Neon Abyss

 Switch
User Score
6.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 27 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 27
  3. Negative: 8 out of 27

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  1. whataruckus
    Jul 17, 2020
    7
    I picked this game up after playing the demo on the e-shop. I love punishing, rouge-like games and Neon Abyss certainly scratches that itch. It reminds me a lot of Enter the Gungeon in that you are exploring the same few random floors over and over, collecting loot and crazy power-ups along the way. Also like ETG, it’s got a sense of humor. I also get some vibes that remind me of theI picked this game up after playing the demo on the e-shop. I love punishing, rouge-like games and Neon Abyss certainly scratches that itch. It reminds me a lot of Enter the Gungeon in that you are exploring the same few random floors over and over, collecting loot and crazy power-ups along the way. Also like ETG, it’s got a sense of humor. I also get some vibes that remind me of the Starz adaptation of “American Gods,” in that you are battling “new” gods like TV, fast food, etc. The visuals of the game a simple, but eye catching. The music blends in well, picking up when you are in battle and fading out when you are just exploring.

    All of this seems like it would be a recipe for an excellent review. And it is… except for the frame rate issues. Primarily in the later game boss battles, the frame rate takes a nosedive into a chug and a skip. This can be frustrating if you have managed to doge all the enemy fire on a floor only to have your perfect run ruined.

    Frame rate issues aside, I am still having a blast with this game and cannot wait to keep exploring what it has to offer. I give it a 7/10 for the frame rate issues. If they fix the issue I would bump the score up to an 8.    … Expand
  2. Qpido
    Jul 25, 2020
    5
    Had super high hopes for this game, but clearly was not beta tested enough.

    I played the demo extensively and loved seeing what the full version had to offer once it came out. I was quite disappointed with the lack of additional content or gameplay. Also the amount of crashes and bugs did not help. What annoyed me mostly is that the guns and eggs provide little to no synergy and most of    Had super high hopes for this game, but clearly was not beta tested enough.

    I played the demo extensively and loved seeing what the full version had to offer once it came out. I was quite disappointed with the lack of additional content or gameplay. Also the amount of crashes and bugs did not help.

    What annoyed me mostly is that the guns and eggs provide little to no synergy and most of the time work against each other. The shielding egg that hovers around you blocks your bullets half the time and with the explosive damage on just ends up killing you within 2-3 rooms, making every game a total waste of time if you dare try picking up “power ups”.

    This game has so much potential, but there just wasn’t enough input into the room designs, not enough cool hidden features and the items are limiting and mostly provide anti-value to your gameplay. It’s attempting a new take on the Binding of Isaac, where every playthrough felt like a new adventure with things to discover. This game was either released too early or the developers lack creativity to make this game live up to its full potential, which it definitely, definitely has.    … Expand
  3. OMGTehAwsome
    Sep 2, 2020
    5
    Short and sweet: it's a capable action rogue-like with a fun art style, though it does suffer from some really frustrating glitches, limited boss selection and not quite perfectly honed design.

    This game wears its Binding of Isaac inspiration on its sleeve, and that's A-okay. I've put a lot of hours into it, and it's an absolute blast when you're fighting the odds and manage to score    Short and sweet: it's a capable action rogue-like with a fun art style, though it does suffer from some really frustrating glitches, limited boss selection and not quite perfectly honed design.

    This game wears its Binding of Isaac inspiration on its sleeve, and that's A-okay. I've put a lot of hours into it, and it's an absolute blast when you're fighting the odds and manage to score that one lucky item that turns your terrible build into something amazing. The progression system is also pretty nice, because even if everything went horribly there's still a chance you made progress towards a new room or character.

    The big downside is the bugs. It's actually pretty bad. I would say there's a game-breaking bug... maybe 1 every 4 or 5 games? The entire screen just goes black, with the game still running in the background, with no way to bring it back. Massive framerate drops during weird times. Crashes when you enter a boss portal. Crashed when you enter a room. Crashes when you just finished your game and it saves your progress. Speaking of which, the lack of saves is also a real bummer. Sometimes I just want to put a run aside for later and pop over into another game for a quick second, but you can't. And this wouldn't be an issue but some of these runs are looooong. If you're being thorough and careful it could be an hour of gameplay just gone.

    The design... oh man... everything is so close to being great, but always missing by a hair. I've written and rewritten my checklist of issues and complaints so many times, but it's just too long... The gameplay elements are like taking a bite of what you thought was a perfect pumpkin pie, only to find out it's sweet potato pie, they left out have the sugar on accident, and the crust was made with saltines instead of graham crackers. It's... edible. And you see what they were trying to do. But those bites are still really disappointing when you weren't ready for them.    … Expand
  4. AngelStarr
    Aug 6, 2020
    6
    "Neon Isaac"
    It's definitely fun, I'll give it that. But I have two issues with it: the first is how small its world feels. The music, fantastic as it is, kind of gets tired fast. The world just kind of gets old fast TBH.
    Secondly, I simply can't help but cringe & grit my teeth at the oh-so-obvious ripping off of Binding of Isaac's both graphical style & ideas, to the point where sometimes    "Neon Isaac"
    It's definitely fun, I'll give it that. But I have two issues with it: the first is how small its world feels. The music, fantastic as it is, kind of gets tired fast. The world just kind of gets old fast TBH.
    Secondly, I simply can't help but cringe & grit my teeth at the oh-so-obvious ripping off of Binding of Isaac's both graphical style & ideas, to the point where sometimes I felt like my mind was hoping for certain sidekicks from Isaac's world.    … Expand
  5. commstarbase
    Oct 2, 2020
    7
    While the genre is pretty packed these days, Neon Abyss has a pretty fun take on the roguelike genre. I enjoy the dual-stick controls and the punishing difficulty. The art is also pretty fun! The onboarding didn't feel particularly strong and I will say that while the runs aren't as dynamic per run, it's a solid choice!

Awards & Rankings

82
#82 Best Switch Game of 2020
64
#64 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. Nintenderos
    Nov 29, 2020
    70
    A game with a fun playable essence, a sensation of successful shooting and constant challenge, but with some unbalanced design decisions, especially those that aimed at better and greater content compared to its progression system.
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  2. Cubed3
    Aug 28, 2020
    70
    Those who love The Binding of Isaac and Enter the Gungeon will find an awful lot to like here. The gameplay is fast and fluid, the presentation striking, and there is a huge amount to keep coming back for. There are tons of things to unlock that change up subsequent runs, unique seeds to master the most enjoyable versions of levels, and even an insanely challenging difficulty mode to unlock. The biggest issue is the small amount of rooms to pull from when generating a stage. It's not too noticeable for a few play-throughs, but for the players who will run this over and over, it really detracts from the experience.
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  3. GamingTrend
    Jul 27, 2020
    90
    Neon Abyss plays like a panic-stricken, action, rouge game that knows exactly what it wants to be from beginning to the end. The guns are big, the options are plentiful, and randomness is the name of the game. The boss battles left me a bit empty, but this game is definitely more than a glass half full.
    Read full review
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