Review: Neon City Riders

cre: Review: Neon City Riders

Neon City is about to EXPLODE

It’s the year 2075 and all is not well under the ultraviolet lights of Neon City. Following the Android revolution, which resulted in a civil war and the destruction of thousands of automatons, the bustling cyber-metropolis and its surroundings are thrown into deep disarray.

Taking advantage of the dark aftermath of this conflict, brutal gangs have carved out what’s left of the ‘berg for themselves, with each gang leader taking a piece of Neon City’s miserable waste and making it their own territory. With humans and mutants fearing for their lives, and the remnants of the android population living miserably in the shadows, Neon City has become a buzzing hive of criminal activity. And it seems that no one dares – or is able – to put an end to it.

Our boy Rick, a young vigilante who decided he was mad as hell, and he won’t take it anymore, crashes into this tale of the dark future. Slipping in a denim war vest like I rocked in 89 and a hockey mask like that other Rick, our hero, rips a length of rusty pipe out of the wall and sets out to free the baddest streets.

So begins Neon City Riders, the first release from indie Mexican developer Mecha Studios. Published by Bromio (from Box Pato notoriety), Neon City Riders is a stylish, retro love letter to classic adventure titles of yesteryear.

Neon City Riders (PS4 [reviewed]PC, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch)
Developer: Mecha Studios
Publisher: Bromio
Released: March 12, 2020
MSRP: $19.99

Neon City Riders is, essentially, a bit of everything. It has a top-down perspective reminiscent Zelda: A Link to the Past (with a grass cutter mechanism) it has the intricate pixel detail of titles like Retro City Rampagethe fast and ruthless fight of Hotline Miamithe “progress-equal skills” of a metroidvania, and the general vibe of ’90s Amiga adventures. But despite wearing these and other masks, NCR struggle to find their own identity.

Players guide Rick through Neon City and its surroundings, including a junkyard, a spooky forest, the sewers, and a frosty, snowy cliff. The map is open from the start, emphasizing NCRthe key element of: exploration. Players can fight their way through these locations in any order they choose, but they will eventually run into roadblocks, clear through specific items, or by learning unique skills.

This dedication to free exploration is a direct reflection of the laid-back problem-solving approach of many 90s games, where you’d be sent in one direction, only to find you’d be better off choosing another. It’s not a problem in itself (especially for those who like map exploration), but the problem lies in NCRlack of interesting things to do along the way.

Neon City is filled with a variety of locations, ranging from sleek, to sleazy, to bustling, to austere, and all of them are beautifully done. But, for the most part, they feel eerily empty, often resulting in long periods of simply walking back and forth across large, spacious areas, while searching any trigger to activate further progress. After just a few hours of exploring, these stunning locations are starting to feel drained of their original color.

As Rick fights his way through enemy territory, he will be attacked by many thugs, unique to each gang. Combat is essentially pattern recognition, with nearly all combat – including boss fights – boiling down to “dodge then attack”. The warning frames are thin and the punches ruthless, in accordance with NCRis the love of old school difficulty. This works well for those with quick reflexes (or a lot of shmup experience), but others might find enemy combat (which reappears with each new screen visit) a bit frustrating.

Rick only has access to a few useful maneuvers, gained by defeating each of Neon City’s gang leaders and their lieutenants. NCR intentionally throws the player into the depths, delivering a tutorial that quickly establishes the incoming difficulty curve before further stripping Rick of his most useful abilities, leaving the player with little more than his quick wits. Again, it may be exactly what you, as a player, expect from your adventure. If you’re looking for trouble, you’ve come to the right place.

When he’s not cracking heads, Rick is frequently thrown into sets dodging hazards – dashes on collapsing floors; mismatched conveyor belts; frozen cliffs; spikes; pits; and rock falls. NCR is happy enough to put you in situations where pixel-perfect control and expert timing are a necessity to progress. But even if it never really seems “unfair”, NCR sometimes stacks the odds in an obnoxious way.

Take for example a (literal) frantic race, which simultaneously involves one-hit obstacles, thin lane, meter management, so what reverses your control inputs. Or maybe a complex, high-speed dash through a corridor of spikes and Tesla coils, the Big Punchline being that it leads to a dead end. While NCR should be applauded for its dedication to difficulty, moments like these come across as simply cheap, a far cry from the game’s cleverer alternate puzzles.

Neon City Riders shines in its presentation. The world is full of cool NPCs and enemies, their small on-screen stature belying the awesome color, detail, animation, and character that erupts from each one of them. Bosses and their lieutenants are uniformly great from a physical design standpoint, even though their backstories are all “I’m bad but SOCIETY”. Equally magnetic are NCRlots of locations, filled with neat little animated touches and loads of fun background details. Neon City exudes a great 2000 AD ambiance, complete with an eerie use of color, light and shadow.

Bringing these visuals to life is NCRis the rhythm-heavy score. Like everything else, the music bristles with a nostalgic flair, reminiscent of the tunes pumped out by the Amiga and the humble C64 in their heyday. The tracks themselves are a mixed bag. The tunes range from excellent – like the John Carpenter-esque Neon City theme and a haunting big track in the android heist – to the very repetitive sewer theme, which grates loudly. For the most part, the soundtrack is great. Neon City Riders nails its vibe and aesthetic, and is, without a doubt, the ace of the game.

Neon City Riders has four different endings to conclude its 12-15 hour journey. It also features a long list of side quests that unlock racing buddies, fun character skins, and other surprises. Given the general difficulty of NCRThe centerpieces of the action and the sometimes laborious exploration many players will find unique, while those less patient may find frustration or fatigue will see them tapping early. It should be noted that I had a recurring issue with the PS4 edition that caused the game to randomly crash on the map screen, so hopefully this will be fixed in an update.

There’s a lot to like Neon City Riders singular. It has great music, lovely graphics, great character design, rad pixel art/animation, and some very small but important tech touches. He also wears his difficulty with pride, daring players to face the threats of his old-fashioned tenacity. But ultimately the gameplay does not meet the commitment of the design, and becomes boring over time.

Still, the silver lining here is that Mecha Studios is clearly a talented band and, despite NCRits faults, its merits always shine with a thousand lights. I hope the developer’s future projects capitalize on the team’s obvious strengths, as well as their obvious adoration of the game’s halcyon days.

Initially, Neon City Riders is a delight, sporting gorgeous pixel art, fun characters, and upbeat music. But after a few hours, the experience wears thin, as its attractive world begins to empty and its quest disengages. While hard set pieces are never unfair, their relentlessness can push some players into submission. Neon City Riders shows undeniable promise, but fails to truly ensnare players in its alluring nu-wave nightmare.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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