I was little skeptical by the reception Neon White was getting since I did not enjoy Donut County very much. But my low expectations ended up elevating my enjoyment of the game.
Neon White manages to be innovative and original in the overly saturated genre of first-person shooter by mixing plataforming in a more arcade approach. However, nailing the mechanics are just the first step of a good game. The level design must also offer creative ways to explore them, and Neon White does it extremely well. Every new weapon and ability is introduced with a sequence of levels that always bring some new challenges and ideas. The game keeps introducing new ideas and none felt gimmicky, and by the end of the game the combination of every mechanic makes for some truly amazing synergy by the player and level design.
Overall the game is really well in other areas as well. The music is excellent, matching well with the speedrunning approach that game has. The graphics are clear and simple enough to help make the more chaotic moments easier to understand while also making for some fast load times due to the repetitive nature of failing a level a trying again.
Some minor complaints:
1) The level geometry could be even simpler. In some more chaotic moments I often got stuck in some corners due to more complex geometry of a few elements of a level.
2) The focus on the story I felt was little too much. If 95% of dialogue and cutscenes was cut, nothing would be lost.
3) The gift hunting dragged for me and did not add much to the experience (with few exceptions).
4) Neon Yellow sidequests and some of Neon Purple were not very good
Neon White manages to be innovative and original in the overly saturated genre of first-person shooter by mixing plataforming in a more arcade approach. However, nailing the mechanics are just the first step of a good game. The level design must also offer creative ways to explore them, and Neon White does it extremely well. Every new weapon and ability is introduced with a sequence of levels that always bring some new challenges and ideas. The game keeps introducing new ideas and none felt gimmicky, and by the end of the game the combination of every mechanic makes for some truly amazing synergy by the player and level design.
Overall the game is really well in other areas as well. The music is excellent, matching well with the speedrunning approach that game has. The graphics are clear and simple enough to help make the more chaotic moments easier to understand while also making for some fast load times due to the repetitive nature of failing a level a trying again.
Some minor complaints:
1) The level geometry could be even simpler. In some more chaotic moments I often got stuck in some corners due to more complex geometry of a few elements of a level.
2) The focus on the story I felt was little too much. If 95% of dialogue and cutscenes was cut, nothing would be lost.
3) The gift hunting dragged for me and did not add much to the experience (with few exceptions).
4) Neon Yellow sidequests and some of Neon Purple were not very good