Alright I'll just take care of the elephant in the room right out of the gate: the story is awful. At first I was willing to write it off as "cringe anime fan dialogue" like everyone else has been, but once those jokes slowed down I did make a genuine attempt to get invested into the world and narrative. What I got out of it was a plot that tried it's best to make me believe that someone as abusive, manipulative and unapologetic as Neon Green deserves any sort of forgiveness, all because that's what God would want. Yippee.
It's a shame how it ended up souring my experience more than I expected it to, since the rest of it was basically everything that I never knew I wanted out of a video game. As someone who's a huge fan of platformers with an emphasis on time attack modes and speedrunning (translation: a Sonic fan), Neon White has one of the most fun and addictive gameplay loops I've ever experienced in the medium. It constantly introduces one new idea after another, opening up more possibilities for how levels can be designed. And as you replay them for better and better times, noticing how much each level opens up with shortcuts and ways to optimize your runs makes every single attempt a delight. It's also fantastic in presentation. I really adore the edgy 2000s aesthetics that ooze from every corner of it, along with a stellar OST from Machine Girl that manages to be both immersive and adrenaline pumping. This'd probably be a clean 5 star game if it just... didn't have a narrative this bad. Highly recommended to any fan of platformers and speedrunning.
It's a shame how it ended up souring my experience more than I expected it to, since the rest of it was basically everything that I never knew I wanted out of a video game. As someone who's a huge fan of platformers with an emphasis on time attack modes and speedrunning (translation: a Sonic fan), Neon White has one of the most fun and addictive gameplay loops I've ever experienced in the medium. It constantly introduces one new idea after another, opening up more possibilities for how levels can be designed. And as you replay them for better and better times, noticing how much each level opens up with shortcuts and ways to optimize your runs makes every single attempt a delight. It's also fantastic in presentation. I really adore the edgy 2000s aesthetics that ooze from every corner of it, along with a stellar OST from Machine Girl that manages to be both immersive and adrenaline pumping. This'd probably be a clean 5 star game if it just... didn't have a narrative this bad. Highly recommended to any fan of platformers and speedrunning.