purposefully cringe dialogue in "Neon White"

Neon White is a fast paced, puzzle-platforming first person shooter (FPS) with a heavy emphasis on speed running; but this only covers the game mechanics, the things central to this particular genre. It does not encompass story at all, and maybe that's for the best. That's because Neon White has some of the worst dialogue I have ever heard in any video game. But I hesitate to say that it's unintentional; in fact, I think the developers of Neon White are leaning into overly conventional tropes in a sort of campy sense. To be fair, that doesn't help the full body cringe I get whenever Violet is on screen.

https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/neon-white-switch/?srsltid=AfmBOoq8Yh6SzsZJ_2GU1kEj8mya9OpSBBF3bDyIrBjUgc51S1nZ8a8z, Neon White cover art, with the characters (from left to right) Neon Green, Neon Violet, Neon White, and Neon Red.

I love this game to death. The mechanics of the guns through different cards is super creative, and makes for a really fun and complex game. I loved speeding through the levels as fast as I could, to the point where I went back through each level and tried to get red medals--which would denote that my time for the level was faster than the developer's. I mean, I was obsessed. I had to go the fastest, most optimal route in each level. I was addicted. When I played this game for the first time, I couldn't sing its praises enough--except for, of course, the story and dialogue. Every time I recommended this game to other people, I had to warn them about the dialogue. One of the first interactions you have with one of the characters, Neon Violet, opens with her saying "sowwy." And honestly, from that point forward, I had a feeling that I knew how the rest of the dialogue would go.

But like I said before, I really think this choice is on purpose. I think Neon White is one big satire on the anime style the game pulls from. The story, the characters, and dialogue are all overly-exaggerated to the point where it's hardly believable. But, then you step back and look at the game you're playing: you're using "soul" cards with guns on them to kill demons as fast as humanly possible. This game, despite it including some serious themes (namely in White's backstory), is not serious at all. And it never asks you to take it seriously. All it asks of you is to have a blast, go fast, and listen to the banger soundtrack made by Machine Girl along the way. If anything, the horrible dialogue almost adds to the charm of the game; everything is absolutely over the top.

White's more serious story, which I briefly mentioned earlier, encompasses themes of betrayal, trust, and guilt. In another game, these themes are the makings of a very introspective, profound story. But again, because this game does not take itself seriously, these themes (as well as the story in general) kind of falls to the wayside. That could be seen as a critique, because at some points it can certainly feel like White's more serious story seems out of place; but I feel like it fades into the background enough that it doesn't really matter. The focus is always on the gameplay over literally anything else. All the story provides is a semi-believable reason for White to be doing all the things he's doing in the game, and even then I would argue I don't need that motivation to play it. The game is fun either way.

I love to write about video games as a piece of literature, as I have been doing throughout a lot of my blog posts. But video games, while capable of telling captivating and compelling stories, are still a separate medium from literature. Deciding the focus of a video game is on the responsibility of the developers--in Neon White, the focus wasn't on the story, but that doesn't make it a bad game, or a bad piece of literature. The emphasis of this game clearly fell on its mechanics, style, and overall feel. Video games encompass tons of art forms in one big package, making their appeal extremely flexible depending on the design of the game.

Neon White may have some of the worst dialogue I've ever heard, but it's also one of the best games I've ever played. And as much as I hate to admit it, the style of dialogue began to grow on me, and almost added to the experience of the game in the strangest way possible.