This page details pre-release information and/or media for Neon White.

Development Timeline#

2017

• Unknown - Prototyping of a card-based randomized deckbuilder game begins before being shelved.¹

2018

• "after Donut County shipped" - Prototype is picked up again, randomization and deckbuilding elements removed, turned into "first-person speedrunning game".

2019

• January - Proof of concept levels created, first appearances of the "first-person speedrunning game" concept
• Unknown - Visual designs for characters and several locations are locked in.²
• Unknown - 3D models for Green, White, and Red are created.³⁴⁵

2020

• after July 3 - Machine Girl is asked to collaborate on the game after the release of RePorpoised Phantasies.⁶

2021

• February 18 - Game is publicly unveiled with a release date of Winter 2021.⁷
• December - Game is silently delayed to early 2022.⁸
• Unknown - Model for Neon Yellow is created.⁹

2022

• February 21 - Time-limited (one week) demo for the game is released as a part of Steam Next Fest.¹⁰
• February 28 - Demo is extended for another week.¹¹
• June 9 - Release date is finalized and announced to be June 16.¹²
• June 16 - Game is released on Windows (Steam) and Nintendo Switch
• December 13 - Game is released on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.

2023

• June 14 - Xbox version of the game is announced with no release date.¹³

Neon White Prototype Phase#

Neon White's developer Ben Esposito, released a newsletter onto their site titled "When PYGS fly", which features screenshots during the game's initial development around January, 2019.

Neon White's 2019 HUD#

The images showcase a rough proof of concept of the initial "deckbuilding roguelike FPS" prototype. The HUD features an edit of Alucard from the manga Hellsing for the character portrait, a completely different HP bar and a prototype money system. The unused Whip and Knife cards are also featured in the screenshots, both with a completely unique ammo counter.

Character portrait as used in the prototype

Artwork of Alucard from Hellsing from the "Hellsing Illustration Selection" artbook

Beta Levels#

To do: bad wording on the title??? idk how to properly label these!!!!

To do: Super rushed section, add descriptions, readjust a lot of things, rewrite, etc. Video/image sources besides Movement came from @carter_piccillo on twitter

After the game's release, some screenshots of the prototype designs for certain levels were published on various social medias, namely X (formally known as Twitter) by the Level Designers. The only date associated with the images is 2019 for the first prototype level named "Movement". The dates for the rest of the levels are unknown.

Movement#

Dasher#

Beta Version	Beta Gameplay Footage	Final Game

Streets#

Beta Version	Final Game

Bubble#

Beta Version	Beta Gameplay Footage	Final Game

Fuse#

Escalation#

Beta Version	Beta Gameplay Footage	Final Game

Neon White Reveal Trailer#

Watch on YouTube

Neon White's Reveal Trailer, released alongside the game's announcement on February 18, 2021, features 16 distinct levels. Out of the levels shown, 15 of them can be found in the final game, all modified in some way. This leaves one level unaccounted for.

Levels#

Glass Port#

The first scene of the trailer is a cinematic one, taking place in a location based on an earlier version of the "Glass Port" level with the titular structure visible in the background, lacking most of the detailing and color.

Reveal Trailer	Final Game

Movement#

The first actual gameplay scene of the trailer features an earlier version of what would become "Movement", lacking the Coliseum waterways and featuring enemies, potentially indicating that originally it may have been a later level that was repurposed into the first tutorial level in the final game.

Reveal Trailer	Final Game

Take Flight#

The third scene shows the level "Take Flight", this version likely shorter as there's no tower with couches yet and the tower from further in the finalized level stands in its place instead.

Reveal Trailer	Final Game

Demolition#

"Demolition"'s layout was changed considerably for the final game with the middle section seemingly not present at the time of the recording. The final area is also rotated 90 degrees and reworked with a different set of enemies. Especially of note is an orange Insight Crystal visible on top of the gold-trimmed building in the trailer instead of a gift. In the final game the icon for "total gifts" is still depicted as an identical orange Insight Crystal, with the crystals themselves appearing character-coloured and exclusively in sidequests.

Reveal Trailer	Final Game

Cleaner#

"Cleaner" as shown in the trailer is much closer to the blockout version, as the building on the right is one roof section shorter and the second half of the level doesn't even exist yet, as seen through the window on the left.

