Neon Abyss 2 Early Access Preview

Despite the positive reception that it got, the original Neon Abyss wasn’t all that popular when it was first released. The Chinese-based developer, Veewo Games, released it in a decent state, but for a while, it had some blemishes and bugs. Over time, Neon Abyss became one of my favorite Rogue-likes, which only makes this even more exciting for me. My expectations of Neon Abyss 2 are high, and now that it is in Early Access, it is time to dive in and see what is up with it so far.

Neon Abyss 2 is set in the same “Cybermyth” world as the first game. You are one of many who have found their way to the Abyss. However, this time, Dionysus is in charge, as Hades has disappeared. So, without calling Melinoe due to Supergiant Games slapping you with a Copyright suit, it is up to you to delve into the Abyss to figure out what is going on.

The plot isn’t that much of a presence in Neon Abyss 2 yet. Instead, you find yourself (and up to 3 other players) diving into procedurally generated floors to take on not only the monsters in the Abyss, but the gods that are trying to keep you from progressing further. Just like in Neon Abyss, as you progress, you will unlock new characters (called agents) to play, each with different starting weapons, stats, and abilities.

The binary faith system between order and chaos (or Athena and Ares, respectively) has been replaced with a much larger system. This time, depending on what faith you choose, different actions can gain you special secret rooms to enhance your runs. Additionally, the gambling rooms and other fun rooms like Fishing have returned from the original game, with a few new ones thrown in.

Another improvement to the original Neon Abyss is that the Hatchmons, pet-like creatures that help you as you hatch them, no longer die permanently in battle. Instead, they simply get knocked unconscious, and you can wake them up with various methods.

This is but one of many improvements that have shown up in Neon Abyss 2 so far. The game is by no means complete, but there are plenty of weapons, relics, artifacts, and other elements that make each run unique. In fact, the developers have even increased the melee weapon options to expand on the mechanics from the first game.

The synergies feel less impactful right now, but I still have a lot of things to unlock after about 10 hours, so I could be missing some elements. With that said, each run feels exciting and interesting. Neon Abyss 2 has that “just one more run” quality to it that feels both just like the first game, and better.

Truthfully, I’m not sure why Neon Abyss 2 has a mixed rating on Steam right now. It feels like more of what made the original game so much fun, but with improvements. In an early state of Early Access, that’s impressive.

A PC Review Copy of Neon Abyss 2 was provided by Veewo Games for the purposes of this review.