Do not sleep on this game!
Neon White is definitely one of the best games of the year and surely one that I wasn't expecting to get me like it did. It has plenty of flaws, but it makes up for it with HUGE fun factor.
First, I need to say that what got me into this game was the soundtrack. It's just PERFECT! Not a single bad song. Songs to keep the rush going, calm songs, stylish songs and so on. If you don't get your hands on this game, at least go for the music. And this sick soundtrack matches perfectly with Neon White's sick gameplay.
Everything just flows amazingly well. You feel the rush, you want to go fast and when you accomplish it, you see yourself as this bad ass player. I'm not a guy who usually goes for record times and collectibles, but it's so fun to traverse through these VERY well-designed levels that I just went for whatever I could get, again and again. It is addictive and will keep you there.
One thing I was worried about after picking up the game was the story. But I'm happy to say that it's actually pretty fun.
I really liked the character design and voice acting, but the whacky writing and so-so jokes kept me a bit on the edge about it. But as the story proggresses, you start to figure the plot out and comprehend character motives and personality. It's not incredibly engaging, but it's interesting. Especially with characters as charismatic as Mikey, or nice the nice relationship development of White & Red's. By the end, I was satisfied with what I experienced.
But while Neon White gets a lot of things right, some of its cracks are right there, preventing it from being better than it is.
After chapter 6, there's a weird shift. The difficulty spike is HUGE and, while I did not find anything unfair, it did cut back the perfect flow and paciong built up from its very first level. Some of the new obstacles on late game levels were just a chore. There were levels that were either completely focused on shooting demons rather than quick traversal, or extremely long. That happens a lot and it sucks, because Neon White is at its best when it's fast as fuck, not trying to be a shooter.
Some other things also bothered me.
The presentation could've been better, they could've cut back the amount of useless dialogue, there are more gifts than there should be, late sidequests were a little too Celeste for me and the few boss fights in the game weren't as thrilling as I thought they could be (especially the 2nd one). And at last, but definitely not least, aiming is HORRIBLE on Switch. It works a little better when you mess around with aim assist and sensitivity, but it was the reason why I failed a lot of the more "shooter" focused levels. Don't even get me started on the Dominion card levels. If you can, play this with a mouse and keyboard.
Neon White is an EXTREMELY fun game. It may not be consistent from beginning to end, but it works a lot more than it doesn't. Do not be discouraged by its weird presentation and writing. Dive right in and I'm sure you will not want to leave.
Neon White is definitely one of the best games of the year and surely one that I wasn't expecting to get me like it did. It has plenty of flaws, but it makes up for it with HUGE fun factor.
First, I need to say that what got me into this game was the soundtrack. It's just PERFECT! Not a single bad song. Songs to keep the rush going, calm songs, stylish songs and so on. If you don't get your hands on this game, at least go for the music. And this sick soundtrack matches perfectly with Neon White's sick gameplay.
Everything just flows amazingly well. You feel the rush, you want to go fast and when you accomplish it, you see yourself as this bad ass player. I'm not a guy who usually goes for record times and collectibles, but it's so fun to traverse through these VERY well-designed levels that I just went for whatever I could get, again and again. It is addictive and will keep you there.
One thing I was worried about after picking up the game was the story. But I'm happy to say that it's actually pretty fun.
I really liked the character design and voice acting, but the whacky writing and so-so jokes kept me a bit on the edge about it. But as the story proggresses, you start to figure the plot out and comprehend character motives and personality. It's not incredibly engaging, but it's interesting. Especially with characters as charismatic as Mikey, or nice the nice relationship development of White & Red's. By the end, I was satisfied with what I experienced.
But while Neon White gets a lot of things right, some of its cracks are right there, preventing it from being better than it is.
After chapter 6, there's a weird shift. The difficulty spike is HUGE and, while I did not find anything unfair, it did cut back the perfect flow and paciong built up from its very first level. Some of the new obstacles on late game levels were just a chore. There were levels that were either completely focused on shooting demons rather than quick traversal, or extremely long. That happens a lot and it sucks, because Neon White is at its best when it's fast as fuck, not trying to be a shooter.
Some other things also bothered me.
The presentation could've been better, they could've cut back the amount of useless dialogue, there are more gifts than there should be, late sidequests were a little too Celeste for me and the few boss fights in the game weren't as thrilling as I thought they could be (especially the 2nd one). And at last, but definitely not least, aiming is HORRIBLE on Switch. It works a little better when you mess around with aim assist and sensitivity, but it was the reason why I failed a lot of the more "shooter" focused levels. Don't even get me started on the Dominion card levels. If you can, play this with a mouse and keyboard.
Neon White is an EXTREMELY fun game. It may not be consistent from beginning to end, but it works a lot more than it doesn't. Do not be discouraged by its weird presentation and writing. Dive right in and I'm sure you will not want to leave.