I admit that I’ve always had a weakness for crime fiction. A trench coat, a hat and a suspicious look are all they need to solve any mystery. The makers of Tales of the Neon Sea have to agree, because that’s all it takes to describe Detective Rex. Rex, a half-human, half-robot ex-cop, lives alone with his cat while drinking and investigating cases to keep himself drinking. A delicious stereotype that gets us on the track of what we’re about to play.
Rex suffers the consequences of a past accident that cut him off from his police career and turned him into a cyborg. In a futuristic world where robots and humans look at each other suspiciously, Rex must solve a case that connects him more to his past than he realizes. A simple and straightforward thriller that completely envelops us with its continuous mysteries and fast and funny dialogues.
A sea of neon pixels
The first thing that strikes you about Tales of the Neon Sea is its aesthetic. It’s not modern pixel art, but a homage to the retro pixel, modernized almost without realizing it. While the protagonists and supporting characters in the foreground move in single pixels, the background of the stage comes to life in a dynamic and complex way. A fine and detailed pixel perfect for describing the wide world that Tales of the Neon Sea entails. Yiti Games has managed to strike a perfect balance between its love of the most classic aesthetics and the explosion of cutting-edge techniques, creating dynamic scenarios and despite the small size of some, they don’t feel isolated.
In addition to the grandiose pixel aesthetics, the developers are in a good mood. The love of pop culture runs throughout the game, so you’ll find constant references and references to famous sagas from the comic, film, and television worlds throughout the game. Beautiful Easter Eggs that make us feel like we’re in the dystopian future they depict Yiti games
To the pixel art aesthetic we still have to add the character design, each of our interlocutors has their own model in the foreground. An image with a strong charge of American comic style, with fast and bold strokes and strong and characteristic colors. This care of the character models also extends to the drawing of puzzles and riddles, which we will talk about later. An aesthetic added to the soundtrack, which oscillates between Blade Runner synths and LA Confidential saxophones, working for a film set.
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The cyber puzzles are coming
I recognize this as one of the aspects that tend to lag the most point and click
Regarding the puzzles, it must be emphasized that on certain very hidden occasions there are secondary missions that we can find throughout the story. Overheard conversations on the street or in a pub open up the possibility of opening up new areas with very specific and also more difficult puzzles.
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short but intense
Tales of the Neon Sea came out for PC a few years ago and now sees a new version for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch, the version that we were able to enjoy. In addition, on April 21, Tesura Games launched a spectacular collector’s edition in our country, in addition to a standard edition.
Tales of the Neon Sea is clearly a point-and-click adventure from yesteryear. A point and click application that adapts perfectly to consoles, especially in its portable format. The pace of the narrative is fast and fun, interspersed with phases of finding clues and gathering information played by Rex, and phases with puzzles and platforms when we manage William (our kitten). In fact, this fast pace is the game’s biggest problem in the long run. Tales of the Neon Sea is a short game and so fast that its gameplay involves practically no difficulty, something that can become repetitive in the long run.
On the other hand, its variety of shots and its beauty transport us to a veritable neon sea. A small microuniverse where it’s a pleasure to advance and unveil mysteries such as: B. its secondary missions. It makes us not miss any detail apart from the last puzzle. A story that we would like to see more chapters or second parts of.
