It’s a fun story overall surreal but also a sly commentary on the gamification of life. Their back and forths about whether BK is, in fact, responsible for the holes are adorable, and lead directly to flashback levels where you get to drop everything from restaurants to ranger’s stations into the ground. Each cutscene introduces a new character, but it’s the friendship between Mira and BK – a girl and a raccoon – that forms the heart of Donut County’s quirky sensibility. We join these animal denizens in a makeshift camp deep beneath the earth – victims of the holes ravaging the town. The mechanics, after all, could lend themselves to a relatively dry puzzle game, but instead Donut County is set in an oddball, charming, and tongue-in-cheek world of anthropomorphic animals. Read more on .Indeed, it’s the narrative wrapping that is most fascinating about Donut County – and that most stamps this as the vision of solo developer Ben Esposito. The crux of Neon White isn’t beating a level but working out the best routes for shaving off precious seconds for better medals, rewards, and the thrill of the execution.This struggle for perfection ties in with the story.

The likes of Ghostrunner, Superhot, and Demon Turf, along with high difficulty death dances like Cuphead, have all been designed to deliver the satisfying spectacle of the perfect run.As noted by Donut County developer Ben Esposito himself, Neon White was inspired by his fascination with speedrunners – and it shows from the get-go.Įach of the opening 10 stages is a confined sprint to the finish, as you leap across platforms and shoot enemies, and it’s all over within 60 seconds even at a slow pace. The maker of Donut County presents a stylish hybrid of first person shooter and platformer, where weapons and movement are tied to cards.As speedrunning has begun to receive a larger spotlight, through events like Games Done Quick, more games have tried to cater themselves towards the art of sprinting through levels as fast as possible.

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