NeonCode

CONCEPT I would classify NeonCode as a first-person narrative adventure game. You can think of it a bit like classic point-and-click adventure games like Grim Fandango or Monkey Island but in first person. Basically, you interact with objects in the game world to progress a linear story. Like picking up stuff to have in your inventory to use later or looking around to find a pin code to open a storage room. There’s a basic conversation system with choices, but they all loop back so they might as well have been a linear conversation. There’s also a rudimentary driving system which is just about as good as it needs to be. It’s nice to have since the story takes you across the city several times. You play as an ex-police that's now a private detective. When out on a stroll on the beach you hear a gunshot and are the first on the scene of a murder. You call the police and make it your business to help them solve the murder. LEVEL DESIGN The city is surprisingly big and I’d say overall that the level design is the strongest part of the game’s presentation. The locations were fun to explore and made sense as real places while still not being unnecessarily complex. You travel over the map several times over and it’s almost always a nice ride even though the quest marker is a bit wonky. They aren’t too long. The game area is well utilized and it’s nice that it isn’t too large. You often revisit areas and see them from another perspective giving you nice moments of recognition. It’s also well constructed in that it feels like a small district of a bigger city. You don’t feel the edges of the map and that’s partly due to smart level design, but also the foggy nature of the city. ART DIRECTION Now I'm afraid that my opinion of this game will be a bit less favorable. It’s a bit weird because the game claims to be cyberpunk but it doesn’t have that feel. Sure, ships are hovering over the buildings, neon signs everywhere, and sci-fi-dressed people, but it still doesn’t feel cyberpunk. I think it’s because the game lacks a cohesive visual style and focus. After all, most assets are not cyberpunk at all. There are cars from the ’50s or '60s, Bakelite phones, 2000’s printers, early 1900 streetlights, etc. It’s not unrealistic since real cities are a mix of old and new, but in this case, there are too few cyberpunk elements for it to feel like it. There’s also the problem that the assets feel bought from the Unity store. That’s not necessarily a problem, there’s nothing wrong with built assets for your game, but the choices made here don’t fit together that well. There’s also a problem with the sizes of the assets. Some of them are not to scale. Like doors that have their handles in your face or chairs with seating at chest height. In the same vein, there are floating lamps and stuff like that which gives a sloppy impression and takes you out of the story. The very bare-bones animations don’t help with that feeling of lack of polish. There are very few animations and the ones that are there are very stiff. Overall I think it would have been better for it to have a more stylized and simpler art style. Now it’s firmly stuck in the uncanny valley and some stuff is more realistic than the rest can keep up with. STORY The story is a murder mystery with a film noir tone. It's an overused trope and I think that if you're gonna take a stab at that you need to come loaded with fun ideas. I'm afraid NeonCode doesn't do that. The game doesn't generate not much excitement for the mystery or give me much of a reason to care about the characters. There is some humor, but it just isn't funny enough to carry it. I'd say most of the game has alright pacing, but some places are just downright padding that's illogical for the story. Like when you have to pick up laundry all over town to convince a couple of laundry service workers to give you access to a hotel elevator to investigate a murder. Come on. BUGS There are more than in the Amazon rainforest. I can't recommend this title I'm afraid.