Jose Zagal's Home Page - Games & Game Studies

Home	Talks and Slides	My GameLog	Research and Projects	Publications	Resume	Teaching
Back // GameBreadth Project // Game Ontology Project // GameLog

Neon White (PC) Status: Playing I started playing this game on Saturday 2 December, 2023
Current opinion of this game
No comment, yet.
December 12, 2023 11:49:47 AM
I can see now why people were so excited and positive about this game. It really does flow fast and well, and the levels are short and engaging, and it's also fun to get back to them to try to beat your times, find the present, and so on. I've finished chapter 2 and played a few missions in chapter 3 - I'm not sure I'll get back to the game mostly because other games are drawing my attention away. But here's some things I've appreciated: a. The game's a speedrunning game at heart - as designed and intended - but it's quite welcoming of non-speedrunning players in how it allows you to make progress in the game and also in how it incentivizes you to come back and try again. In order to unlock the next chapter you need to have earned a certain number of (I think) gold (or better) medals - and each chapters has a fair number of levels for you to try - so, you can finish a chapter with mediocre times and it's ok. Assuming they're all mediocre, you'll have to go back and replay some. However, you can also "level up" within each level - and the first few unlocks let you see a hint for a faster time, see your ghost of your best time, and eventually a global leaderboard. The hint and ghost are great - because they point you (probably, if your time was mediocre) to a clear thing you can improve on! It also unlocks a present - which is often tricky to get to, does not require speedrunning and encourages you to see more of the level, this exploration can help you identify some new route or possibility to improve your time as well! b. The story is complete nonsense to me with hammy writing that feels very 90s japanese anime and makes me thing it's either all toungue-in-cheeck over the top, or I'm just not the right audience. I haven't heard too many people praise the story/writing though... c. I liked how finding gifts unlocks new conversations with the other characters and even new side missions - special levels with a unique twist or flavor!

Neon White (PC)