People’s perception of Heaven usually is pretty similar. We all imagine Heaven above as a relaxing place free of sin and acts as a true final place for rest and peace. In the world of Neon White, Heaven might be peaceful but the inhabitants aren’t too “friendly”. Players assume the role of an amnesiac who just died and now has been named Neon White. Your goal is to stay away from hell by participating in a strange game of killing demons and out slaying the other Neons. Neon White was a surprise for us here at Honey’s Anime but let us tell you right now, we truly loved this game. Here’s our full review of Neon White for the PC.

Neon White is the main character in this strange “Heavenly” game and your job is simple: kill demons as fast as possible. Of course, that won’t be as easy as it sounds as there are several core components to Neon White that will test your speedrunning abilities and use of the very clever in-game mechanics. To sum up, Neon White as an FPS would be doing developer Angel Matrix a huge disservice. Neon White tasks players with using “soul cards” to kill demons off with various weapons but also using them to propel your character to reach various heights and platforms. For example, the Elevate gun is what it sounds like, a handgun with the ability to propel you higher up than usual. The Purify gun is a machine gun that can break red obstacles and also create a tiny explosion to kill hordes of enemies and also launch you slightly up in the air. As you play, you’ll quickly learn how to use these weapons to kill enemies and also make for the quickest way to the game’s end flag which clears the level and then rates you based on how fast you beat it. Don’t feel bad if you score bronze a lot, Neon White allows players to replay levels after completing a mission and go about clearing them in a quicker method. You’ll need to do this if you also want to advance the story but more on that caveat later in our review.

Neon White is like watching an anime and playing one at the same time. Visually, we were blown away by the hyper-stylish character designs and loved the aesthetics of all the Neons. Neon White even at times feels like a love letter to Suda 51, who made No More Heroes and Killer 7 with similar designs and even cutscene imagery. Environments were a bit less impressive with a lot of similar-looking areas and enemies but honestly, this is a game less about staring constantly at the backdrop and more about traversing a stage in seconds. We pray a Japanese animation studio decides to animate this title…it would be a truly wicked anime.

Neon White’s soundtrack is something we need to dive into. From the minute Neon White opens to the second you drop into a level, Neon White’s OST just makes your ears perk up with surprise. This soundtrack is godly—done by Machin3gir1—and never failed to make us want to wear our headphones as we tried to reach that Ace Medal on a level. Top that off with some stellar voice acting—Neon White being voiced by the extremely talented Steve Blum—and you have a title that just makes your ears happy.

If there is one fatal flaw to Neon White it would be that you need some level of skill to really get far in this title. After we cruised through the first mission, we found ourselves having to replay nearly every level as the next mission was locked behind a rank that can only be increased via earning Ace or Gold Medals. This might not seem like a bad thing as games should be about getting better and learning from your mistakes but we can see some gamers struggling in later levels as Neon White begins to add even more layers of movement and weaponry. Is this a flaw that makes us say Neon White is bad? Heck, no! Neon White is still incredible but if you are someone who really can’t be bothered to learn a game and try to better your skills in one, Neon White might hit you with an impossible wall as you get further in.

Neon White might be one of our favorite games of 2022 and we mean that genuinely. Stylish, fun, fast-paced, and unique, Neon White was a joy to play, and even as we finish this review we’re still trying to earn better Medals on some of the later levels! For only $24.99, Neon White is a beautiful-looking FPS, Speedrunning game and has truly blown our minds here at Honey’s Anime.

Are you going to speed through the intense world of Neon White this June 16th? Comment below to let us know! Keep stuck to our heavenly hive here at Honey’s Anime for even more game reviews and all things anime related!