cmc/cleberg.net

 1#+date:        [2020-12-28 Mon 00:00:00]
 2#+title:       Neon Drive
 3#+description: My thoughts on Neon Drive, a synthwave-inspired arcade racer.
 4#+slug:        neon-drive
 5#+filetags:    :personal:
 6
 7* Game Description
 8
 9[[https://store.steampowered.com/app/433910/Neon_Drive/][Neon Drive]] presents itself as a simple arcade-style game inspired by the arcade
10race games of the 1980s, yet it has managed to take up hours of my life without
11much effort. The game description, directly from the Steam page, is intriguing
12enough to entice anyone who's been looking for a good arcade racing game:
13
14#+begin_quote
15Neon Drive is a slick retro-futuristic arcade game that will make your brain
16melt. You've been warned. From beautiful cityscapes and ocean roads to exploding
17enemy spaceships, Neon Drive has it all.
18#+end_quote
19
20* Gameplay
21
22The game holds true to the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retrofuturism][retro-futurism]] style, including chrome female robots,
23pixelated arcade machines, and [[https://teddit.net/r/outrun/][outrun]] aesthetics.
24
25Each level of the game is shown as a separate arcade machine. Each arcade
26machine lets you play on Normal, Hard, Insane, Practice, and Free Run. To beat
27each arcade, you must reach the end of the level without crashing your car into
28the various obstacles on the course. Basic levels let you move left or right to
29avoid blocks in the road. Later levels put you through other tests, such as
30dodging traffic or blasting asteroids.
31
32The game uses synthwave music to keep you on track to make the correct moves by
33timing the beats of the songs to the correct moves on the screen. It reminds me
34of the early Guitar Hero games, as well as mobile apps like VOEZ - repetition
35and staying on-beat is the only way to win.
36
37* In-Game Screenshots
38
39Taking a look at the main menu, you can see that Neon Drive plays into every
40stereotype you can think of around retro-futuristic, synthwave arcades (in a
41good way).
42
43Once you get into the first level, we see that the choice of car fits right in
44with the stereotypical cars of the 80s, like the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMC_DeLorean][DeLorean]] or the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrari_F40][Ferrari F40]].
45Each new level comes with new color schemes and cars, so you should never get
46tired of the aesthetic.
47
48Personally, I love the orange and blue colors used in level 2:
49
50If you're the competitive type and getting 100% on all arcade machines isn't
51enough, there are leaderboards for the regular part of the game, and the
52endurance game mode.
53
54* Other Suggestions
55
56Neon Drive sits nicely within the well-founded cult genre of Outrun. Other games
57that I've enjoyed in this same spectrum are:
58
59- [[https://store.steampowered.com/app/233270/Far_Cry_3__Blood_Dragon/][Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon]]
60- [[https://store.steampowered.com/app/1239690/Retrowave/][Retrowave]]
61- [[https://store.steampowered.com/app/732810/Slipstream/][Slipstream]]
62
63Although these games aren't necessarily in the same genre, they do have aspects
64that place them close enough to interest gamers that enjoyed Neon Drive:
65
66- [[https://store.steampowered.com/app/311800/Black_Ice/][Black Ice]]
67- [[https://store.steampowered.com/app/746850/Cloudpunk/][Cloudpunk]]
68- [[https://store.steampowered.com/app/1222680/Need_for_Speed_Heat/][Need for Speed: Heat]]
69- [[https://store.steampowered.com/app/1019310/VirtuaVerse/][VirtuaVerse]]
70
71Of course, if all you really care about is the arcade aspect of these games, you
72can check out the [[https://store.steampowered.com/app/400020/Atari_Vault/][Atari Vault]] or any of the other classic games sold on Steam by
73companies like Namco, Atari. For something like Nintendo, you'd have to settle
74for buying used classic consoles or delve into the world of emulation.