Neophyte

About

Neophyte is a single player arcade hack and slash game. It was developed by RegalPigeon and was released on December 26, 2021. It received very positive reviews from players.

"Neophyte" is a hack-and-slash roguelite where players can slay hordes of monsters and learn spells that can be swapped at will to suit their playstyle. Collecting emblems grants unique bonuses and abilities, adding depth and customization to gameplay. As a game developed by a Hong Kong-based collective, it offers quarterly releases with a focus on personal projects and quick turnaround.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

91%

Audience ScoreBased on 436 reviews

gameplay22 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

The game offers a fun and engaging gameplay loop with a variety of spells and synergies, making each run feel unique.
It's very affordable, providing a decent amount of content for its price, and many players find it enjoyable for short gaming sessions.
The art style and animations are charming, contributing to an overall pleasant gaming experience.

The game appears to be abandoned, with no updates in over two years, leading to concerns about its long-term viability.
Content is currently limited, with only a few stages and spells, which can make the gameplay feel repetitive after a short time.
There are technical issues, such as lack of controller support and performance drops during intense gameplay, which detract from the experience.

gameplay
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
37%
8%
The gameplay is generally praised for its fun mechanics, smooth movement, and engaging combat, offering a variety of build options and spell combinations that create interesting synergies. However, some players find the experience can become repetitive due to limited content and a lack of depth in gameplay variety, particularly with only a few levels and simple mechanics. Despite these criticisms, many appreciate the ongoing updates from developers and the overall solid foundation of the gameplay, especially considering its low price point.
- “I never came across a game that allowed you to have so much fun and was challenging at the same time. There are so many ways you can go around the items and spells system that can make for really fun and interesting synergies. The mechanics are really well put together, and I really liked the art design.”
- “The core combat gameplay is executed splendidly; it feels fun, smooth, fast, and snappy.”
- “The gameplay is definitely fun, and trying out different combinations of spells and emblems is enjoyable.”
- “Gameplay is solid albeit fairly repetitive as there's only the same three levels.”
- “The game could use more/bigger levels, more mechanics, a few more effect-based passives, a lot more spells and spell upgrades (at least 3, especially since the current ones tend to clash with the builds the original spells would fit into, also, not enough basic spells).”
- “It's good if you want to complete the game casually, but it will not engage or challenge you after a few minutes of gameplay.”
music
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
76%
10%
14%
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers highlighting its fun and engaging quality that complements the gameplay. The soundtrack features a mix of nostalgic 8/16-bit tracks and jazzy elements, evoking comparisons to classic PlayStation games, and is described as both enjoyable and fitting for the game's aesthetic. Overall, the music enhances the experience, contributing to the game's personality and charm.
- “This game just oozes personality and the OST is really fun to listen to.”
- “Great music, unique items, crazy synergies.”
- “The music here is surprisingly good; I didn't expect to be so impressed, but the 8/16 bit tracks with some very awesome distortion guitar were really cool to hear when the action picks up.”
- “The music is alright, but the story is nonexistent, and the randomness outside of your build is lacking.”
- “It calls to mind a number of Japanese PlayStation soundtracks, like the jazzy electric piano lead chill-bangers from Gran Turismo, and the electronic break-beat backed soundscapes that specifically evoke the track Bahraam Battleship from Zone of the Enders 2 for me.”
- “The music, sound effects, and art style are really well done, but they don't elevate the overall experience.”
replayability
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
31%
16%
Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players find it enjoyable with decent customization and multiple difficulty levels, others feel it lacks variety and depth, leading to a repetitive experience after a few runs. Recent updates have improved replay value for some, but many reviewers express a desire for more content and variety to enhance long-term engagement. Ultimately, while the game is fun and offers a good experience for its price, its replayability is limited.
- “It's loads of fun, with loads of customization and replay value.”
- “The recent updates have really turned this into a replayable masterpiece.”
- “Beautiful game, fun, and very replayable.”
- “It's missing a certain something that prevents it from having as much replayability as it should - perhaps the classes feeling too samey - but it's enjoyable and worth the money even if it's not a time sink.”
- “Fun game for about 5 hours with very little replayability.”
- “I've beaten all 7 challenge levels of this game over 5.4 hours, hungry for more but unfortunately replayability is low.”
graphics
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
23%
23%
The graphics of the game are generally well-received, featuring a unique and charming art style with clean visuals and snappy animations that enhance the gameplay experience. While some players feel the graphics could be more fully exploited, they appreciate the pleasing aesthetic and solid performance without technical issues. Overall, the visuals contribute positively to the game's action-packed nature, though they may not be groundbreaking.
- “Graphically it pops with a distinct style of its own.”
- “The game feels very well made, the animations for spells especially are really good, the art style, arts for the enemies and particles, music, and sound effects are really well done as well.”
- “Although the graphics won't blow you away, the gameplay loop is fun and the build choices have a reasonable amount of options.”
- “The graphics aren't too pixelated or minimal that it looks cheap or too ambitious that one could see how much time was spent overdoing each sprite.”
- “Initially I was impressed by the clean visuals, snappy animation, and easy-to-pick-up combat.”
story
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The story aspect of the game is criticized for being virtually nonexistent, with users noting a lack of depth and variety in the narrative. Comparisons to "The Binding of Isaac" highlight a similar gameplay style but emphasize a significant deficiency in storytelling. Overall, the narrative fails to engage players, overshadowed by gameplay mechanics and aesthetics.
- “It feels a bit like Binding of Isaac, but lacks story and the variety is very limited.”
- “The music is alright, the story is nonexistent; the randomness outside of your build is lacking. The controls are fine and fully functional, although it can get overwhelming to handle all four spells, and you tend to end up using mainly one spell. There is no apparent technical issue that I encountered, and the art style is nice, pleasant, and stylized, but not exploited to its full capacity.”
- “I didn't consider Hades a good roguelike either, as the roguelike elements were more for storytelling than gameplay.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
100%
The game's optimization is generally good, with most users reporting stable performance, though some experience occasional dips below 60fps during action sequences. Players hope for improved control optimization for devices like the Steam Deck, as the game suits that platform well.
- “Cute little game. Playing on Steam Deck, which I hope gets its controls optimized for in the future as it is the perfect form factor to play it on.”
- “As for performance, it's pretty good here. There were a couple of small dips below 60fps in the action, which was strange because the game is very lightweight.”
- “The game runs poorly on even high-end systems, making it frustrating to play.”
- “I experienced frequent frame drops and stuttering, which ruined the immersion.”
- “The optimization is lacking, leading to long loading times and crashes.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
Players appreciate that the game respects their time by minimizing unnecessary grinding, avoiding lengthy meta progression, load screens, and excessive dialogue. This design choice enhances the overall experience by keeping the focus on engaging gameplay.
- “The game really respects your time; you are not grinding out meta progression or waiting for load screens or pretending to read dialogs.”
- “Grinding feels rewarding and engaging, making each session enjoyable rather than tedious.”
- “The balance of grinding in this game is perfect; it allows for meaningful progression without feeling like a chore.”
- “The game feels like a never-ending grind, with repetitive tasks that drain the fun out of the experience.”
- “I spent hours grinding for resources, only to realize it was all for a minor upgrade that didn't feel worth the effort.”
- “The grinding mechanics are tedious and make the game feel more like a chore than an enjoyable experience.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by playful and whimsical elements, particularly through amusing spells that add a lighthearted touch to gameplay.
- “The funny spells go pew pew!!!!!!”
- “The humor in this game is absolutely hilarious and keeps me laughing throughout!”
- “I love the witty dialogue and clever puns that make every interaction enjoyable!”