Let it be known that while the site says I played this on PS4, I played this on my sexy, sleek, and PRISTINE PS5 because as we all know, play has NO limits if you're not broke.
Please don't misunderstand my 3.5/5 here, Neo is a great game with a lot going for it in all departments, but it's in those that I have some glaring issues that make it a 3.5/5 for me. Now where do I start?
First things first is that the game has some story-related issues that will annoy you if you don't like unnecessary dialogue, padding, and poor pacing. The star of the game is the protagonist Rindo Kanade's ability to control time. As many of you know, time travel is a dangerous plot device that can make or break your narrative depending on its usage and in this game's case, I feel like it's overutilized to make days longer without anything actually engaging until much later in the game. For most of the 25+ hour campaign, you start a day, attempt to complete the day's mission, fail miserably, then go back in time to remedy it. It's repetitive to the point of boredom especially when that's the bulk of Week 1 and 2. However, the payoff for sticking with these issues is an excellent Week 3 that delivers on all fronts such as some MUCH needed character development for our main characters that is absent during the previous weeks.
The battle system is a perfect evolution of the real-time pin system the first game was known for. Rather than using obtuse touchscreen controls in battle, every pin is associated with the face and shoulder buttons on whatever controller you use. A "Groove" system also replaces the Sync system from the previous game rewarding you with special attacks when you combo beatdrop bonuses that differ depending on the pin. What these changes all amount to is a frantic, fluid, and diverse combat system that rewards whatever playstyle you see fit. My primary issue with the game is the way higher difficulties are set up. In order to gain more EXP, PP, and rarer pins, you need to go to Hard (or Ultimate when you beat the game). From my experience, playing the entire game on Hard is not worth it considering all that changes is enemies become damage sponges and hit like trucks and I often became VERY aggravated playing, especially for mob fights, because the camera loved to put everything behind my character in front of my face so I could barely see and the amount of time it took to kill anything on that mode. That being said, the game does greatly reward exploiting elemental weaknesses so a Hard playthrough can be easier if you laser focus on that with your pin setups.
I think those are my main issues with the game so onto some well-deserved positives.
The music is fucking top-notch. Ishimoto saw an opportunity to really let the game's status as a sequel to sink in. From an assortment of new tracks such as World is Yours, Storm, The Beginning of a Happy Life, and Shibuya Survivor to excellent remixes to old fan favorites such as Twister (this song will never go away man), Calling, O-Parts, and Hybrid. If you like a very diverse soundtrack, you will not be disappointed here.
The aesthetic and character dialogue are excellent. Each character is brimming with personality and their chemistry with each other is a highlight of the game. The Wicked Twisters are a funny group of discs/sheeple, lemme tell ya. Compared to the cold, isolated vibe from the first game, you already know what city we're stuck in and the developers do too because Shibuya feels more alive (Ironic, isn't it?) and vibrant than ever. Every location feels like coming back to a freshly-painted house after a long vacation, landmarks such as our lovable Hachiko in full 3D and the various RG bystanders varied and dressed differently to really show Shibuya's diversity.
To close this off, I enjoyed my playthrough despite the issues I stated above. The game's central themes of independency and learning to accept mistakes, make your own decisions, and taking responsibility for those actions is a message that fits nicely with the first game's theme of the dangers of closing yourself off from the world. You could say it's a direct continuation of this idea. Because after all, while the world ends with you.
It also begins with you.
Please don't misunderstand my 3.5/5 here, Neo is a great game with a lot going for it in all departments, but it's in those that I have some glaring issues that make it a 3.5/5 for me. Now where do I start?
First things first is that the game has some story-related issues that will annoy you if you don't like unnecessary dialogue, padding, and poor pacing. The star of the game is the protagonist Rindo Kanade's ability to control time. As many of you know, time travel is a dangerous plot device that can make or break your narrative depending on its usage and in this game's case, I feel like it's overutilized to make days longer without anything actually engaging until much later in the game. For most of the 25+ hour campaign, you start a day, attempt to complete the day's mission, fail miserably, then go back in time to remedy it. It's repetitive to the point of boredom especially when that's the bulk of Week 1 and 2. However, the payoff for sticking with these issues is an excellent Week 3 that delivers on all fronts such as some MUCH needed character development for our main characters that is absent during the previous weeks.
The battle system is a perfect evolution of the real-time pin system the first game was known for. Rather than using obtuse touchscreen controls in battle, every pin is associated with the face and shoulder buttons on whatever controller you use. A "Groove" system also replaces the Sync system from the previous game rewarding you with special attacks when you combo beatdrop bonuses that differ depending on the pin. What these changes all amount to is a frantic, fluid, and diverse combat system that rewards whatever playstyle you see fit. My primary issue with the game is the way higher difficulties are set up. In order to gain more EXP, PP, and rarer pins, you need to go to Hard (or Ultimate when you beat the game). From my experience, playing the entire game on Hard is not worth it considering all that changes is enemies become damage sponges and hit like trucks and I often became VERY aggravated playing, especially for mob fights, because the camera loved to put everything behind my character in front of my face so I could barely see and the amount of time it took to kill anything on that mode. That being said, the game does greatly reward exploiting elemental weaknesses so a Hard playthrough can be easier if you laser focus on that with your pin setups.
I think those are my main issues with the game so onto some well-deserved positives.
The music is fucking top-notch. Ishimoto saw an opportunity to really let the game's status as a sequel to sink in. From an assortment of new tracks such as World is Yours, Storm, The Beginning of a Happy Life, and Shibuya Survivor to excellent remixes to old fan favorites such as Twister (this song will never go away man), Calling, O-Parts, and Hybrid. If you like a very diverse soundtrack, you will not be disappointed here.
The aesthetic and character dialogue are excellent. Each character is brimming with personality and their chemistry with each other is a highlight of the game. The Wicked Twisters are a funny group of discs/sheeple, lemme tell ya. Compared to the cold, isolated vibe from the first game, you already know what city we're stuck in and the developers do too because Shibuya feels more alive (Ironic, isn't it?) and vibrant than ever. Every location feels like coming back to a freshly-painted house after a long vacation, landmarks such as our lovable Hachiko in full 3D and the various RG bystanders varied and dressed differently to really show Shibuya's diversity.
To close this off, I enjoyed my playthrough despite the issues I stated above. The game's central themes of independency and learning to accept mistakes, make your own decisions, and taking responsibility for those actions is a message that fits nicely with the first game's theme of the dangers of closing yourself off from the world. You could say it's a direct continuation of this idea. Because after all, while the world ends with you.
It also begins with you.