Dripping with style
There are countless retro-inspired pixel art shooters on the market, so for one to stand out, it takes something special. Neon Inferno has that special something. The first time I played the demo I expected to brush it off as yet another “one of those” and forget about it a week later. Instead, I ended up falling in love with its style, the mechanics, and everything in between.
As you can likely tell by the screenshots, Neon Inferno takes place in a neon-soaked future where a crime syndicate controls various boroughs of New York. Players take on the role of Angelo Morano or Mariana Vitti, or both if you opt for the two-player mode as they work to take down the crime bosses of each area. It’s a simple concept that serves to set up the game play, which is where Neon Inferno excels.
MSRP: $19.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $19.99
This is a 2D action title and the core controls feel great. Shooting is satisfying and movement feels great. There is more here than meets the eye though. First off there is a bullet time mechanic. This is in conjunction with the deflection move where players can send bullets back at enemies. Holding the button after a successful parry engages the bullet time. Then I could direct the bullets in different directions into enemies. This mechanic is simple and fun, and it makes taking down enemies super satisfying.
The most interesting mechanic though is the gallery shooting. During certain sequences during the game there are enemies in the background. This turns into something like Wild Guns where I was shooting people on the 2D plane and some in the background. I could also use cover to avoid bullets or the dodge mechanic. It feels almost like a bullet hell at times, but never as hard. This kept me on my toes, and I loved the mechanic. This is as simple as holding down the shoulder button to bring up an aiming reticule. Switching between all of this is chaos at its finest.
As with most games of this type, there are also vehicle levels. Here players are on a motorcycle that moves from left to right. You can change lanes while taking down enemies. These sections are chaotic and I love it. Traffic is also a factor and swapping lanes is a must otherwise you destroy these vehicles. This leads into the upgrade system
Players can purchase upgrades between levels using in-game currency. This is earned by performance, so during a level depending on how much health you have, how fast you completed it, as well as how many casualties there were, determine how much you earn. So, it is entirely performance-based. This makes replaying levels for a better score actually worthwhile.
While I have grown tired of the pixel art style lately since so many games overuse it, Neon Inferno does it right. The game features big, chunky characters and backgrounds. It just blends so well, and the enemy designs are fun. The animations are also great with some brutal death sequences and flashy animations. Things can get a little too chaotic at times though as I lost track of enemies and projectiles. There are CRT filters for those interested, but I am a pure pixels kind of guy. The game looks and sounds fantastic with a kicking soundtrack and solid sound effects.
Neon Inferno stands out amongst the sea of other pixel-art 2D shooters. It leans into what makes these kinds of games good and doesn’t rely on nostalgia. It brings unique mechanics and a great presentation to round out the package. If you are like me and roll your eyes when another “one of those” is announced, this deserves your attention. The developers have done a great job of mixing the right amount of nostalgia with a core experience worth diving into.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
