Neon Struct: Party wie es ist 1998

[jay pettitt]

If ever Looking Glass prototyped a hybrid Deus Ex / Thief game for the N64, and they probably did, this might have been it.

 

https://youtu.be/llginnqhMBI

 

I've played throught the first couple of missions so far. It's good.

Edited May 22, 2015 by jay pettitt

[Goldwell]

Looks really interesting, going to check it out! Thanks for the heads up

[Obsttorte]

"Party wie es ist 1998" is a grammatical pain in the arse, but the game looks interesting.

[Destined]

"Party wie es ist 1998" is a grammatical pain in the arse, but the game looks interesting.

 

Also my first thought.

[jay pettitt]

Sie sollte meine Aussprache gehört haben

[Baal]

Your german is as good as Obsttortes english was a year ago.

[SeriousToni]

Hahaha you guys I do like!

[Obsttorte]

Your german is as good as Obsttortes english was a year ago.

English learn you must, young Padawan.

[Baal]

Luftputebåtet mitt er fullt av åler!

 

@jay Sorry for derailing your thread. Can you tell us more about this game? I'm too lazy to watch a youtube video.

[jay pettitt]

It's German.

[Obsttorte]

Now that was informative

[jay pettitt]

So it has a distinct late 90s vibe. It's (refreshingly) free of contemporary videogame isms: there's no batman vision mode or way-markers to show you what to do and where to go, instead there is creative problem solving using simulated systems and map geography.

 

It's somewhat sparse and has limited polish/fidelity/technical finesse; a bit like an internal prototype, except that it is robust and a complete game - it's a finished product, not an alpha. The visual / audio / design style is consistent throughout so you just swing with the sparseness - it doesn't grate. The level of technical fidelity is reminiscent of an N64 game - though there is a hint of post processing that gives a little edge of slickness to the visuals.

 

It isn't, but if it was a late internal build of that long lost Looking Glass Studio's N64 game that never was, you'd not be entirely shocked. Everything you learned while playing Thief, System Shock and Deus Ex will stand you in good stead. There's mantling and leaning and free movement and readables and stealth based on audio and shadow. It's a 451 game.

 

It's got cyberpunk narrative themes like Deus Ex, but it's a scalpel rather than a swiss army knife game. Mechanics are quite similar to Thief, but a bit more pared back - there's no sword fighting.

 

It's got a linear mission structure. It's good.

 

It has nice music.

Edited May 24, 2015 by jay pettitt

[BuckleBean]

I just came here to post about this game, but it looks like you got it covered. Excellent summary, Jay. I had been nearing the end of a playthrough of Thief 2 (HD mod) & had been about a third of the way through Deus Ex when this came out. I must say that transitioning to Neon Struct was smooth sailing (once I re-bound the frob key to RMB). Neon Struct is very much cut from the same cloth. It even looks as if it could have come from around the turn of the century, stylistically anyway. I'm loving every second of it.

 

It certainly plays more like Thief, but has a dialog system (for NPCs) that occur in nonviolent, hub levels more like Deus Ex. It's not as robust as either, but that's ok. It's scope is smaller, I think. What has me excited is Minor Key Games will soon be releasing a level editor and will support custom community missions.

[SeriousToni]

Wow the music is nice indeed!

 

It's in the sale atm for a few lesser bucks. But I still struggle as it seems too much. What is this deluxe edition all about?

 

EDIT: Just saw this lets play on youtube. Seems like the guards are pretty dumb / easy to play out, right?

https://youtu.be/k6IUhpPT2WA?t=12m25s

Edited May 25, 2015 by SeriousToni

[BuckleBean]

Deluxe edition is mainly for the soundtrack, which is phenomenal. Guards are not too bright. The challenge comes in the form of a grading checklist at the end of each level, a la Thief. There's a free demo, so pick it up & see how you like it.

[jay pettitt]

...easy to play out, right?

 

It's edgy and tense when it wants to be, I've been busted a few time already. I don't know how long the game is, but I don't think I'm far in.

[Obsttorte]

Just played the demo available on steam and it is quite nice, although the graphics could have used a bit more details and the animations are a bit crude. Overall the game design appears very minimalistic, which isn't neccessarely bad.

 

I guess for 17€ you can't do much wrong here, although it appears to be a bit short if a playthrough only lasts 6 hours.

 

What I don't get is why they use a german tile (Die Augen der Welt), although there is no german localization? Weird.

[Professor Paul1290]

If you like this then I would also recommend checking out their other game "Eldritch", which is has a more stereotypical "fantasy-RPG dungeon crawler" setting and gameplay but has some similar "Thief-like" elements to it.

[lowenz]

The demo is pure gold

Very stylish stealth game.

[lowenz]

Now on sales on Steam.

 

Buyed

[Obsttorte]

Also bought it one week ago. Let's see when I find the time to play it.

[V-Man339]

It looks like I'll be the first person to cover the game on Expert with S-Rank.