, or build your perfect killing machine in the neverending onslaught of Arena Mode.

Steam page ↗Metacritic · users 8.8 ↗
89
VGC Score
■Stablehigh confidence

anchored at patch: “Auditor Plush & Shirt + Development Sitrep!” (6mo ago)

92%
At launch
97%
Steam all-time
n/a
Press
81%
Player sentiment
96%
Recent sentiment

Screenshots & trailers

Review sentiment over time

Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.

How this score was computed

The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.

ComponentPositiveQuality (0-100)Weight (pseudo-reviews)
Press reviews (Metacritic)––0
All-time Steam reviews97%931000
Metacritic user ratings–929
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)96%91965
Calibration prior (typical game)–7250

Acclaim gate: the raw blend lands at 91.2, but scores above 88 must be earned in front of a mass audience; this verdict rests on 17,572 player reviews, a largely self-selected fanbase. As more players weigh in, the ceiling rises (full scale unlocks at 100,000 reviews).

Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Feb 16, 2026) · 300 reviews sampled · 965 total reviews in window · weighted 247.7 up / 8.3 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →

Patch history

  1. Beta Branch Update v2.19.a Update
    Apr 15, 2026
  2. Auditor Plush & Shirt + Development Sitrep!
    Feb 16, 2026significant · resets scoring window
  3. Full Release v1.10.a Update
    Feb 16, 2026
  4. Full Release [1.08.e] Update
    Dec 20, 2024
  5. Beta Patch v2.13.l
    Dec 19, 2024
  6. Beta v.2.13.j Update
    Dec 9, 2024
  7. Beta v.2.13.a Update
    Oct 1, 2024
  8. Beta Update v.2.12.a
    Sep 17, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  9. Beta v2.11.l Update
    Aug 30, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  10. Beta Update v.2.11.g
    Jul 10, 2024
  11. Full Release Build v.1.08.d Updated!
    Jun 28, 2024
  12. Beta Update v.2.11.f
    Jun 28, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  13. Beta Update v2.11.e
    Jun 7, 2024
  14. Beta v2.11.a: "The Modding Update"
    May 24, 2024
  15. Beta Patch [2.10.e]
    Oct 3, 2023
  16. Beta Branch v.2.10.d Update
    Sep 27, 2023
  17. Beta Patch v1.09.c
    Jul 12, 2023
  18. Full Release Patch 1.08.c
    Jun 12, 2023
  19. Release Build Patch v1.08.b
    Apr 17, 2023
  20. M.12 Flak Gun + Update (v1.08.a)
    Apr 14, 2023
  21. S-3LF Eater Release Patch (v1.07.b)
    Apr 12, 2023
  22. Legacy of the S-3LF Eater + Game Update
    Apr 11, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  23. Release Build 1.06.b Update!
    Dec 27, 2022
  24. Beta 2.07.c Patch
    Dec 20, 2022significant · resets scoring window
  25. Spooky Update!
    Nov 2, 2022
  26. Release Patch 1.05.d
    Oct 9, 2022
  27. Full Release [1.05.c] Update!
    Oct 3, 2022significant · resets scoring window
  28. Release Update [1.05.b]
    Aug 22, 2022significant · resets scoring window
  29. Beta [2.06.g] Patch Notes
    Jul 11, 2022
  30. Update: Beta [2.06.d]
    Jul 7, 2022significant · resets scoring window
  31. Full Release [1.05.a]: The Magiturge Origin
    Jun 23, 2022
  32. Beta [2.05.v] Patch
    Jun 22, 2022
  33. (BIG) Beta Branch Update [2.05.u]
    Jun 20, 2022significant · resets scoring window
  34. Beta Update [2.04.e] (Featuring Cloud Saving!)
    Mar 30, 2022significant · resets scoring window
  35. Patch Notes: Release Build v1.03.b
    Jan 13, 2022
  36. New Arena Stage: The Heist!
    Jan 8, 2022significant · resets scoring window
  37. Full Release [v.1.02.a] + Beta [v.2.02.a]
    Oct 31, 2021
  38. Beta [2.01.r] Patch Notes
    Oct 25, 2021
  39. Full Release Patch v.1.01.e
    Oct 18, 2021significant · resets scoring window
  40. Beta [2.01.o] Patch Notes
    Oct 15, 2021significant · resets scoring window

…and 25 earlier patch announcements.