Neon Abyss 2 Preview

Are you a fan of the cyberpunk aesthetic, along with roguelike shooters? If so, then you probably know Veewo Games’ Neon Abyss. Now, in the interest of fairness, I never played the original game, but I had the chance to try out the upcoming Neon Abyss 2 to see if this is the kind of title that I could run and gun through, or if I’d rather stay at the main hub’s bar. 

As I said, Neon Abyss 2 is a roguelike action shooter where you’ll be completing runs to reach bosses while trying to survive. The aim here isn’t to instantly progress; instead, it’s to get better with each attempt, which includes levelling up plus completing tasks to unlock new weapons and power-ups. With that in mind, you should be aware that you’ll be dying a lot, but I appreciate that Veewo included a difficulty option.

The gameplay focuses on moving around while constantly shooting as you attempt to navigate each level to find the boss room. The movement itself feels smooth, and the enemy attacks are telegraphed well enough that dodging them never feels impossible, while at the same time, they never feel too easy. It’s a difficult tightrope to walk for a game, which Neon Abyss 2 manages well. 

Combat is done using weapons that you can find on each run, and these are pretty varied. In my run-throughs, I found everything from machine guns to magical swords. I will say that you won’t always find weapons on each level, which is a bit more random than I would really like. This isn’t helped by the base gun being pretty terrible, with low damage, so if you get stuck with it for the first level without finding a replacement, then you’re going to be in trouble.  

On top of the weapons, you’ll also find power-ups throughout the level that improve your character in a myriad of ways. The issue is that I found this to be the weakest part of Neon Abyss 2, as the disparity between the power-ups compounds the disparity between the weapons. I found that the majority of them didn’t really have much of an effect on my playthrough, with only a few standing out as being helpful. 

One new addition for Neon Abyss 2 is the option to play the game in co-op with up to three other players. In concept, I would imagine this would be the best way to play the game; however, I never managed to find a game in progress as the multiplayer mode is still in beta. With that said, Warhammer 40,000: Shootas, Blood & Teef, which is a similar type of game, also offers co-op, which is one of the best ways to play the game, so I would imagine the same would be the case here. 

I have to say that the graphical style of Neon Abyss 2 is very cool; the blend of the pixelated art and the cyberpunk aesthetic works well together. The music is also a bit of a bop, although not memorable enough to stand out on its own. 

While I enjoyed my time with Neon Abyss 2, it does still need some work, especially when it comes to balancing. I think the difference between the weapons needs to be narrowed a bit to make it less of a gamble. Also, some of the pickups still used the Japanese text that wouldn’t translate, which is a bit of a problem when you’re relying on new weapons to survive. 

The problem I really have with Neon Abyss 2 is that everything here has been done before, and in a better state of working. That means the only truly standout aspect is the aesthetic, which is certainly impressive, but may not be enough for some players. However, in the interest of fairness, the game is still in Early Access, so there’s still time for Neon Abyss 2 to change for the better. 

For the time being, Neon Abyss 2 is a fun game and it’s an entertaining way to while away a few hours; however, it might struggle to stand out in a saturated market.