When it was released in the middle of 2020, Neon Abyss was entering a crowded roguelike shooter genre. The game's various weapon synergies, minigames, and silly references made it a title that genre fans were willing to check out, and they discovered that the game was pretty good. A sequel was always going to be in the cards, and even though it isn't scheduled to be fully released until 2026, Neon Abyss 2 has very early playtest builds. We were recently given a chance to see how it's shaping up.

If you never played the original game before, what you have is a side-scrolling, twin-stick shooter roguelike. Aside from the futuristic setting clashing with the idea of you battling new gods, there are a few mechanics that make this different from its contemporaries. The weapons are varied, but they can also be customized enough to become all powerful toward the back half of a run. You also have eggs that, when hatched, give you tiny companions that do things like shoot lasers or grant more coins.

At first glance, Neon Abyss 2 seems indistinguishable from the first title, except for the minor touch-up in graphics. That can be enough to please fans, but it doesn't take too long to see some of the changes. The first change is with the controls, which are largely similar to the previous game except for two things. If you're using a gamepad, shooting requires you to pull a trigger in conjunction with using your right stick to fire your weapon. It's an extra step that might feel unnecessary for some players. The other change in controls has to do with the fact that you can now aim your grenade shots, and while you can't control the throwing speed, it's better than before, where grenades would be lazily thrown in front of you.

Combat has also changed quite a bit. You can now take possession of melee weapons, and while they can be upgraded to have a decent range, the idea that you'll need to get closer to enemies to attack them really increases the difficulty, even if you're playing on easier levels. Boss fights are also tougher now, as every boss gets a random buff after you take down one-third of their health. This grants them another attack type and ensures that every fight will be different, even if you encounter that boss again on a different run.

The major change in this build is the presence of Faith in the abyss, instead of something that is only present after death. The game manifests this as masks, and the changes it provides are very noticeable. On one playthrough, we got masks related to gambling, which meant games of chance appeared in the world. Some acted as gates for treasure, while others gave you the chance for more coins. We eventually were able to warp to a room where we could get a ton of useful items if we were willing to spend long gambling sessions trying to win them. There's the promise of other things, like more egg companions, better starting gear, or more opportunities for shops to spring up after you clear a room of enemies.  

The playtest build is missing one thing that's been touted by the developers: multiplayer. There's not much known about the multiplayer features at the moment. No one knows how many players will be supported, if characters need to be unique per player, or if there are activities that can be done together when outside of the underworld dungeons. The only known thing is that multiplayer is online only, and this is most likely a feature being saved for the game's Early Access release.

There's a very long way to go before Neon Abyss 2 can be playable, but based on what we've experienced so far, fans will be pleased with the game. Even though it doesn't stray too far from the original game, there are enough changes to warrant a full-fledged game instead of DLC, even if you have no intention of playing with others. Here's hoping for another look at the game once it drops on Steam Early Access.