Retro gamers, get ready to jack into a gritty future! Cosmic Void, with publishing support from the indie-focused Dionous Games, is set to unleash Neon Hearts City on Steam, GOG, and Itch.io on May 13th, 2025.
This point-and-click adventure sports retro-style graphics, with a mid-to-late 1990s feel. It promises to plunge players into a mysterious and dangerous cyberpunk city…
What is Neon Hearts City about?
You’ll step into the trench coat of private investigator Elijah Crow. At first, you’re tasked with the seemingly straightforward job of locating a missing young girl named Audrey. However, as any seasoned adventurer knows, things are rarely simple. Your investigation will soon take a violent turn, drawing you deeper into the neon-drenched underbelly of a futuristic metropolis brimming with challenging puzzles and a cast of intriguing characters.
Neon Hearts City proudly wears its retro inspirations on its sleeve, boasting a captivating cyberpunk pixel art style that will immediately transport veterans back to the days of classic LucasArts and Sierra adventures like Maniac Mansion and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure.
The intuitive point-and-click interface, a beloved mechanic of titles such as The Secret of Monkey Island and the Broken Sword series, will feel instantly familiar, offering a contemporary and modernized blast from the past.
A point and click in 2025? Really?
If you’re surprised by the genre, don’t be. Following the return of the Monkey Island series, various point and click projects have crystalized, most recently The Flayed Man. This is a genre that is enjoying a resurgence. (And if you’re still not convinced, why do the Switch 2 controllers have a mouse function?) While some of the games stick to more modern graphics, many, like Neon Hearts City, prefer a retro graphic aesthetic.
In fact, these graphics are lo-fi, the game might even be suitable for porting to other systems.
The gritty cyberpunk setting, a less common backdrop in the classic point-and-click landscape (though titles like Beneath a Steel Sky and Blade Runner explored similar territory), injects a fresh and potentially darker tone. The narrative hints at a complex conspiracy involving zealots and androids yearning for humanity. That’s pretty deep, suggesting a more mature and thought-provoking storyline than some of the genre’s more lighthearted fare.
Neon Hearts City publisher, Dionous Games
Behind Neon Hearts City is Dionous Games, an independent publisher with a clear “passion for narrative-driven games.” Their portfolio includes other adventure titles like the recent murder mystery Murder on Space Station 52, the festive Watch Over Christmas, and the quirky Not Another Weekend, showcasing their commitment to the genre. Dionous seems focused on bringing unique indie adventures to players, and Neon Hearts City appears to be a strong addition to their lineup.
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While the core point-and-click mechanics will resonate with fans of the genre, the promise of “challenging puzzles” suggests that Neon Hearts City aims to test players’ wits. Whether these puzzles lean towards classic inventory-based conundrums or more intricate environmental interactions remains to be seen, but they are sure to be integral to unraveling the mysteries of the city.
Is this game for you?
Will you be able to navigate the deadly secrets of this neon-soaked world? Can you uncover the conspiracy that binds humans and androids? And most importantly, will you find Audrey alive?
Neon Hearts City is available to Wishlist now on Steam. Prepare to plug in and experience a retro-inspired adventure with a distinctly cyberpunk edge.
For those eager to delve deeper, you can find more information at the following links:
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