Neon Abyss 2 Review – More Neon, More Abyss

I never played the first Neon Abyss, mostly because I'm not a big fan of roguelikes and even less of a fan of pixel-art games. Over the years, though, I've learned to tolerate both quite well, and here I am, spending my days with a game I wouldn't have even touched five years ago. After doing some digging, I found out that people really loved the original.

What made the first game so much fun was the fact that you could stack up a lot of items with different abilities, hatch a small army of pets, and customise your guns into something truly formidable. So the sequel's job wasn't a hard one: improve upon an already well-received game. The developers did just that, because if the game gave so much fun to a guy who appreciates neither roguelikes nor pixel art, fans of both will definitely have a blast playing it.

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Neon Abyss 2 is a chaotic and charming game, and I like it a lot despite the fact that such a game is really not my cup of tea.

Story – Gods in Neon

Let's get something straight right away. The story, or the lack of one, isn't something you'll judge a game like this by, and if it isn't memorable, who cares? Neon Abyss 2 clearly aims for other qualities, and to be honest, it has plenty of them. You play as one of eleven Agents sent into the Abyss, a strange cybermyth take on New York where neon signs and gods share the same streets.

Your job is to venture into the Abyss, kill the enemies that get in your way, and reach the boss you have to beat. The bosses are gods of some sort, with Theia, Goddess of Vanity, waiting at the very end as the final boss. That's pretty much it. No plot twists, no betrayals, no drama, just pure fun and a tiny story that holds everything together just enough to give you a reason to keep going. In other words, the story is just an excuse to send you down the Abyss again and again, and it works just fine.

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Neon Abyss 2 is basically a storyless game, but that's okay; no one will judge it for the lack of the story when the other stuff is so much fun.

Gameplay – Luck of the Draw

At its core, Neon Abyss 2 is a 2D run-and-gun roguelike. You jump into randomly generated rooms full of enemies, shops, secrets, and bosses, and if you die, you start again. If you've played The Binding of Isaac (the one roguelike I actually liked a lot), you'll notice many similarities right away. Each Agent starts with a different loadout, like extra health, a double jump or a second weapon, although a few of them are clearly stronger than the rest.

The star that shines brightest in Neon Abyss 2 is the weapon system. Weapons range from homing lasers and flaming katanas to paper cranes and fish bones, and as you upgrade them, they gain better abilities like more projectiles, longer range or effects on hit. Weapons you don't need can be broken down into experience for the one you're using, so even a weapon with bad stats becomes a nice source of upgrade material. It's a win-win situation every time.

Items are where things get really interesting. There are hundreds of them, and you can stack as many as you want, which leads to some crazy combinations. Some will make you unstoppable, like explosive bullets combined with explosion immunity, while others, if you don't think them through, can ruin a run in seconds. You can also hatch small companions from eggs, and they fight by your side and evolve into stronger forms, especially when you combine three of the same kind.

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The gameplay in Neon Abyss 2 is very versatile, with so many things to buy, win, and customise.

And then there's the Faith system. At the start of each floor, you can pledge your allegiance to one of several Faiths, and each one rewards a different playstyle. Consumerism wants you to spend coins, Artisanism wants you to recycle weapons, and Fortunism is all about gambling. Fill the Faith bar, and you open a temple with rewards tied to that Faith.

For me, the Faith that stands out the most, and the one you'll probably rely on the most, is Fortunism, because there's a lot of gambling in this game. You can bet all sorts of resources in the hope of getting better weapons and gear, and RNG plays a huge role here. Go for it or ignore it completely; it's really up to you, but know that taking the risk can pay off very handsomely.

Now, for something that interests every roguelike fan: how things work between runs. I'm happy to report that everything is as it should be here. The hub is really big, and the permanent upgrade trees mostly change the Abyss itself, adding new rooms and encounters instead of just boosting your stats.

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The game's hub is really huge, so much so that you can easily get lost inside of it.

There's also a new online co-op mode for up to four players, which didn't exist in the first game. Playing with friends or random people from the internet can be a nice change of pace and a lot of fun. However, there's already so much happening on screen with just one character, so imagine what it looks like when four people start firing projectiles at the same time. Pure chaos, that's what. I tried it briefly, and the chaos on the screen just wasn't for me.

It's not all perfect, though. The level design gets repetitive after a while. I guess that's a problem with roguelikes in general, but a bit more variety wouldn't hurt the game at all. After just a couple of hours and several runs, I had the feeling I'd seen it all.

The builds can also get extremely strong if you manage to find one that fits your playstyle perfectly. Once that happens, the difficulty drops off quickly, and you'll cut through mobs and bosses like a hot knife through butter. Still, these are really small issues compared to everything the game does right.

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The bosses are very creative in Neon Abyss 2.

Visuals and Performance – Bright Lights, Smooth Ride

Visually, Neon Abyss 2 looks great. Pixel art is not my preferred visual style, but I'd be lying if I said this one doesn't look inviting. The neon colours may seem like too much at first, but once your eyes adjust, you start to like them more and more. The bosses, in particular, are a real visual spectacle.

Your character's look also changes with your equipment, which is a nice touch. The downside is that all those effects, neon lights and explosions can get overwhelming when the screen fills up, turning into a huge visual mess, and some enemy attacks are hard to read in the middle of all that chaos.

Performance on the PS5 was excellent. Even in the busiest rooms full of explosions, and even during co-op sessions with dozens of projectiles on screen, the game ran smoothly, and I didn't run into a single crash, bug, or frame drop during my time with it. For a game that throws this much at you, that's no small thing.

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Neon lights are a real highlight of the Neon Abyss 2's design.

Conclusion

Neon Abyss 2 had a tough job convincing someone who doesn't care much for roguelikes or pixel art, and it managed to do it with ease. The weapon system, the endless item combinations, the Faith system, and smarter progression between runs kept me coming back far more often than I expected.

It's not without flaws, as the level design gets repetitive quickly, strong builds take the challenge out of it, and co-op is a bit too chaotic for my taste. Still, if a game like this can win me over, fans of the genre and the original are in for a real treat.