Often when you purchase a title, you expect to get exactly what it says on the box. But when it comes to Neon Drive, you get the exact opposite. As on its digital box you’ll find all the signs of an arcade racing game filled with obstacles and audio-based gameplay elements. But what you actually get, is a rhythm-based action game, which will have you do much more than simply drive a car.
Within the first two stages, Neon Drive will be solely about driving a vehicle through an obstacles course composed of four separate lanes in rhythm to the music. However, just as you enter the latter stages of the third level, Neon Drive goes off the rails, or rather off-road.
Each and every single level in Neon Drive starts off with you simply driving through an obstacle course, but once you reach the halfway point, it shifts to something completely different. As some levels will have you pilot a plane, others a star ship, and some will even be so gimmicky that they’ll turn the car based game into a platformer featuring transformers. And yes, it is as ridiculous as it sounds.
Special segments of all the levels are all out of the ordinary, however, just because they are different doesn’t necessarily mean that they are better. And this is because, unlike the quote-on-quote driving sections, they are not nearly as precise or as well designed. In short, these portions of tracks are erratic, imprecise, and well, not very good. And this is especially worrying when you take into the consideration that gimmicks make up the majority of some levels, especially within the latter portions of the title. But do not fret, as Neon Drive only features 8 levels, meaning that you’re paying roughly £0.998 per level.
The amount of content featured within Neon Drive is simply disappointing. In theory, it can be played to infinity as it features an endless mode, but in practice, endless mode is not even worth anybody’s time. And yes, one could argue that the play time can be increased significantly if one commits to completing all the levels on Insane difficulty, as well as Hard, and Normal. But beyond the second level, Neon Drive is no longer fun, especially on higher difficulties, and many will end their venture with this title once they reach the end of the eighth level, which should take less than an hour – significantly less.
Outside of the rather spectacular 80’s themed neon façade, Neon Drive is nothing more than a disappointment, which promised the world but delivered nothing at all. And what is fascinating, is the fact that the title even drops its neon art style during some stages, and has you fly on top of semi realistic backdrops, which are just as disappointing as the rest of this measly package. A package which is in fact so small, that not much can really be said about it.
Not to sound overly negative, it has to be said that Neon Drive is a title with a lot of promise, but unfortunately one which has been extinguished with the use of questionable design choices, and unnecessary force-fed variety. In-fact, Neon Drive is a lot like the new-wave/punk rock Scottish band The Rezillos. It’s loud, vibrant, and colourful, but only a very small portion of it holds any substance. And many will realise that such is the fact in an instant, and will forget about Neon Drive, just like the world has forgotten about The Rezillos. But just like the band, Neon Drive may come back one day, during a sale, and will sell out its content for pennies to the masses who will only pick it up, simply because it is cheap.