Throughout its 30 years of history, Team 17 studios have given great titles to everyone who likes video games, of course, associated with independent studios. But do not lean only on the number of titles released but on the quality of them.
Neon Abyss is the masterpiece of Veewo Games studios, based in China. Presented as an action-platformer Roguelite, he promises to delight those who seek Run n’ Gun action.
Neon Abyss puts the player in the shoes of a member of the “Grim Squad”, a force created by Hades himself to infiltrate the abyss and defeat the new gods. Like all Roguelites, the player’s death is not at all problematic, since it is possible to repeat it infinite times. However, the inventory collected in the previous Run will not be passable to the new Run. Only points unlocked with the golden prisms remain.
These points function as a skill tree, which is permanently unlocked and can be passive skills, new equipment, and new characters.
But how is it possible to collect these golden prisms? Well, each level has a different number of rooms that culminate in the combat room against the final Boss of that level. There are two types of “Boss fight”, the main Boss and the secondary Boss. Neon Abyss presents several layers of progress, which culminate in battles against the main Bosses.
To reach the first main Boss, it is necessary to pass 4 levels that have a secondary boss at the end of each one and so on. Now each main Boss will always be the same for the different “layers” of difficulty since they are more complicated to overcome. All others will be completely random.
That said, at the end of the confrontation against these enemies it is possible to collect the prisms that allow the player to place points in the options that are most convenient to him. This exchange takes place at the bar, in other words, on the menu between Runs.
As the levels progress, the difficulty will increase to try to match the player’s skill level. The first Runs may seem super easy, but the scenario will change quickly.
This title presents some different mechanics of titles of the same genre. With the premise of having the company of “pets” through eggs that are hatched randomly, and that contain small friends who help the player. But not everything is good news since there are “pets” with less good skills. For example one with the appearance of Trump, who collects the coins left on the floor, leaving nothing for the player.
Each pet can evolve and change its appearance if the player keeps it alive.
A very interesting feature is the feeling of expansion during gameplay, since it is possible to add small levels to the “dungeons” that have new mechanics. It’s almost like adding a small patch to the game. These levels are also unlocked together in the skills tree.
In terms of gameplay Neon Abyss hit the most important points to make the player feel completely satisfied with taking down his enemies. This title focuses on frantic, action-packed gameplay trying to hit the perfect imbalance, with incredible item synergies and weapon modifications. Each modification will bring a physical change in the character itself or a visual addition to your weapons, in addition to changing the firing speed, the size of the bullets and the damage.
As this is a completely random title, it is normal for some Runs to run not that great, but it is not a tedious experience. On the contrary, it makes the player want to go again and think about the best way to overcome each threat.
There is a system of wisdom vs violence. According to certain actions that the player performs during the course of his run, the faith meter in the lower right corner of the screen will change. To increase the wisdom vector, shown in purple, it is necessary to invest the purple crystals. On the other hand, if the intention is to increase the vector of violence, shown in red, it is necessary to sacrifice hit points. It is important to keep only one of these options since when you fill this bar up to the end, it is possible to unlock a special room that gives awesome upgrades.
Overall, Neon Abyss is a very creative title, strange in a good way, and unpredictable. There is a lot of content to be unlocked, which will provide hours of fun for those who like titles with a lot of repetition. On the less good side, there is not a wide variety of “secondary Bosses” and the different areas do not have a big graphic change, just different colored lights that can outline some point of difference.
[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by Team17.]
