Back in the day, I poured hours into arcade racers like F-Zero, Daytona USA, Burnout and Cruis’n USA. I still remember hammering the boost button, weaving through traffic, and grinning at every last-second win. That mix of over-the-top speed and tight controls defined the genre for me. Neon Apex: Beyond the Limit tries to bring that same energy to a new generation.
Developed by Repixel8, the game blends fast-paced futuristic racing with cel-shaded visuals and anime-inspired flair. It offers a mix of career progression, story chapters, and multiple race types, all wrapped in a neon-soaked world. We’ll take a look at Neon Apex: Beyond’s story, gameplay, visuals, and overall execution. There’s a lot packed into this indie racer, but not everything runs smoothly. Let’s break it down.
Fast Talkers, Slow Scenes
The story mode in Neon Apex: Beyond the Limit spans multiple chapters, told through manga-style cutscenes that rely entirely on text. The setup involves a mix of human racers and cyber-enhanced androids, with a competitive circuit that hints at corporate manipulation and underground rivalries.
It sounds like a recipe for high-stakes drama, but the storytelling never really takes off. The character designs are forgettable, and most cutscenes go on far too long. Without voice acting or interactive choices, it’s hard to stay invested.
One scene had two rivals arguing over race ethics before a tournament. I expected it to set up an actual rivalry or meaningful race. Instead, it led to several slow-loading panels of dialogue that didn’t push the plot forward or deepen the characters. There’s potential here, especially with the android competitors and hints of sci-fi conspiracy, but it never builds to anything meaningful. The text-heavy presentation doesn’t help either. I often found myself skipping through scenes just to get back to racing.
Progression also slows things down. You need to win first place in story events to advance, which can feel like a chore if you’re stuck. And because cutscenes always play in full between events, repetition starts to creep in fast. The story tries to add weight to the racing, but ends up dragging momentum instead. It’s not outright bad, but it doesn’t do much to pull you in either.
Boosts, Bounces, and Brawls
Neon Apex: Beyond the Limit leans into fast-paced, arcade-style racing with a mix of event types and progression systems. Career mode serves as the main hook. You earn XP and cash through races, unlock tougher events, and gradually collect over 20 vehicles. Races include standard circuits, point-to-point sprints, takedown missions, and bonus fights.
Drifting uses a simple hold-and-turn system, similar to Formula Retro Racing. It’s smooth enough to keep the pace up. Winning gets harder as you advance, but it’s still manageable with upgrades and a bit of practice. During a sprint race, I clipped a wall mid-drift, bounced off a rival, and launched straight into traffic. The reset delay cost me the win, but retrying with better timing felt more rewarding. That kind of chaos shows up often, especially with how twitchy the controls can get.
Combat events break from racing entirely. You step out of the vehicle and fight another driver using stiff, basic controls. Movement is limited to the D-pad, and attack options are minimal. They’re short distractions that don’t add much. The main issue is how light the vehicles feel. You’ll often bounce between traffic and barriers with little resistance. It looks chaotic, but doesn’t feel responsive. Collisions punish you fast, and if your health maxes out, your vehicle explodes.
There’s variety in the event types, but not all of it sticks. The core driving is quick, but messy.
Neon Overload
Neon Apex: Beyond the Limit has a cel-shaded art style with heavy anime influence. The look is bold and distinct, with glowing environments, stylized characters, and neon trails flooding the screen. At first, it’s a visual punch. Races take place on futuristic highways lit with traffic and glowing signage. Sparks, headlight streaks, and boost effects fly by constantly. But it quickly becomes hard to follow.
The screen gets crowded fast. Nitro boosts trigger quick camera cuts. Coloured trails blur the track. It’s flashy, but sometimes you can’t see what’s ahead. It’s easy to miss a corner or slam into traffic just because your view was overwhelmed. I found myself squinting during a late-stage race where every boost left the screen coated in blue and white streaks. I clipped a barrier and barely recovered, not because I reacted late, but because I couldn’t see the track line.
The vehicle designs match the tone, ranging from armored trucks to futuristic bikes, but none of them feel grounded. That fits the aesthetic, but they lack variety outside of their silhouette and paint jobs. Environments repeat too. Buildings and trees often look the same between tracks. Audio is a mixed bag. The electronic soundtrack suits the pace and holds up across long races. But the vehicle sounds feel weak. Bikes buzz like clippers, and crashes barely register. Without voice acting, the story scenes also feel flat.
The style is memorable, but it can get in the way. Flash is everywhere, but it makes it harder to follow the action.
Side-by-Side but Not Online
Neon Apex: Beyond the Limit includes a Versus mode that supports local multiplayer. You can race head-to-head on the same screen, which works well enough if you’re playing casually with a friend. There’s no setup involved beyond choosing characters and a track.
This is the only direct multiplayer option, though. There’s no online support, no matchmaking, and no way to invite others outside of your own space. For a game with so many modes, it’s surprising that online play wasn’t included—even a simple time trial ghost mode or online cup would have added value.
That said, there is a global leaderboard. After each race, you can compare your best times against others. It’s a nice touch for arcade racers where shaving off seconds becomes the real challenge. I didn’t notice any performance drops during split-screen races. It looked and played the same as solo events. But the same issues from single-player carry over. The screen still fills up with visual clutter, and the vehicle feedback remains inconsistent.
It’s good that something’s here for local competition, but the absence of online play feels like a missed opportunity. If you’re hoping to race friends online, you’ll have to settle for leaderboard bragging rights.
A Flashy Ride With a Shaky Engine
Neon Apex: Beyond the Limit brings a lot to the table. It has a fast pace, multiple race types, and a sharp visual identity. For fans of futuristic racers, there’s some fun to be had, especially if you’re hungry for something new in the arcade racing space.
But the core driving doesn’t always hold up. Vehicles feel light, and collisions often spiral out of control. It looks intense, but the feedback isn’t satisfying. Combat events feel tacked on, and the story scenes drag without much payoff. The overload of effects also makes it hard to focus during races. Local multiplayer is here, but there’s no online option. You can race side-by-side, but it feels limited, especially in a mode-heavy game. Leaderboards are a nice touch, but not a substitute for actual competitive racing with friends.
I kept hoping the next event would smooth things out. After every crash or missed turn, I’d adjust and go again, waiting for the experience to click. It never fully did. Some races felt fun, especially when everything lined up, but others left me frustrated.
The game has charm and effort behind it. The soundtrack works, and the variety of modes gives it decent replay value. But too many ideas pull it in different directions, and not enough polish holds it together. If you’re curious about it, there’s enough here to check out. Just don’t expect the next F-Zero. What you’ll find is a wild ride that hits the gas but struggles to stay on track.
Neon Apex: Beyond the Limit
Summary
Neon Apex: Beyond the Limit is a flashy, fast-paced arcade racer with bold style and a wide mix of race types. Its cel-shaded visuals and anime flair make a strong first impression, but the messy handling, stiff combat events, and overwhelming effects often get in the way. There’s effort and variety here, especially for fans of futuristic racing games, but the lack of polish and inconsistent feedback keep it from reaching the finish line cleanly.
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