Neon White pulls from many genres, and yet it's a wonder how it wasn't already made before. The marriage of first-person-shooting and platforming isn't entirely novel--insert Source Engine game here--but when you wrap those tight movement mechanics with linear, hyper-focused level design with bright, angular enemies, it feels like its own thing. Sure, Neon White maybe takes inspiration from those that came before it, like Mirror's Edge, SUPERHOT, or even Katana Zero, but there is a very strong sense of confidence and style imbued in the 120 levels of Neon White that are a joy to play.
I can appreciate and admit when things are my fault. Throughout this game when you fall or die there's no one to blame but yourself. Accept this fact before even booting up your system. But recognize this as a major kudos to the developers who ground out 120 levels to just the right amount of polish so the player can feel good about speedrunning a level. Lots of times I got the Ace medal first try, but I definitely squeaked by with a few silvers and bronzes on my initial attempts as well. It only made me want to play it over again and do better.
I won't remark on the story, which does in fact have a moral and is voice-acted nicely, albeit with minimal visual emphasis. Regardless of some shortcomings, you should feel immersed into the arcade limbo that is "heaven" between the angular graphics of the level and the breakbeat/industrial dnb that Machine Girl pumped out for an aesthetic that is nothing short of badass. Ben Esposito and company focused on where it counts.
The important takeaway is that it was fun to replay levels. Neon White is all about optimization and replayability. If you don't like bite-size levels, platforming, or speedrunning, maybe stay away from this (or Super Mario Bros 3 for that matter), but otherwise, you're in for a great game that shouldn't take too much of your time unless you want it to.
I can appreciate and admit when things are my fault. Throughout this game when you fall or die there's no one to blame but yourself. Accept this fact before even booting up your system. But recognize this as a major kudos to the developers who ground out 120 levels to just the right amount of polish so the player can feel good about speedrunning a level. Lots of times I got the Ace medal first try, but I definitely squeaked by with a few silvers and bronzes on my initial attempts as well. It only made me want to play it over again and do better.
I won't remark on the story, which does in fact have a moral and is voice-acted nicely, albeit with minimal visual emphasis. Regardless of some shortcomings, you should feel immersed into the arcade limbo that is "heaven" between the angular graphics of the level and the breakbeat/industrial dnb that Machine Girl pumped out for an aesthetic that is nothing short of badass. Ben Esposito and company focused on where it counts.
The important takeaway is that it was fun to replay levels. Neon White is all about optimization and replayability. If you don't like bite-size levels, platforming, or speedrunning, maybe stay away from this (or Super Mario Bros 3 for that matter), but otherwise, you're in for a great game that shouldn't take too much of your time unless you want it to.