Neon Abyss

Genre: Action-Platformer / 2-Stick Shooter / Roguelike

Players: 1

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Review:

Neon Abyss is an Action-Platformer with Roguelike elements that has you fighting off enemies in randomized rooms in a glowing pit behind a bar. It was released on multiple platforms including the Nintendo Switch in 2020.

In terms of presentation, this game is fantastic, with pixel art visuals that have some good animation and a ton of neon-soaked personality, and this personality is highlighted even further with a catchy, pulsating beat that really drives home the feeling that you’re fighting gods and demons in the basement of a rockin’ techno club.

As for the gameplay, Neon Abyss is quite a surprise, not because it’s very good (though it is), but because it’s very familiar – even though this is a side-scrolling Platformer and not a top-down Action game, it still repeatedly throughout playing reminded me of The Binding of Isaac. The way enemies act and move, the way action is separated into rooms that need to be cleared, the way you upgrade your abilities with odd trinkets that you may not quite know the implications of until you equip them and then you’re stuck with them, using money, keys, and explosives to get to rooms and chests that are blocked off… and I’ve only just scratched the surface.

While Isaac was about the dark corners of Catholicism and torturing a small child with insects and poop monsters, and Neon Abyss being about fighting demonic monsters and technological “gods” representing things like pop stars and fast food in a never-ending basement of a dance club. If it wasn’t for the change in themes though, Neon Abyss could have easily been a side-scrolling sequel to Binding of Isaac. And while some might knock this game for being a bit unoriginal, I’ve always held that if a game copies the formula of another but does it well, there’s nothing wrong about that, and Neon Abyss does this formula very well, with a great variety of weapons, upgrades, and enemies, as well as a rotating cast of bosses, all ensuring that each run is different than the last.

There are a few flaws that keep Neon Abyss from truly surpassing its inspiration, however. Firstly, many of the rooms you fight in can feel a bit cramped, and it would have been nice for there to be more room to move around during combat. I would argue that this game’s theming isn’t as clear and cohesive as Isaac’s either – at the start, we only have a vague idea what the protagonist even wants. And I feel I should mention that as with many Roguelikes, Binding of Isaac included, your success or failure will depend in part on the random bonuses that become available during your run, which can be frustrating if you get a bad roll of the dice.

Also, there’s one flaw that may be specific to the Nintendo Switch version of the game – occasionally, Neon Abyss on the Nintendo Switch suffers from a brief framerate stutter that causes the game to jump suddenly, skipping a fraction of a second of gameplay. While this isn’t a game-breaking flaw, it’s a noticeable and frustrating one.

Still, overall Neon Abyss is a fantastic Action-Platformer and Roguelike, and those who enjoyed The Binding of Isaac will find themselves right at home with this game. This is a fantastic Action game with a great presentation, a wonderful soundtrack, and enough variety that you’ll want to keep coming back to try one more run over and over again.

tl;dr – Neon Abyss is an Action-Platformer with Roguelike elements that feels a lot like the designers were going for a side-scrolling neon-lit Binding of Isaac, and they largely hit their mark spot-on. Only a few technical flaws keep this game from reaching the same height as that classic Roguelike, but it’s still a phenomenal Action game.

Grade: A-

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2020 Game Awards:

Runner-Up: Best Action Game

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