Roguelites are as popular as ever, and it feels like this is the hundredth one I’ve reviewed over the years. What makes the genre one of my favorites, though, is that each one is unique and has something going for it that makes you want to play it just as much (if not more) than a counterpart. Never have I seen one so closely mirror another than Neon Blight towards Enter the Gungeon, though. Let’s see why the former draws such a comparison in this review!

There are tons of things that roguelites have in common. Typically there is a pixel aesthetic to enhance playability, a crushing difficulty to encourage you to keep playing, and so much variety between room layouts, weapons, and abilities so that no two runs are the same. Neon Blight checks all of these boxes, opting for the twin-stick room-to-room intensity that I’ve been hammering away at for more than a decade now.

What perturbs me, though, is how closely this looks and plays to Enter the Gungeon. It’s not a one-for-one clone, but the circular bullets, dodge timing, choice of several guns, enemy types, enemy grunts upon bullet hit, and several other factors are too similar to ignore. It’s one thing to take inspiration from a predecessor, considering this genre is owed to the common denominator of Binding of Isaac. However, this feels as shallow as Lil Gator mimicking A Short Hike in that it’s so clear what the game is trying to do that it distracts from its original aspects.

Aside from the comparison, Neon Blight is fundamentally a decent game. The gunplay feels just fine, and there are a variety of guns to discover, buy, and even dig up with a metal detector. The problem is that most of the guns I encountered in my playthrough ended up being small variations of a pistol. They’re not wild enough to make for a fresh-feeling mechanic. Thankfully, the game does have a redeeming mechanic in the form of running the gun shop outside of combat zones.

If end up finding a gun you don’t like, or if you run out of ammo, you can offer it for NPCs to buy. There’s a market value that you can structure your pricing off of, and I found gravitating towards this amount guaranteed a sale. Unfortunately, more than once, I watched as buyers would get stuck in the environment on their way to the register. I would also get stuck in the combat zone a few times, having to roll my way out of a wall while my immersion was broken. In addition, upgrading your shop costs 5,000 coins. Even with budgeting, I spent hours plugging away and ended up never having more than 3,000 coins while balancing my health and gun reserves.

Neon Blight could have used some more time in the oven before releasing in this state. Sitting at a measly 40% with 35 reviews almost a week after release, it’s off to a rough start. I know this game could be a strong contender with more polish and price balancing, as the combat is a treat even if it emulates Gungeon. It’s not exactly the first cyberpunk game to have this kind of beginning, but a redemption is always possible. In the meantime, gauge your roguelite options as there’s a market of them and this isn’t at the top of the food chain just yet.

A PC review copy of Neon Blight was provided by Freedom Games for this review.

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Neon Blight

$19.99

5

Score

5.0/10

Pros

• Great Core Gameplay
• Solid Cyberpunk Aesthetic

Cons

• Insane Grind
• Buggy Mess
• Lacking Gun Variety
• Too Similar to Enter the Gungeon