Neon Chrome (Nintendo Switch) Review

What do you get if you cross the concept of The Matrix with something like Hotline Miami? The answer is a cyberpunk-esque, fast paced shooter, with pleasingly fast and frantic gameplay. Visually, Neon Chrome looks the way the title implies; futuristic, colourful lasers, and neon lighting all over the levels. The soundtrack also plays a part in getting the immersion right, with its synthesized '80s style, all of which is incredibly rocking!

Neon Chrome is played over 6 chapters and 30 different levels, battling through hordes of enemies in an office building to get to the evil Overseer. Almost everything in Neon Chrome is procedurally generated, including the character select feature, which randomly gives a selection of three different characters on each playthrough to choose from, all with their own special abilities and perks. Selectable characters can range from a Soldier that can deal more damage than others, or a Techie that can hack into crates scattered throughout the level.

The selected character will sit in the immersion chair (now you can see where The Matrix comparison comes in) to wage battle on enemy after enemy inside the office block. Neon Chrome is a twin-stick shooter, utilising the left stick to move, the right stick to direct the reticule and the shoulder buttons to shoot. This control set up can take a little getting used to as other twin-stick shooters will fire with the right-hand joystick, and it can be frustrating in the early stages given the aiming sensitivity.

The environments look largely similar from level to level which are set in rather miniscule and enclosed rooms, all of which add to the difficulty from avoiding enemies and dancing from a shower of bullets. Interestingly, a number of the walls, desks, and other environmental objects, can be destroyed to create a bit more space, or in some cases explosive barrels can be shot to create a radius of damage (where was the health and safety inspector for this office?).

The aim is to get to the top of the office building to fight the evil Overseer, but getting there will be very challenging. Luckily, Neon Chrome does offer check points after each chapter, meaning that players don't have to restart all the way from the start after they die. Along the way there will be a number of weapons, perks, and enhancements to help improve the selected character, again all randomised and procedurally placed, so it is really down to the luck of the draw.

Unfortunately, death is quite likely, and upon dying all of these perks and weapons will become lost and obsolete, fortunately the money collected on each run is retained. Money can be spent in the main hub area, improving the base stats such as Health, Damage, Luck, Energy, and the number of enhancement slots available. Furthermore, money can also be spent on permanently unlocking weapons, abilities and enhancements, but despite all of the enhancements it can still be quite gruelling and the grind can get frustrating yet rewarding all at the same time.