Heaven, it turns out, has Sega-blue skies. Just as we always hoped. What we could never have anticipated, though, is that the rest of the scenery would follow suit. Floating walkways that curve like a section of OutRun track; a marble staircase leading straight to the head of a bulbous demon, just waiting to be jumped on to launch us upwards; impossible airborne canals where water flows upwards, providing a handy speed boost in the process.
This is all good news for your protagonist, who finds himself in paradise on a temporary visa. Heaven has a demon problem, and he’s one of a host of recently deceased sinners with potentially transferable skills who have been shipped in to help solve it, each of them given a mask and new identity as a ‘Neon’, and offered redemption as their reward. But there’s only one spot available beyond the pearly gates, and it’ll go to whichever demon slayer makes it to the finish line first.
[https://magztertemp.s3.amazonaws.com/1387349800/1648040462/articles/624539a9e72b8/1648703767904.jpg]
A few minor details aside, this contest isn’t too far removed from what inspired Neon White’s creation in the first place. During the final stretch of development on Donut County, developer Ben Esposito found himself watching a lot of speed-running videos, and was fascinated. “My background is puzzle design,” he says. “It was really interesting to me that, at a super-high level, [speedrunning] becomes a little bit less about your execution and more about solving a puzzle to shave off some time. You have very limited resources, and people come up with the most ingenious ways to use, like, a stray Goomba.”
[https://magztertemp.s3.amazonaws.com/1387349800/1648040462/articles/624539a9e72b8/1648703859042.jpg]
With Neon White, he’s hoping to open up this experience to a wider audience. The game makes those limited resources explicit, in the form of cards deposited along your path. Pick one up and you’ll be granted a weapon that works like a traditional FPS staple: pistol, shotgun, rocket launcher. You can spend their limited ammunition or discard them early, in exchange for a second movement ability: double jump, forward dash, grappling hook. As in any good card game, then, it’s all about knowing when to hold on to your hand and when to play it. Empty your pistol’s clip taking out a demon and, without its double jump, you won’t be able to reach that ledge up ahead.
[https://magztertemp.s3.amazonaws.com/1387349800/1648040462/articles/624539a9e72b8/1648703859216.jpg]
Finding a solution that lets us eliminate all enemies and reach the exit isn’t too taxing, at least in the selection of levels we sample. But that’s just a solution and, as the end-of level summary slaps us with a bronze medal, it’s clear we have to find a better one. Starting over, you might notice another route hidden in this celestial architecture, a method that leaves some of those cards on the table – and so the puzzle starts to take shape.
If this process of optimisation sounds like it could fall into repetition, then it’s worth noting that the levels are inc...
This is all good news for your protagonist, who finds himself in paradise on a temporary visa. Heaven has a demon problem, and he’s one of a host of recently deceased sinners with potentially transferable skills who have been shipped in to help solve it, each of them given a mask and new identity as a ‘Neon’, and offered redemption as their reward. But there’s only one spot available beyond the pearly gates, and it’ll go to whichever demon slayer makes it to the finish line first.
[https://magztertemp.s3.amazonaws.com/1387349800/1648040462/articles/624539a9e72b8/1648703767904.jpg]
A few minor details aside, this contest isn’t too far removed from what inspired Neon White’s creation in the first place. During the final stretch of development on Donut County, developer Ben Esposito found himself watching a lot of speed-running videos, and was fascinated. “My background is puzzle design,” he says. “It was really interesting to me that, at a super-high level, [speedrunning] becomes a little bit less about your execution and more about solving a puzzle to shave off some time. You have very limited resources, and people come up with the most ingenious ways to use, like, a stray Goomba.”
[https://magztertemp.s3.amazonaws.com/1387349800/1648040462/articles/624539a9e72b8/1648703859042.jpg]
With Neon White, he’s hoping to open up this experience to a wider audience. The game makes those limited resources explicit, in the form of cards deposited along your path. Pick one up and you’ll be granted a weapon that works like a traditional FPS staple: pistol, shotgun, rocket launcher. You can spend their limited ammunition or discard them early, in exchange for a second movement ability: double jump, forward dash, grappling hook. As in any good card game, then, it’s all about knowing when to hold on to your hand and when to play it. Empty your pistol’s clip taking out a demon and, without its double jump, you won’t be able to reach that ledge up ahead.
[https://magztertemp.s3.amazonaws.com/1387349800/1648040462/articles/624539a9e72b8/1648703859216.jpg]
Finding a solution that lets us eliminate all enemies and reach the exit isn’t too taxing, at least in the selection of levels we sample. But that’s just a solution and, as the end-of level summary slaps us with a bronze medal, it’s clear we have to find a better one. Starting over, you might notice another route hidden in this celestial architecture, a method that leaves some of those cards on the table – and so the puzzle starts to take shape.
If this process of optimisation sounds like it could fall into repetition, then it’s worth noting that the levels are inc...
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Edge Uk (Digital) - 1 Issue, May 2022