I like cringe. I like shitty puns and awkward characters and corny dialogue. I believe we are all a little cringe inside. I hardly ever use the word cringe to describe something in a negative light. That's why (unlike apparently many others) I initially went unphased when first playing Neon White.
The edgelord dubstep music that plays when Neon Green is present at any moment is extremely funny to me, and in general, I was pretty enamoured with the story at first, then Violet and Red appeared. Even just ignoring the over-sexualization inherent to their character's physical designs (which we shouldn't ignore) everything about how the way they are written to be the male fantasy counterpart to the straight main character (who, on at least two occasions makes a "no homo" joke to Yellow) is extremely infuriating. I must admit though, nothing prepared me for the optional beach scene with White, Violet, and Red. I mean christ the moment I heard the word “beach” I was already groaning and praying it wouldn’t happen, praying the developers might bear even an ounce of empathy in their hearts to decide not to carry out this extremely uncomfortable misogynistic sequence home to creepy sex jokes and genuinely cringe inducing character interactions.
As for the actual gameplay…
It’s fine. It’s a little floaty, but whatever. The guns feel great and the movement is pretty smooth and satisfying to master. It’s a little bit too repetitive for my taste, and truthfully I’ve never been a huge fan of those “get good and try again” games where you have to perfectly master a level to pass, but Neon White is pretty short and tight enough for me to give it a pass on that front.
The edgelord dubstep music that plays when Neon Green is present at any moment is extremely funny to me, and in general, I was pretty enamoured with the story at first, then Violet and Red appeared. Even just ignoring the over-sexualization inherent to their character's physical designs (which we shouldn't ignore) everything about how the way they are written to be the male fantasy counterpart to the straight main character (who, on at least two occasions makes a "no homo" joke to Yellow) is extremely infuriating. I must admit though, nothing prepared me for the optional beach scene with White, Violet, and Red. I mean christ the moment I heard the word “beach” I was already groaning and praying it wouldn’t happen, praying the developers might bear even an ounce of empathy in their hearts to decide not to carry out this extremely uncomfortable misogynistic sequence home to creepy sex jokes and genuinely cringe inducing character interactions.
As for the actual gameplay…
It’s fine. It’s a little floaty, but whatever. The guns feel great and the movement is pretty smooth and satisfying to master. It’s a little bit too repetitive for my taste, and truthfully I’ve never been a huge fan of those “get good and try again” games where you have to perfectly master a level to pass, but Neon White is pretty short and tight enough for me to give it a pass on that front.