This is only v0.1 and its already S tier, holy shit.
TLDR - It is the best feeling to see that the devs (including creatives!) on a previous project have earnestly listened to the feedback/criticism received on their earlier efforts. Its quite clear that they have made *serious* efforts to address the the downsides of Third Crisis in this Neon Nights Prequel. This is apparent even at the level of this v0.1 demo release. I was so impressed, I immediately subbed to their Patreon. I don't often write reviews either, but here I am.
THE PREVIOUS GAME:
To me, their first game felt like a solid assemblage of typical h-game tropes. Well done enough, but nothing really new. Also, toward the end, the main plotline became angsty/emo, which really nerfed the hot. I don't play an h-game to experience the fictional character's relationship trauma.
THIS GAME:
This new game, Neon Lights, just hits the ground running. Leverage of the Unity engine is superb. Graphics, audio, ambience, all already hitting the right notes. There's a cohesion to the game's UI/UX, aesthetic, and story that just resonates. Like when you have a really good band, the band is 10x better than each member individually.
There's tons of mechanics I've not yet encountered in any other h-game (though my tastes are more eclectic, so maybe you have). Some examples: an inventory of gadgets that lets me interface with the world in novel ways. Its not just that these things are present, i.e. "Item used!" but the way they are woven into the game experience. I won't spoil it, go try it! Some take the form of minigames, which I have encountered, and the balancing on these could be made a bit more challenging, but for v0.1 they easily get a pass on this.
The way you interact with main characters is completely novel to me. There is an ability to "Inspect" them, which drives a lot of the story and evolution of the player character. Again, won't spoil. Check it out, its versatile and fresh af!
The corruption mechanic is woven into the story plotline seamlessly. Everything just holds togething in this game, making for an extremely immersive and interesting experience. The voice acting on many of the main characters, including the player character, feels professional on all except one minor character.
More importantly, the narrative foundation has been laid for all sorts of solid fetish/themes later: body modification, robots, latex, drug addiction, sex addiction, etc. There is beautifully crafted world-building already in place that foreshadows all of these in a way that makes sense.
All in all, wow. I congratulate this dev team, v0.1 is already polished and tight. I cannot wait to see what you have in store for us as you build this out. Thank you for hearing us!
