Level: Neon Author(s): Gabriel Croft total rating: 8.17 Gameplay & Puzzles Enemies, Objects & Secrets Atmosphere, Sound & Cameras Lighting & Textures DJ Full 8 7 8 9 Feder 7 8 8 9 Gorty 6 8 10 7 HaseebLeon 10 10 10 8 Hdoyle11 7 7 9 8 Jay 8 9 9 9 Jorge22 7 8 8 7 Jose 8 9 8 9 Josey 9 9 9 10 manarch2 5 7 8 7 misho98 8 8 8 8 Phil 8 8 8 9 Ryan 8 8 8 9 category averages (13 reviews) 7.62 8.15 8.54 8.38 Reviewer's comments "Don't be fooled into thinking that this will be a difficult game. Lara may start the game with absolutely nothing at her disposal, but soon enough you come across plenty (and I mean plenty) of ammo and weaponry so the guards and robots encountered along the way are much easier to take down. Despite the relative simplicity of the gameplay, I quite enjoyed this one as sci-fi custom levels are rare and there's still enough entertainment for this to be a worthwhile, medium length raid. The textures are very colourful, but the surroundings and atmosphere is actually quite realistic and well done. Recommended." - Ryan (04-Sep-2018) "The futuristic atmosphere in this levelset is amazing, it's not the usual VCI-type of level I thought it would be (although I also love those lol). Gameplay is entertaining - it keeps you going and going until you reach the end. Some tasks are fairly simple though like in the last level you find a key in the same room where the lock for it is located. There was also a problem with the sound of the enemies, that was kinda off-putting but the background sound effects were amazing - they fit perfectly in the futuristic surroundings. The club room was a nice touch, kinda reminded me of the AOD level, I guess that might be the idea behind it. Such a great offering from Gabriel Croft, one of his best for sure!" - misho98 (22-Mar-2018) "It was particularly satisfying to kill the guys for many fuses when I finally got the pistol, however I would add one or two more medikits because the beginners might have a trouble surviving the rapid SAS fire - and as for a rebel robot scenario, I missed a "defeat my creator" combat those tons of ammo packs would be useful for. Shaping the blocks of geometry could be more atmospheric since we mostly get narrow spaces including the final cramped rooftop, but what unexpectedly stands out among the visuals is the lighting, which for a change makes many parts look rather professional. Seriously, though - it's 24th release of this builder and with has wrong sfx... why to refuse to learn? Especially now when TRLE Sound Editor makes sample assignment easier than ever, it's a slap to Sapper's face, another slap to players' faces, and an auto-slap for the builder for damaging an otherwise good level." - DJ Full (18-Dec-2017) "A not very difficult, beautiful, and highly enjoyable game. There are plenty of enemies, and more than enough weapons to meet them. I liked specially the disco part, so full of colors and pleasing to the eye, and the choice of objects, although there was a pointless absence of binoculars. The apparently closed spaces that could be easily traversed (as some translucent and colored glasses, for example) was an interesting and intriguing novelty. All movable blocks and objects were clearly depicted, and I appreciated that. (Btw, Phil’s walkthrough says that there was no indication of the right place for a movable object, but there was, in the ceiling). My general impression was that each subsequent level was better than the previous one, and for me the only serious drawback was the continuous music (never a good idea). In resume, a good, recommended job." - Josey (13-Oct-2017) "I have to say that when i read the story i saw an interesting trle level but when i started to play i missed an openning like how did she get out of her "jail"? But otherwise it is a nice level with different textures,nice atmosphere nice soundtracks,there are some objects floating but ok." - Hdoyle11 (28-Sep-2017) "Initially, I thought this game might be quite challenging as Lara starts off with no guns at all and some soldiers and robots to contend with. As this three part game progresses, however, although her pistols don't turn up, enough revolver and uzi ammo is provided to bump off an entire regiment so don't bother trying to conserve your firepower; you'll have plenty. It's not a difficult game, but I found it entertaining and the atmosphere is good, with Lara's splendid outfit and some futuristic settings. If you like a sci-fi style raid, then I would definitely recommend this." - Jay (22-Sep-2017) "When I started with an empty inventory and noticed the soldiers shooting I thought it could be a hard level, but it's not the case. Soon I found some medipacks, and later guns and lots of ammo. The design is extraordinary, with very convincing futurist environments full of cool objects and new textures. In some places the texturization is too colorful, and even can hurt your eyes, but the texture tiles are perfectly applied, and I didn't notice failures in that sense. Not a fantastic gameplay, some blocks to move, some jumps, laser traps, and keys/artifacts to find, but I liked the fluidity and no much backtracking, except when I missed the red key in the second level. I missed some more camera shots and/or flybys, and more musics here and there, but the atmosphere is not bad with appropriate background melodies and fixed cameras. This author has evolved to become really an artist of the custom levels design, and here you can find a set of three short levels recommended for everybody. Congrats!" - Jose (20-Sep-2017) "A nice futuristic level, the idea is original and the levels are well designed. The atmosphere is well-accomplished, particularly with the soundtracks, the outside areas, the lights and the objects that give you the feeling of being immerse in a robotic and colorful future. Gameplay involves numerous pushables and keys to be found, it got a bit repetitive after a while but some tasks were fun. You start with no guns and a few guards to face before you find some firepower, which adds a nice challenge at the beginning. I didn’t understand the excessive amount of uzi clips, I know you don’t have the unlimited pistols but I think it was too much (I thought there was going to be a boss fight to spend all that ammo, but there wasn’t and I finished the level with over 1300). Overall, this 3-parted levelset is rather easy so I recommend it for all players." - Feder (14-Sep-2017) "Good effort with a rather nice storyline and a lot of futuristic touches. The gameplay is not bad overall, I also liked the non-weapon part