Neon Abyss
Released: July 14, 2020
Game Length: 25 Hours
Grade: B
Introduction
Prelude: After playing Dodge Roll's Enter the Gungeon and Exit the Gungeon, I didn't think I'd find another good platform-shooter to try out. However, Neon Abyss kept showing up on my radar. There was this 3-minute review I saw around its initial release, obtaining it in the Humble Bundle September 2021, and being released for free during the Holiday Season on the Epic Games Store. Even in recent news, they released the The Chrono Tap DLC for free (which is now offered for $3.99) and marked the game 50% off during Midweek Madness. Sounds like they are trying to heavily-market it with "bargain" prices. I'm not thrilled with them adding alternate mechanics to characters and boss skins in "Alter Ego" for $3.99 and two additional characters in "Lovable Rogues" for $1.99 - two things they could have easily added to the core game. This game came from Team 17, the guys who brought you Worms. Despite the recent controversy over their attempt of selling NFTs to the public, this game has to be somewhat decent... right?
Gameplay
Setting: When deciding on using the gamepad first, something felt really wrong. After about 15 minutes, I finally figured out why. They setup the right analog stick to both aim and fire. This means that in order to use an ability, you have to cycle your big, fat thumb over to the buttons. There is absolutely no way you can jump and fire at the same time. Thankfully, the keyboard and mouse controls were much better arranged. Then came the realization that the game is very restrictive. Some of the more core aspects that you would expect to be readily available to all characters are actually divided up to make each one more unique. There's a couple characters that allow you to initiate a melee attack beyond the scope of automatically sticking a knife in something if you are ramming into their body for a couple seconds. Identifying what an item or weapon does before picking it up is only offered to a couple characters or if you obtain the "Inner Eye" item (unless you want to cheat and use the wiki). Rolling can only be done by a specific character. Others have interesting mechanics like having only shields, turning into a glowing ball for a couple seconds, picking up any object, or combining weapons.
Items: Although the game forces you to adapt to a very limiting amount of resources in the beginning of each round, the number of things you can collect is incredibly large. The items also physically change your wardrobe as well (and still function if you collect something new that overrides that particular part of your body). In my 20 hours total gameplay, I managed to collect 283/397 items. These items can span from incredibly useful to downright destroying your run. Coin Bomb triples the value of the coin, but makes it explode after 3 seconds. Devil's Trade either doubles the damage or removes it entirely. Dangerous Mine drops a mine on the ground every time you jump. On the other hand, Hard Hat prevents any environmental damage. Lottery Ticket hands you 777 coins. Basketball Jersey and The Towel nullifies the extra damage you get past level 4. With such a large span of items, it is sad that you can only remove a total of 5 of all items from dropping if you still want to shoot for achievements. At least you are given the option to not pick these items up in a run. Now if only I could remember what each item did in every round.
Weapons: There is way too many interesting guns to choose from. Although some weapons do replicate the same mechanics of others, there are plenty of unique opportunities here. There are snipers, lasers, bullets that bounce, bullets that spin, bullets that come towards you, one that shoots saws, and homing-missiles. There are guitars that shoot out music notes that spin around your body (and can be modified using any items that increase melee damage). Some weapons favor bullets that fire over long distances, cover large areas, defensively reflect enemy bullets, or simply have better abilities that help your overall experience. Every time I felt like I found the ultimate weapon, I'd come to realize the potential of another one.
Upgrades: I'm going to come out and say that the game is kind of easy. There isn't really an excelling number of enemies, rooms, or bosses. It is just enough to get by. Instead, the game offers you a ton of things to unlock. There are game rooms that you can access, which I never used because you have to spend coins in the hopes of entering one through a slot machine and spend more coins in the hopes of winning whatever activity it was. Overtime, you'll be able to access different managers, different objects placed in the environment, more characters, collectable cards, cheat commands, and exclusive rooms. Though, some of these features are dependent on what DLCs you own. The Chrono Tap DLC does provide you with a new level setting that gradually builds-up difficulty the longer you play.
Review
Summary: Neon Abyss has a lot going for it. There are plenty of weapons, items, mechanics, characters, enemies, environments, bosses, and unlockables. However, there are plenty of things that will aggravate players. Experienced players might find the game too easy. Impatient gamers will not enjoy how limited your options are in the beginning of every round. Casual players are not going to like how items don't automatically tell you what they do, especially with so many that can be detrimental to your experience. Despite there being quite a few things to keep you entertained, there is a surprisingly amount of content lacking when it comes to any story elements and things that are locked behind paywalls. I urge people to approach this game with caution and lower your general expectations.
2-7-2022