Neon White sets out to be something very specific and succeeds spectacularly. Time trial modes in games usually feel like an afterthought and stress me out. For me to consistently get high-ranking times on my first, second, or third attempt really speaks to the masterful level design on display here. When a new mechanic was introduced, it barely took any time before I was using it as fluidly as the ones introduced in the tutorial. I came back for more every day, whether it was for two minutes or two hours.

One of my favorite features of the game is that it ends a level when you find its collectible item-- effectively treating it as a throwaway from a time trial perspective. This was a thoughtful addition that saved me a ton of button presses.

As others will point out, the story is nothing special and it doesn't take long to see where its headed. The writing can be a bit excessive with the modern lingo, but I thought there were some genuinely funny character moments. While the narrative component of this game is lacking, it hardly matters. The social link system is entertaining enough and simply a vehicle to play more perfectly though-out levels.

The biggest flaw, and the main reason I'm subtracting a star, is that putting the Switch into sleep mode prevents you from seeing leaderboards until you restart the game. For this reason, I played most of the game without referencing the leaderboards-- one of the most fun elements of the game.

Despite this, Neon White is a genre-bending marvel and one of the best games I've played this year.