Inverse Codex

Everything you need to know about Neon White, the heavenly action game

Anime in Heaven.

Neon White looks like a fascinating game from Ben Esposito, the creator of Donut County. It was announced at the February 18 Nintendo Direct as Annapurna Interactive's latest indie game sensation. The Direct presented us with a crash course of what to expect from this new first-person action game.

Here's everything we know about Neon White.

But first: How did gaming get you through the pandemic? We want to hear from you! Take this quick Inverse survey.

When is the Neon White release date?

Neon White will be released on the Nintendo Switch and PC sometime during holiday 2021.

Is there a Neon White trailer?

You're in luck, Neon White was announced with a trailer. You can watch it below.

From the trailer, we get a close look at a few things we can expect from Neon White. Firstly, the main character seems to either be voiced by the legendary Steve Blum, known for portraying Spike Spiegel in Cowboy Bebop or Annapurna has found the actor's aural twin. The trailer takes us through some first-person gameplay, while maybe-Blum continues to provide narration.

From what he describes, the characters are taking part in a Heaven-based survival game. You'll fight enemies using tarot card-style power-ups that each have a limited number of uses before you have to discard them. There also seems to be a visual novel component, which is how the story is told. It's unknown how the story and gameplay will intersect.

What's the Neon White story?

You play as White, the masked assassin that's presumably voiced by Steve Blum. He was chosen from Hell to compete with the others wearing masks for a chance to make Heaven his permanent home. All those wearing masks are called "Neons."

For White to get a spot in Heaven, he along with the other Neons, need to ward off a demon infestation.

In addition to warding off the infestation, you'll need to fight other Neons to win the single spot in Heaven.

Is there gameplay for Neon White?

Yes! It can be seen in the trailer. If you still need more information, creator Ben Esposito has described what inspired the game.

Neon White is a first-person action platformer inspired by Y2K era anime and cult-classic character action games. Our goal is to make the sickest game on the demo disc,” said Esposito.

From this description, it sounds like Neon White intends to ape the frenetic energy of demos found on Jam Pack, a demo collection that was available in the PS2-era. It'll likely keep up the high energy in future gameplay snippets.

Will Neon White have romance?

White and another Neon getting close

Annapurna Interactive

As with all anime games, the biggest question on a potential buyer's mind is if they can give a little smooch to their digital amor. We don't have a concrete answer on this yet, but it seems likely. You can check out the above screenshot featuring White getting close to another Neon in a somewhat compromising position. Between that saucy look and the anime nature of this game, it would be foolish to write romance off as a possibility just yet. We'll know more as we get closer to the release date.

Neon White will come to Nintendo Switch and PC during the 2021 holiday season.

Related Tags