Neon White is a speedrunning FPS, puzzle-platforming game where the player has one simple objective in almost every level; kill every demon and finish the level fast. Originally conceived as a "card-based arena shooter" by lead designer Ben Esposito, Neon White has players control the titular Neon White using soul cards which not only acts as weapons to use, but also as parkour moves to navigate through the levels. By default, you have a Katana that can be used at melee range and reflect enemy projectiles, but it doesn't have a parkour move to it so you will want to keep an eye out for soul cards placed in the levels. You'll have soul cards making up weapons like a pistol and shotgun for example, but if you sacrifice a soul card, you'll discard the weapon for a single use of a parkour move.

You can carry two different soul cards at once and can stack three of each soul card, allowing you to make use of multiple parkour moves in quick succession. Most levels are short and linear enough to make it clear on what to do with the cards at hand, but experienced players can think of clever use of the soul cards to perform shortcuts outside the main level path. This freedom for the player to make their own shortcuts is all intended design and there is little randomness to the game, so you are in control of improving your times as you replay levels. All this is what makes Neon White addicting to play, creating that dopamine to make one more attempt to beat your own best time (or your friend's best time).

For additional replay value, the game has a feature called "Insight" which is designed to incentivize replaying a level for a better time. After completing a level, you are awarded a medal which ranks your performance. The four medals are Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Ace. The medals are what grants the player Insight after level completion, with each medal giving the player further aid in their replays of a level.

The first time a player enters a level, they are given no visual aid on how they can go fast in a level, so it can be normal for your first run of a level to be a bit sluggish. Completing a level will reward the player a Bronze medal, however it also allows players to see their time in a level in all future replays. Going faster in a level can reward the player a Silver medal, which levels up your Insight to include a ghost reenacting your inputs from your current best run. By mastering the main level's path, you will be rewarded a Gold medal, with your Insight now leveled up to show a hint to the shortcut required to get the Ace medal.

Neon White gradually builds up the incentive to replay a level multiple times over, the Insight system helps give players a hand on seeing where they can do better in replays. Insight gives players the confidence that they can achieve those once seemingly hard to get Ace medals, you'll feel like you are becoming a skilled speedrunner in just mere minutes. If you really want to push yourself, you can go for the hidden Red Ace medals (developer best times), which will require you to be at your best and figure out shortcuts not hinted to the player. I have obtained all the Red Ace medals and it's a challenge for sure, but the feeling that you can do better even by just a couple milliseconds does do a lot to someone like me!

Also found in the levels after completing them once are gifts that you can find. These gifts are often placed far out the main level path and will require the player to think carefully on what parkour moves to make and what soul cards to keep in order to reach those gifts. Some gifts can be difficult to get, even the ones in plain sight can be hard to reach. You can give the gifts you collected to other characters in the hub to get rewarded new dialogue, side quests in the form of additional levels, and lore to the game's story.

After you beat the game and go towards 100%, you can unlock Heaven Rushes and Hell Rushes. There are both Rushes for the main game's levels and the separate side quests of the different characters. A Heaven Rush is just going through the levels like normal, just in a singular run. You can restart as many times as you need to, you just need to complete all the levels in said singular run.

The more interesting Rush is the Hell Rush, which is also a singular run of the levels but with the twist of having to complete every level in one life. Your health is also shared between levels, meaning you need to play with extra care. Failing the level by death or missing an enemy you cannot backtrack to will force you to restart the whole Hell Rush. To help you out, your default Katana can be discarded to refill your health and grant a soul card of your choosing in case you need to save yourself and avoid a restart. You can only discard the Katana once per level and you can only do this up to three times in a Hell Rush. The main game's Hell Rush will test your skills, be fast but don't die.

I haven't brought up the story but to summarize, it's cheesy 90s/2000s anime you would discover on TV by some chance. You got corny lines, Steve Blum voicing the main protagonist himself, a love interest with some angst towards said protagonist, and the main characters are deceased assassins. The story is for a niche audience and the bad writing is very much intentional, though admittedly the game's story does pick up to be interesting later on. Still, you do have the option to skip the dialogue if you're not interested in the story nor want to hear the dialogue.

Oh yeah, the soundtrack is composed by Machine Girl. I don't really listen to them personally but the soundtrack of this game is pretty good. If you love their music, I feel you will love the music of this game too.

Overall, Neon White is a fun, addicting speedrunning game that hooks players into becoming speedrunners themselves. I played quite a lot of this game and even through a lot of fails in many runs, I had a blast playing this. It's my favorite game from 2022 and I highly recommend this game to anyone who wants a fast game that will make them want to go even faster. This is a game For Freaks, By Freaks!

