Neon White turns you into a demon-hunting speedrunner
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Loading... - Gabriela Diaz
- 20 Jun 2022
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Neon White had me straining my neck with every seemingly out of reach jump — and I couldn’t get enough. Developed by Angel Matrix, a small team led by Donut County designer Ben Esposito, Neon White combines thrilling parkour action, a late ‘90s Quake-style aesthetic, and a bonkers story that’s kind of like if The Purge were set in the afterlife. It’s like speedrunning your way through heaven while making detours to learn more about angels and demons. It’s a seemingly odd combo, but it works very, very well.
The premise of Neon White is actually somewhat straightforward at its core. Every so often, for a span of 10 days, God invites some of the denizens of hell up to heaven so they can help eradicate the demon population. Whoever racks up the most kills gets the ultimate prize: a place in heaven. These demon hunters are called neons, and, much like in any other competition, they form rivalries and uneasy alliances with each other over the course of the event. Complicating matters is the fact that your character, Neon White, has lost his memory and thus has no idea who, if anyone, he can trust.
The story is as strange as it is great, and it plays out mostly like a visual novel with some hilarious writing and delicious betrayals. There are even Persona-style sidequests where you can hand out presents to learn more about your fellow neons. Also, for some reason, all of the angels look like floating cats.
That’s the setup, but most of your time will be spent on missions. These are small platforming levels where the goal is to kill every single demon as quickly as possible. And they are very quick — stages are generally less than a minute long and most will have you whittling your time down to under 20–30 seconds. For the most part, the levels are extremely vertical parkour playgrounds, and, as you run through, you’ll collect cards that represent various weapons, from machine guns to shotguns. Read More...
