Neon Hearts City is a new point-and-click adventure game developed by Cosmic Void and published by Dionous Games. Like Devil’s Hideout, Cosmic Void’s previous title, Neon Hearts City is fully voiced and has pixel art graphics. The game will be available on Steam from 13th May 2025.
A dystopian adventure awaits
In Neon Hearts City, we take on the role of Elijah Crow, a private detective hired to investigate the disappearance of young Audrey.
Thus begins our quest, which will lead us to explore a futuristic city. From the very first moments of the game, we realise that we have been catapulted into a dystopian future. In this city, criminals are severely punished and subjected to one of the worst treatments imaginable: the removal of their memories. But instead of a law to punish criminals, this ‘justice’ falls on the most marginalised people in society.
Our goal in Neon Hearts City is to solve the mysterious disappearance of Audrey. Initially, our protagonist is only motivated by the financial reward, seeing it as a case to solve. However, as we make our way through conspiracies and subversive groups, we realise that something more important is at stake and that the whole of society is at risk.
The story told in Neon Hearts City presents us with a dystopian future in which society is adrift. We come into contact with people who live on the fringes of society, but there is also an ethical reflection on the raising of consciousness in androids, which leads us to ask what are the qualities that make a person truly human? Sacrifice, perhaps? Or even greed and corruption?
Looking for clues
In Neon Hearts City, our adventure begins with only certain areas of the city accessible. As the adventure progresses, new areas will become available, accessible via the map. Solving the puzzles requires the use of items collected in the inventory, but above all, careful listening to the dialogues.
The puzzles are well structured and do not require moon logic. It is important to listen to the dialogues in order not to miss important clues, but in general the puzzles are solved with logic.
We liked both the use of mini-games and the presence of a riddle. The structure of the game is old school, but with some improvements:
- There are hotspots so you don’t lose items you can interact with;
- The map makes moving around faster.
However, as in the old point-and-click games, there are no clues to the puzzles.
Neon Hearts City is an addictive adventure thanks to its intricate storyline full of twists and turns. Despite its retro style, typical of old point-and-click adventures from the early 1990s, Neon Hearts City introduces features that are characteristic of new games. One thing that would have been very welcome is a journal in which the objectives are collected or a dialogue timeline. This would make it easier for those who might leave the title half-finished for a few days.
It took us about 3 hours.
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