Reveal Trailer	Final Game

???#

This level, located in Hanging Gardens district, is nowhere to be found in the final game. Of note is the scrapped statue design for Forcefield enemies barely visible in the center of the Forcefields at the end. With at least six Forcefields visible in the available footage and a reference to a missing "TUT_FORCEFIELD" level taking place in Hanging Gardens in the final game's level data it is plausible that this footage is from that level.

Superkinetic#

An earlier version of "Superkinetic", missing the entire second half of the level, but showing a platform with two Jumpers that's not there in the final game. General enemy placement was slightly tweaked and a waterway was replaced with concrete.

Reveal Trailer	Final Game

Mountain#

This gameplay clip shows an early part of the level "Mountain" which matches the final game very closely, except there's one jumper instead of two and the area under the balcony with trees seemingly doesn't exist in the trailer version.

Reveal Trailer	Final Game

Prepare#

Screenshots for this section are taken from the Steam version of the trailer as it shows an extended cut of this snippet at the very beginning. While the general spirit and progression of this part of the level is still there in the final game, it seems to have been simplified drastically, probably for either performance or clarity reasons.

Reveal Trailer	Final Game

Swing#

Both levels from the trailer taking place in the Heaven's Edge district have received graphical overhauls. What's visible of the layouts seems to have mostly stayed the same.

Reveal Trailer	Final Game

Streak#

Similar to "Swing", the final version looks much cleaner and brighter though mostly stays the same.

Reveal Trailer	Final Game

The Clocktower#

The second bit of cinematic camera footage in the trailer shows Neon Green in front of the eponymous clocktower of "The Clocktower" but in completely different lighting conditions compared to the final game.

Reveal Trailer	Final Game

Apartment#

Another cinematic shot, showing Neon Red in a modified version of the "Apartment" level. The trailer version of the bell tower is noticeably shorter and there are bits of extra decoration not present in the actual game.

Reveal Trailer	Final Game

Steps#

This version of the level seems to have been edited specifically for the trailer, as the final section with the waterway and a Guardian was rotated 90 degrees which contradicts both the early blockout and the final game. In both, it's in the same place and is "connected" via "suspension cables" to the main section. The connection point (dark gray cylinders on the waterway) is still visible in the trailer. The tower with a Stomp card seems to have been removed at a later point, as it's present in the blockout.

Reveal Trailer	Final Game

Greenhouse#

The trailer version of this level is missing the entryway dropdown fence shaft and has completely different enemy placement, most notably a Guardian inside of the room rather than outside. Speaking of the outside, the layout outside is noticeably different and blocky, most likely being a pre-artpass crudely textured version of the level.

Reveal Trailer	Final Game

Tangled#

"Tangled" got an extensive rework with several areas becoming longer and entirely new areas like a skippable building being added. Barely visible in the screenshots is the area with the Guardian being twice as long, being updated to feature two sets of arches.

Reveal Trailer	Final Game

Neon White Gameplay Walkthrough#

Watch on YouTube

While Neon White's Gameplay Walkthrough video, released on July 29, 2021, is primarily focused on a single level ("Streets"), there's ample footage of other levels bookending the main event.

Levels#

Take Flight#

Compared to the version of this level shown in the Reveal Trailer, the angle of the directional light was tweaked slightly and it remained unchanged after all the way to the final game. The platform with the Frog got a subtle extension at some point which can also be seen from the side-on comparison shots in the Reveal Trailer section for this level.

Gameplay Walkthrough	Final Game

Superkinetic#

Second showing of this level, with both the beginning and ending parts practically finalized down to enemy placements. Some tweaks were made to the lighting, though. The only major thing that seems to be missing is the skippable area, indicating that this might be one of the levels that was built around the shortcut first.

Gameplay Walkthrough	Final Game

Mountain#

What's visible of "Mountain" seems to match the final version pretty well beyond the expected general skybox and lighting changes.

Gameplay Walkthrough	Final Game

Glass Port#

Structurally Glass Port is similar to the less detailed version from the Reveal Trailer, with the massive concrete piers being perpendicular to the main building instead of being at an angle like in the final version. The skippable area to the right of the two waterfalls was changed drastically. The two barnacles sitting on the stairs near the lower wooden pier are missing, alongside the stairs themselves. In this version of the level the first Frog of the level is sitting on a wooden pallet, which was removed in the final game. You can see the player's camera clipping on it in this trailer, so this was likely done so the pallet wouldn't be an obstacle.

Gameplay Walkthrough	Final Game

Dash Tower#

From what can be seen most of the enemy placements appear the same, except for the final game adding a Guardian next to a Frog near the lower breakable gate. A "Godspeed" vending machine was also placed nearby.

