Neon Abyss 2 First Impressions

Neon Abyss 2 is a fun roguelike 2D platformer by Veewo Games, and it follows Neon Abyss, the hugely successful first entry into the series. I never actually played the first game, and Neon Abyss 2 kind of makes me wish I had.

It’s a weird little neon feverdream that I really didn’t think I would like. Like any good roguelite, your main goal is to kill stuff, get better guns, and make your way through the dungeon. But then there are also these weird little hatchmon monsters that accompany you. I keep shooting at them because they look like enemies, but they are incredibly helpful.

If you get enough of these little hatchmon to help you, you basically don’t need to fire a single bullet yourself. They can do the work for you, but watch out for the little businessman hatchmon, he keeps eating my coins.

I don’t like this game?

Despite all the fun I’ve had and the beautiful, vibrant design of this game, I don’t like it. Or, I’m not supposed to, at least. Yet I can’t stop playing the thing. It was quite the struggle to get myself to stop so that I could actually write this article.

The main reason I “don’t like” Neon Abyss 2 is the genre. Not the roguelike as much, but the sidescrolling platformer aspect. It’s just a bit old at this point, and yet I couldn’t put the game down. Despite the limitations that come with a 2d viewpoint, I must commend the team at Veewo Games for nailing a highly addictive formula here.

Despite my not liking the setup, I now plan to pick it up at launch. And that’s because of one massive upgrade from the original.

Multiplayer.

A great jam with friends

I checked out reviews of the first game to get a sense of it, and noticed many calls for multiplayer. Neon Abyss 2 delivers on that. That’s pretty huge for a game of this kind. It’s fast-paced, fun, and would be an absolute blast to play with your friends.

Sadly, I couldn’t get a multiplayer game setup to give it a test, but once the demo goes live, I’ll definitely rope in some friends and get playing.

Where can you play Neon Abyss 2?

You’ll be able to play the Neon Abyss 2 demo at Steam Next Fest starting tomorrow, 9 July, and I highly recommend that you do. At least check it out. Despite not liking the concept, I’ve had an absolute blast with the game so far, and multiplayer will give it plenty of replay value.

When does Neon Abyss 2 launch?

Neon Abyss 2 launches on July 17, 2025, into early access, so we don’t have too long to wait after Next Fest concludes. You’ll have time to test out the demo and make a decision on whether the game is for you.

Me? I’ll definitely pick this one up and probably gift it to a few friends so we can crush the dungeons together.