Veewo Games is back after the resounding commercial success of the first Neon Abyss with a brand-new sequel that has been in early access for the last year. Neon Abyss 2 is just as fun as the first one, and will definitely scratch that roguelite itch if you have one.
There have been quite a few roguelites this year that have taken up dozens of hours of my free time already, including BlazBlue Entropy Effect and Star Wars: Galactic Racer (yes, it’s a roguelite, and it’s incredible). Neon Abyss 2 fills the void for those looking to get addicted to a highly engaging run’n’gun roguelite that’s relatively easy to pick up but can get as hard as you want it to.
At its core, Neon Abyss 2 nails the biggest hurdle of a roguelite because, like any good game in the genre, it’s fun to play right from the get-go. Pick a character, start blasting enemies, and upgrade your basic weapons with a ton of crazy modifiers and even crazier firepower.
You can play two main modes from the start. Abyss Invasion is your main go-to, since the game is built around it. It’s a very neat mixture of roguelite room progression (clear a wave of enemies for rewards at the end) with a little bit of Metroidvania exploration, as you can freely explore an entire biome in its entirety. So you can either decide to go for a boss early or risk losing health/shield while you try to grind for more currency, recharge secondary abilities, and take on different challenges.
Storm Breach is a snappier, classic take on roguelite progression; you pick a room and simply move forward. It’s made for quicker runs or if you’re not into the whole exploration bit, but personally, I didn’t dabble too much in it as I spent much of my time on the regular mode.
Speaking of rooms, early on they won’t have much going for them; however, part of the game’s permanent progression includes a system called Evolutions. There are several skill trees that will alter how you play the game, letting you change a lot of specific aspects of your runs. One upgrade will add Metroid-like secret rooms for you to discover; another adds barrels with more resources to aid you. You can even get fishing spots added.
Not all modifiers are positive, as the Fate system has both Blessings that can help you out, and Misfortune debuffs to add an extra layer of difficulty if the base challenge isn’t cutting it for you. In fact, the level of customization on display is truly one of the best aspects of Neon Abyss 2; you can go as far as banning specific weapons, artifacts (boons that grant you massive buffs), or Curios (secondary abilities that require Crystals).
Your early hours will constantly incentivize multiple run attempts as you’ll be showered by a plethora of rewards. There are 11 unlockable agents, each with unique perks that add a little bit of variety, ranging from being able to wield exclusive weapons to wilder skills that take advantage of damage taken. There are also over 50 unlockable weapons and dozens of items to be added to the loot pool.
There’s bound to be hit-or-miss stuff just based on the sheer amount of content. That being said, I had fun with the majority of the weapons even if some feel derivative. One of the most inventive ones I’ve run into is a baseball bat. It doubles as a projectile-based weapon and a melee one; you can use it to simply whack enemies, but by timing your swings to hit a baseball, you’ll dish out serious damage.
The entire game is wrapped around a neat pixelated neon vibe. The developers based the bosses around the concept of new gods who have taken over human desire and Greek mythology. It’s an interesting thematic presentation, but it doesn’t do much with it narratively; this isn’t a case like Hades, where the story and dialogue were top-notch and made you care even more about why you were setting out into the underworld to help Zagreus or Melinoe in the sequel.
That said, I do appreciate the simple nature of booting up a game and going for a run or two, and Neon Abyss 2 is perfect for it.
There are still things that I do think keep the game from being an absolute banger. Going into the nitty-gritty of buildcrafting, Neon Abyss 2 never gave me the feeling of properly making the most out of its systems. Coming from Star Wars: Galactic Racer, which always had me thinking about an endgame build right from the start, in Neon Abyss 2 you can cruise, constantly changing weapons and picking whatever items come your way. There’s no friction or decision-making to keep you on your toes.
The game does encourage swapping tools constantly, as you can essentially turn previous weapons into scrap to power up new ones. For as much customization as you can have pre-run, the actual runs themselves could’ve used a bit more of that magic.
If you want to play with a friend, you can jump into the online or co-op mode as well. Sadly, I didn't get to try, but I imagine things could get pretty chaotic, which leads me to another major criticism. Things get too chaotic at times, and it's extremely hard to keep track of enemy projectiles and where you are on the screen.
Getting used to the default controls may also take some time. Using both sticks individually feels challenging, as the left one will control your movement and the right one where you aim. Luckily, the devs thought of it and added a single stick preset which I highly recommend using if you can't get used to the default movement options.
Overall, I really enjoyed my time with Neon Abyss 2. It’s fun, easy to pick up and play, has a ton of progression systems to keep you hooked, and customization to make runs as easy or hard as you want. I would’ve loved more opportunities to create proper builds rather than having mostly incremental upgrades each run, which could have added an extra layer of complexity that the best-in-class games have.
It’s a busy time for gamers with so many releases, trying to avoid the double whammy that is November with the Ocarina of Time remake and Grand Theft Auto 6; if you have a few bucks to spare and want a really solid indie roguelite, you could do much worse than what Veewo Games cooked up.
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A code was provided by the publisher for this review.