Gameplay Walkthrough	Final Game

Demolition#

Compared to the previous outing of this level, layout-wise this version is nearly identical to the final barring a single breakable wall blocking off the fly-through building. Other changes are primarily detail-oriented. The Insight Crystal that was visible in the Reveal Trailer version of the level is also gone by now.

Gameplay Walkthrough	Final Game

Streets#

Despite being the main part of this walkthrough video, this level was far from finalized and the differences are plentiful. The bridge connecting the two halves of the level and a wall next to it were removed and replaced with a single floating glass panel with a Fireball card, blocked off by a breakable gate. The lower balcony with the three Barnacles, present but barely visible in the screenshots (due to it being an entire "floor" lower) was raised. Several raised platforms which most likely existed to provide an easier route to the gift were removed. This was likely because the swap of a Godspeed card to a Fireball, combined with the aforementioned additional Fireball card, would probably trivialize the path. The gift itself was changed from being Violet's to Yellow's.

Gameplay Walkthrough	Final Game

Godspeed Traversal#

Curiously, even though a red Insight Crystal is visible in this brief snippet of "Godspeed Traversal" (confirming that it was already one of Neon Red's sidequests at this point) this version is missing the distinctive character-dependent colored lighting and tint that's normally present in sidequests. Instead, it has a general beige aesthetic that more closely matches the concept art of "Sheol" where these levels tkae take place. Additionally, the glowing "eye" overlay drawn on top of the Crystal that helps the objective stand out is seemingly not present in this version, having apparently been added some time after this footage was recorded.

Gameplay Walkthrough	Final Game

Climb#

Despite being shown for less than two seconds, several differences can be spotted between this iteration of "Climb" and the final one. Most noticeably, the lighting direction was changed but also a minor positional tweak was made to one of the Purify cards.

Gameplay Walkthrough	Final Game

Streak#

Just as with the previous showing the layout of the visible area of this level seems to have stayed more or less the same, but it has received an extra coat of visual polish.

Gameplay Walkthrough	Final Game

Prepare#

The version of "Prepare" shown in this trailer is much, much closer to the final game than the one shown in the announcement video above. However, there are still numerous differences - the waterway is missing, the platform on which a Ringer sits atop is noticeably higher and the distant area with the tree was simplified even more some time between this and the final version.

Gameplay Walkthrough	Final Game

The Clocktower#

Arguably the most drastically changed level, shown across several cuts in this trailer. Not only is the entirety of the final game's beginning area nowhere to be seen in this trailer but the majority of the layout is different in one way or another. Seemingly, only the raised area with two diagonal planks on the left survived between iterations. Especially of note is that Neon Green's 3D model is missing the Mechanical Halo, even though it should still be present at this point in the story. It's even visible on the character art earlier in the trailer, so its absence is unusual.

Gameplay Walkthrough	Final Game

A partial copy of this layout with less detail and different textures can still be seen in the final game in the levels "Arrival" and "Forgotten City", as part of the version of the clocktower used for the background scenery.

Gameplay Walkthrough	Final Game, "Forgotten City" level

Interface#

Level Start#

The most nost notable change on this screen is that the "Tip" section was moved from here to the level loading screen.

Gameplay Walkthrough	Final Game

Level Completion#

Though every single Insight bar in this trailer is shown to have 6 discrete sections, the "8 Insight XP" awarded for getting a medal is enough to fill two entire bars. This actually matches the Insight bars for levels having only 4 sections in the final game. Despite this, the actual "You earned X Insight XP" wording was dropped in favour of using either "X medal unlocked Insight Level Y" on getting a new medal or "Earned Partial Insight Level" otherwise.

Gameplay Walkthrough	Final Game

Dialogue#

Mikey's line about his "true form", prominently featured both in trailers and promotional screenshots, doesn't actually exist in that form in the final game. The line is still in the script files, but is contained in a special dialogue node which is specifically labelled as being "trailer" dialogue, suggesting it was specifically made for the promotional materials. The trailer version of this line which exists in the game's script file has a typo in the form of a "you're" in place of "your" which was corrected for the promotional screenshot that was sent out on the same day. There is a rant from Mikey about his perceived form in the final game though it's different.

Gameplay Walkthrough	Promotional Screenshot	Final Game

Gameplay Walkthrough	Final Game

Hub#

Gameplay Walkthrough	Final Game

Gifts and Social#

Gameplay Walkthrough	Final Game

References

References#