in the first level, but the setups repeat too often in this game making it feel fairly uninspired especially towards the end. Camera hints are mostly missing and there are also only few tasks where you stop and think before you pass them. I also think that there might've been some more variety in terms of enemies as the repetitive soldier-robot mix, and the amount of Uzi ammo to be found in this game is insane (I had more than 1400 rounds left at the end) and actually creates a dull peculiar flavour. Object design is decent and often quite fancy, secrets are missing sadly. The atmosphere is quite authentic at times with a few really nice areas in each level (the glimpses to outside areas in the first level are quite nice), but there are also some more simplistic areas and I really didn't like the choice of background audio which really got annoying after some time. There are also sound mistakes like missing and mixed up sounds on some occasions but nothing too serious. Texturing is clean and the lighting decent if a little bland, but the settings are fairly boxy so that's not so great actually; a bit too much eclectic texturing is also an issue. Anyway this level is okay, but rather stays in line of the builder's previous games and it's not too much an improvement. 45 minutes." - manarch2 (12-Sep-2017) "I played this three-part futuristic raid while writing a walkthrough, so I probably spent more time at nearly two hours than I otherwise might have. But I had a fun time and can give this release a solid recommendation. The lighting is good throughout and I rarely felt the need to light a flare. You start the game with no accessories, which is a challenge in light of the fact that you have to get past a couple of weapon-wielding enemies before you get any of your own. But as the game wears on you accumulate scads of armament and accompanying ammunition, even after the last enemy has been vanquished. I'm not complaining, however, as having too much certainly beats having too little. Gameplay is on the easy side, so Neon should be accessible to players of all skill levels. We don't get very many sf-themed levels these days, so this was a refreshing change of pace." - Phil (12-Sep-2017) "I never reviewed any level before this is the first level i am reviewing about.first futuristic atmosphere that was awesome specially music both were matching with each other.soundtrack of remember me add more charm.i wish level could have been more long.it was short.and the costume was looking awesome of jill Valentine.love the entire scene.this is the first level i liked very much thanx for this" - HaseebLeon (11-Sep-2017) "The level starts in a confusing manner. At the first try I pushed my way to a room with a dead end which happened because I pushed the first pushable forward/inside instead of outside the wall. After some running around I decided to start over …. This time I pushed the first block outside the wall and managed to find the correct way. I have to make good point about the outfit … reminds me of Nina from ˝death by degrees˝. The overall vibe/atmosphere is very good and refreshing. The first level had fair texturing ( not much to do wrong when texturing a futuristic inside area ), some nice background audio and terrible gameplay. There is an overall lack of camera hints after pushing switches. Even timed tasks give you no hint that they are timed. So if you pull a switch you basically never know if it’s timed or not. Another terrible Idea was placing several shooting guards while Lara had no weapons … and this part is not short and happens on several occasions. Also, the guards had water sounds while shooting making this so horrific annoying. The gameplay did include some nice tasks, but often too long monkey swing and some task even repeated in the same level. The second level seemed graphically somehow less attractive, but I still feel the atmosphere to be superb. Some parts strongly remind me of Westworld. The gameplay was similar with repeating tasks from the previous level ( long endless monkeyswings, too many pushables … ). The third levels still has great audio and atmosphere, but graphically doesn’t offer too much. The gameplay stayed faithful to the previous levels. I couldn’t bare another levels with pushing something out of the wall and listening to the bubble gun sounds. In the third level I didn’t get much the feeling of being in a city, more like a virtual reality game. The only thing that carries the feeling of a city is the low res horizon. In the end Lara finds the Star trek ship and can escape from the bubble soldiers. Overall, the game has an amazing atmosphere and audio which will be rewarded in the rating. The gameplay stays mostly on basic grounds with repetitive task and ideas through all 3 levels wrapped in some frustrating ( camera hints ) and buggy elements. Texturing was fair, lighting was somehow dynamic, but combined with the overall design and architecture felt just too flat, undetailed and not very advanced. The authors still makes too many beginners mistakes despite this being his 24th level so far. Ten years of level building and still learns too slowly, still in a rush. I’m still with the same opinion I had while reviewing the last level, the author need to put more time and effort in creating rooms, making them more complex. He claims the game is inspired by mirrors edge or Ghost in the shell, but why not make the city look more like a city with more buildings and complex environment ? Why stay in spectre of a boxy side street ? Unnecessary to make 3 levels, rather spent the time to make one complex levels instead of the 3 more simple and basic ones. The game is obviously poorly beta tested otherwise the bubble sounds and rope bugs would be fixed properly. Overall, thanks to the atmosphere created the game feels a bit refreshing, but otherwise doesn’t offer too much. Recommended for sci-fi lovers." - Gorty (10-Sep-2017) "A soft-ish tomb raiding release in futuristic clothes. Generous on medipacks, overly generous on guns and ammunition, nobody can fault Gabriel on that. The general level of difficulty could be considered easy although developed so as not to make it boring. The settings are fine but one does get the impression some more work could have gone into the final product texture wise. I got the infamous rope bug at the disco and had to go a long way back to get there again plus I'm personally not a looping music fan as opposed to atmospheric music right on the spot. All in all, a good instalment fit for all." - Jorge22 (09-Sep-2017)