Neon White is a speedrunning FPS, puzzle-platforming game where the player has one simple objective in almost every level; kill every demon and finish the level fast. Originally conceived as a "card-based arena shooter" by lead designer Ben Esposito, Neon White has players control the titular Neon White using soul cards which not only acts as weapons to use, but also as parkour moves to navigate through the levels. By default, you have a Katana that can be used at melee range and reflect enemy projectiles, but it doesn't have a parkour move to it so you will want to keep an eye out for soul cards placed in the levels. You'll have soul cards making up weapons like a pistol and shotgun for example, but if you sacrifice a soul card, you'll discard the weapon for a single use of a parkour move. You can carry two different soul cards at once and can stack three of each soul card, allowing you to make use of multiple parkour moves in quick succession. Most levels are short and linear enough to make it clear on what to do with the cards at hand, but experienced players can think of clever use of the soul cards to perform shortcuts outside the main level path. This freedom for the player to make their own shortcuts is all intended design and there is little randomness to the game, so you are in control of improving your times as you replay levels. All this is what makes Neon White addicting to play, creating that dopamine to make one more attempt to beat your own best time (or your friend's best time). For additional replay value, the game has a feature called "Insight" which is designed to incentivize replaying a level for a better time. After completing a level, you are awarded a medal which ranks your performance. The four medals are Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Ace. The medals are what grants the player Insight after level completion, with each medal giving the player further aid in their replays of a level. The first time a player enters a level, they are given no visual aid on how they can go fast in a level, so it can be normal for your first run of a level to be a bit sluggish. Completing a level will reward the player a Bronze medal, however it also allows players to see their time in a level in all future replays. Going faster in a level can reward the player a Silver medal, which levels up your Insight to include a ghost reenacting your inputs from your current best run. By mastering the main level's path, you will be rewarded a Gold medal, with your Insight now leveled up to show a hint to the shortcut required to get the Ace medal. Neon White gradually builds up the incentive to replay a level multiple times over, the Insight system helps give players a hand on seeing where they can do better in replays. Insight gives players the confidence that they can achieve those once seemingly hard to get Ace medals, you'll feel like you are becoming a skilled speedrunner in just mere minutes. If you really want to push yourself, you can go for the hidden Red Ace medals (developer best times), which will require you to be at your best and figure out shortcuts not hinted to the player. I have obtained all the Red Ace medals and it's a challenge for sure, but the feeling that you can do better even by just a couple milliseconds does do a lot to someone like me! Also found in the levels after completing them once are gifts that you can find. These gifts are often placed far out the main level path and will require the player to think carefully on what parkour moves to make and what soul cards to keep in order to reach those gifts. Some gifts can be difficult to get, even the ones in plain sight can be hard to reach. You can give the gifts you collected to other characters in the hub to get rewarded new dialogue, side quests in the form of additional levels, and lore to the game's story. After you beat the game and go towards 100%, you can unlock Heaven Rushes and Hell Rushes. There are both Rushes for the main game's levels and the separate side quests of the different characters. A Heaven Rush is just going through the levels like normal, just in a singular run. You can restart as many times as you need to, you just need to complete all the levels in said singular run. The more interesting Rush is the Hell Rush, which is also a singular run of the levels but with the twist of having to complete every level in one life. Your health is also shared between levels, meaning you need to play with extra care. Failing the level by death or missing an enemy you cannot backtrack to will force you to restart the whole Hell Rush. To help you out, your default Katana can be discarded to refill your health and grant a soul card of your choosing in case you need to save yourself and avoid a restart. You can only discard the Katana once per level and you can only do this up to three times in a Hell Rush. The main game's Hell Rush will test your skills, be fast but don't die. I haven't brought up the story but to summarize, it's cheesy 90s/2000s anime you would discover on TV by some chance. You got corny lines, Steve Blum voicing the main protagonist himself, a love interest with some angst towards said protagonist, and the main characters are deceased assassins. The story is for a niche audience and the bad writing is very much intentional, though admittedly the game's story does pick up to be interesting later on. Still, you do have the option to skip the dialogue if you're not interested in the story nor want to hear the dialogue. Oh yeah, the soundtrack is composed by Machine Girl. I don't really listen to them personally but the soundtrack of this game is pretty good. If you love their music, I feel you will love the music of this game too. Overall, Neon White is a fun, addicting speedrunning game that hooks players into becoming speedrunners themselves. I played quite a lot of this game and even through a lot of fails in many runs, I had a blast playing this. It's my favorite game from 2022 and I highly recommend this game to anyone who wants a fast game that will make them want to go even faster. This is a game For Freaks, By Freaks!