Now this is a video game in its purest form. The splash screens are like 5 seconds at most and then it's right to the incredible intro sequence. The story is interesting with the world being full of intrigue. Even if your relationship with your old cohorts relies on amnesia as a plot device which brings it down a little bit, you still have what is going on in the afterlife to ponder on. Working around the VN portraits that maybe would have benefitted from a few more poses, the artwork is really good. On top of that the voicework is fantastic, with Steve Blum in the lead as Neon White which any time he does his Spike Spiegel voice is good, and an ensemble talent to accompany him. I wouldn't say I was completely emotionally invested, it did pique my curiousity as to how things would play out, especially with the good execution of said story.

But that isn't even the best part of this game, that would be the addictive gameplay. Your default moveset is fairly simple, but your depth comes from these weapon cards. I thought it'd be like a card game platformer which turned me away at first, but it's actually quite simple: You have the gun as a weapon, but you can discard it for a mobility option. THIS is how you play Neon White, having to figure out how to best utilize these cards to beat the levels and get the best times. At first I was okay with simple gold or silver medals, but then I wanted to get Ace Times, and after I started getting those I even got a few Dev times! Unfortunately I didn't focus on the gifts as much since they didn't provide that big thrill for me as they're more a simple puzzle than a big one, but the rewards of additional challenges are nice. My only minor issue with the levels is they can get really long by the end of the game meaning I need to keep that intense focus going for long strings at a time. Nothing above 5 minutes mind you so it was never a detriment but the pressure still felt there with having to execute all of it perfectly. But trying again and again and figuring out how to get those medals is the excitement, first it was just beating my friend's times but only one other friend beat the game so my lead isn't super impressive but being better and better is just fun for me.

Neon White is all in all a thrill of a game I enjoyed from start to finish, and I recommend it to anyone who loves honing their skills in a video game.