Now this is a video game in its purest form. The splash screens are like 5 seconds at most and then it's right to the incredible intro sequence. The story is interesting with the world being full of intrigue. Even if your relationship with your old cohorts relies on amnesia as a plot device which brings it down a little bit, you still have what is going on in the afterlife to ponder on. Working around the VN portraits that maybe would have benefitted from a few more poses, the artwork is really good. On top of that the voicework is fantastic, with Steve Blum in the lead as Neon White which any time he does his Spike Spiegel voice is good, and an ensemble talent to accompany him. I wouldn't say I was completely emotionally invested, it did pique my curiousity as to how things would play out, especially with the good execution of said story.

But that isn't even the best part of this game, that would be the addictive gameplay. Your default moveset is fairly simple, but your depth comes from these weapon cards. I thought it'd be like a card game platformer which turned me away at first, but it's actually quite simple: You have the gun as a weapon, but you can discard it for a mobility option. THIS is how you play Neon White, having to figure out how to best utilize these cards to beat the levels and get the best times. At first I was okay with simple gold or silver medals, but then I wanted to get Ace Times, and after I started getting those I even got a few Dev times! Unfortunately I didn't focus on the gifts as much since they didn't provide that big thrill for me as they're more a simple puzzle than a big one, but the rewards of additional challenges are nice. My only minor issue with the levels is they can get really long by the end of the game meaning I need to keep that intense focus going for long strings at a time. Nothing above 5 minutes mind you so it was never a detriment but the pressure still felt there with having to execute all of it perfectly. But trying again and again and figuring out how to get those medals is the excitement, first it was just beating my friend's times but only one other friend beat the game so my lead isn't super impressive but being better and better is just fun for me.

Neon White is all in all a thrill of a game I enjoyed from start to finish, and I recommend it to anyone who loves honing their skills in a video game.

Agh, conflicted.

I was super duper enjoying going for Ace rank in each level and then unlocking little bits of story with all the characters in between for a good two thirds of this thing.. but at a certain point it felt like it was just going on and on with no real change in gameplay aside from a couple new abilities. The levels also started getting super long (like, 2 minutes, which compared to most other levels being a tight 20-40 seconds is a lot to replay every time you fuck up) and it also didn't help that the story didn't really go anywhere interesting or even all that entertaining in the end. Gotta get the thing before world end! Oh no now other thing before world end! Saved world! Honk shoo snrrrrk mimimi.

But I think all the artwork is lovely, the voice acting is campy and great, Machine Girl's OST is so fucking good jesus CHRIST. And that first two thirds I was having an absolute blast ... so overall I think I enjoyed it? Just wish it was a few chapters shorter and that the later levels weren't so tedious to replay. I honestly stopped going for Ace medals at a certain point because the novelty of going for all of them wore off and then, well, there's basically no point?

Sure the dialogue is a little cringey and cheesy at times, but idc. I laughed a few times and enjoyed the characters mostly. I was somewhat invested in the story. Plus I liked the voice cast. Steve Blum is great as always, plus ProZD being here is a plus as well. The game felt very anime. There was even a beach section so you know it's legit. Haha.

But the GAMEPLAY! This game is extremely fun. Speedrunning through levels is the most satisfying thing and the movement feels great. The card mechanic is so cool and the levels themselves are fun to traverse. I had a damn good time with this game and basically loved every second of it.

As much as I would like to platinum it on playstation, ain't no way in hell that's happening. Beat the ENTIRE GAME twice without dying? Yeah ain't no way. But I still loved playing the game and it was worth the $25.

A phenomenal game. The negative press this game received online (twitter freaks) about it's cornball dialogue is so heavily blown out of proportion it genuinely a huge disservice to what this game actually is sure it's cringe but who actually cares, if you don't like that part, there is a nifty fast-forward button that lets you skip that section to get right back into the fantastic gameplay loop. This is a paradise for anyone with an interest in speed running, insanely addicting leaving yourself think "I can do that faster". The most fun I got out of the game was constantly seeing my friends' times improve, and trying to take them back, it's such a small thing but the amount of satisfaction you get exchanging top spots is unparalleled.