Neon White has been on my radar for a while, as most games published by Annapurna Interactive are as soon as they’re announced. The publisher has a practically spotless track record, barring one unfortunate incident with an incestuous 🌜time loop, and Neon White loo🐼ks set to continue this fine run of form.
The Neon White demo is available as a part of Steam’s Next Fest, and propels you through a bunch of time trials at breakneck speed. You’re Neon White and you’re going to Hell for reasons you can’t quite remember. Your trigger finger is well practi🦹ced, so it’s likely something to do with that. You need to combine your best parkour skills with a quick trigger finger to progress through each level, destroying demons and att𒅌empting to earn your way into heaven.
The movement is fast and frenetic, and collecting cards along your way grants you weapons with limited ammunition. You usu🍨ally want to keep at least one bullet in🌼 the chamber, though, as each card can be discarded for a single-use ability. Launching a grenade or having a double jump is necessary for getting through some levels, and working out the best way to utilise these items for shortcuts or timeskips is the only way to get a platinum run and beat your friends on the leaderboards.
The smooth, first-person action of each level is particularly reminiscent of Titanfall 2’s Gauntlet. Launch a grenade behind you to get a speed boost. Twist 180 degrees mid-air to nail a no-scope headshot (there are no scopes, so all shots are no-scopes). Discard your pistol to double jump𒊎. Discard your rifle to boost forwards. Kill the demons. Reach the end. See you’re still a second off your friend’s best time, cry, and then do it all over again. I’m a strong believer that every game should add the sliding mecha𒈔nic from Apex Legends, however Neon White could use it better than most. It would supplement the game’s current movement perfectly and create an even smoother experience.
Neon White is built for replays, and I never moved on from one until I was top of my personal leaderboard and had achieved a time that granted me the platinum medal. Some I did first try, others took more practice and patience, but I got them all. The game makes you a p♕erfectionist whether you like it or not, and even if I was top of my leaderboard I’d run again if I knew there was an area where I could improve my time.
Embarking on and restarting levels is quick and painless, which is important for a game where you try and try again to improve your runs. Messing up isn’t pu🎉nished, and even finishing a level in a non-PB time grants you a little insight to unlock gifts and hints.
‘But this doesn’t sound much like Hades,’ I hear you say; patience, young padawan. After your intro to Neꦡon White’s demon-destroying platforming⛎, you reach the main hub where you accept missions and drink ‘pina coladas’ in your downtime. Imagine if purgatory had a beach and a bar, and angels presented themselves to you as little cartoon kittens on floating clouds.
It’s here that you can talk to other competitors vying for a spot in heaven. You have no memories of your life, so chatting with these people who claim to have been your partners in crime is the only route to remembering why you were sent to Hell in the first place. There’s also a gifting system that’s ripped straight out of Hades. Giving a character gifts unlocks more conversations with them and progresses your relationship with them. From my time wit🅠h the demo, it looks like there’s potential for Neon White to go full dating sim in these moments. I hope it leans into this, and weaves the dating and action genres into the final game.
Neon White has the movement and action of Titanfall with the dating, relationship-building, and downright hot character designs of Hades. Seriously, every character is hot. It’s a wonder that this combination hasn’t been attempted so successfully before. I can’t wait to progress through more levels and da🥂te as ꦜmany fellow Neons as possible when the full game releases, but until then I’ll just keep improving my times.
