The first few chapters of Neon White's story are great as they give you a look into the world and all of its zany characters. I enjoyed how Neon White focuses on the different kinds of relationships that White and other Neons have. I loved each and every one of the characters that were introduced as none of them felt overly boring or bland.

Visually Neon white isn't a graphic powerhouse of a game but It does shine with its very well-drawn characters and occasionally illustrated cutscenes. I especially enjoyed the very cool opening animated sequence when you boot up the game. The game ran at a pretty steady frame rate and overall felt fast and fluid.

Neon White's gameplay can be described as stylish and fast-paced. Your loadout consists of katana and Soul Cards. The Soul Cards are used to attack your enemies and can also be discarded for a secondary action such as a swift dash, ground pound, or a double jump to reach higher areas. I liked how the mix of shooting and card mechanics gave a sense of speed and fluidity you can't get in other first-person shooters. Cards can be stacked up to three times which is especially handy for levels that require multiple actions to proceed forward. I never felt that a level was overly hard and I had fun trying to beat my times on each level.

I had a hard time going to the next mission until I had the highest rank as well as skipping side missions as they provide a unique look into the lives of the Neons before they were dead. Thankfully, Levels can easily be restarted at the press of a button to keep you in the action. White doesn't spend all his time slaying demons. Throughout the different levels, you can find gifts to give to the different characters and unlock side missions that can lead to more intricate dialogue with the different Neons. I liked how this expanded the character stories and gave them a little more personality.

Neon White has been an overall fantastic experience with interesting characters and card mechanics combined with the shooting, making combat exciting, and fun side quests and challenge levels better expand the stories of the characters. After 10 hours I found it hard to put the controller down, and I cannot wait to jump back in and finish every side quest.

SCORE: 9.0

Review Copy Courtesy of Annapurna Interactive