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Hey there!

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Every year, I dedicate my last video to the[br]most innovative game from the last 12 months.

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In the past I've talked about time-travelling[br]detective games, brain-busting block pushers,

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and time-looping archeological adventures.

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So, what should I pick for 2022?

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Well.

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I've always been interested in speed-running.

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That's the practice of taking a game, and[br]trying to finish it in the fastest way humanly

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possible.

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This requires you to play with impeccable[br]skill.

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To understand every facet of the game's underlying[br]design.

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To research movement tech.

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To exploit skips, shortcuts, and sequence[br]breaking.

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And, sometimes, to break the game into a billion[br]pieces.

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It's a fun part of gaming culture - from annual[br]conventions like Awesome Games Done Quick,

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to YouTube chronicles like Summoning Salt.

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But, let's be honest: I'm never going to do[br]it.

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This requires an unbelievable time commitment[br]- a top Ocarina of Time runner says he spent

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more than 4,500 hours on the game.

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I could spend that time doing much better[br]things, like watching the Shrek the Halls

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Christmas special 9,000 times.

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So... what if you made a game that simulated[br]the feeling of being a speedrunner.

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That gave you the chance to learn a move set,[br]practice running over and over again, find

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skips and shortcuts, and slowly get better.

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But without the thousand hour commitment?

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Well, that would be Neon White.

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♫ Upbeat Music ♫

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So, at it's most basic, this is a first-person[br]platforming game.

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In each level you pick up these carefully[br]placed weapon cards - they can be used to

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shoot down demons.

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Or they can be discarded to unleash a special[br]move, borrowed from other platforming games

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- like a double jump, forward dash, rocket[br]jump, hookshot, or ground pound.

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And so you must race through each level, shooting[br]demons, discarding cards, and moving with

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speed and skill.

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Now, you could finish each level, move on,[br]fast forward through the cringe dialogue,

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and roll credits in a few hours.

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But, that's not really the point.

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“If you just play to win each level without[br]going back to optimise your time, you’re

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not really playing Neon White,” says creator[br]Ben Esposito.

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The game initially began as a first person[br]shooter mixed with a deck builder.

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You'd assemble a deck of cards, and then get[br]dealt random weapons and powers in the middle

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of a fight.

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Which... kinda sucked.

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But when Ben changed the prototype to have[br]a breadcrumb trail of hand-picked cards, his

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friends quickly started running through the[br]levels as quickly as possible, trading back

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and forth their best times.

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Which led to Neon White as we now know it.

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It's a big departure from his previous game[br]- the noodley hole 'em up Donut County, which

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was designed to appeal to as many people as[br]possible, with its simple gameplay and controls.

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This time, Ben wanted to make a game that[br]a few people would absolutely love - a strange

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mix of Counterstrike surf maps, [br]Toonami anime, Dreamcast aesthetics, Visual Novel

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dialogue and more.

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Anyway, like Ben says - Neon White is most fun[br]when you play the level, and then try to do

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it again - but faster.

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But during development, this wasn't always[br]obvious to people and they would blast through

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levels without ever thinking to retry for[br]a better time.

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So the team developed a system that would[br]encourage players to optimise.

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It's called Insight - designed, as Ben says,[br]"to orient people to the true 'fun' of the

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game."

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So when you start a level for the first time[br]you're given a screen like this.

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Everything's locked.

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So you just play the level.

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You're probably a tad slow, you might make[br]a few mistakes, you might hesitate - and so

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you get a bronze medal.

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WHITE: "Cleared it".

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This unlocks a leaderboard with your friends'[br]times, and also shows you how fast you'll

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need to go for a better reward.

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Each level in Neon White is incredibly short.

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A stage might only take 20 or 30 seconds to[br]finish.

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So... they're always quick enough to encourage[br]another go.

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So you play again.

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This round, a timer appears on screen.

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You play faster, you're more accurate, you[br]know how the level's laid out so there's less

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hesitation.

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This time, you get a silver medal...

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WHITE: "I'll take it".

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...and you can now race against your own ghost,[br]to see how you can do it even better.

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Neon White feels great to play - it has tight,[br]responsive, and reliable movement mechanics,

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and all the standard forgiveness features,[br]like coyote time and edge rounding.

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It's just intrinsically fun to play, so replaying[br]a level never feels like a chore.

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And it's crystal clear that with just a bit[br]more skill, a bit more accuracy, a bit more

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practice, you could totally do it better.

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So you play again.

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Optimise.

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Improve.

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Do better.

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Get a gold medal!

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How on earth could I have done that any faster?

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WHITE: "Didn't even break a sweat".

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Neon White's visual design and architecture[br]is intended for clarity and zero ambiguity.

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It's all clean white buildings, with green[br]plants that point towards where to go, and

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obvious visual affordances like staircases[br]and archways.

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Plus, the enemies and cards are placed through[br]the stage like a dotted line from start to

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finish.

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But that easy route is also a red herring.

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Because each and every level has a secret[br]shortcut that can be exploited to get an even

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better time.

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And that's the reward for a gold medal: a[br]level hint, which shows you where to break

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from the obvious route to get a faster time.

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So you play again.

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With a little more practice, some problem[br]solving, and a dollop of skill, you should

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have everything you need to net yourself the[br]ace medal.

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WHITE: "It's 'cause I'm the best".

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But this finally unlocks the global leaderboards[br]- and the temptation to go even faster.

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Perhaps you'll keep trying.

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Eke out a few extra seconds.

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Search YouTube for tips - wait, you can parry[br]bullets in this game to get a speed boost?

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What!

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And if you do that, you just might unlock[br]a fifth, secret, red medal - for times set

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by Ben himself.

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And so by going through this process, you[br]get the feeling of being a speedrunner on

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that specific level - but in mere minutes,[br]or perhaps a few hours.

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Rather than weeks, months, and years.

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You get to feel like an AGDQ superstar.[br]Without the time commitment.

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Of course - none of this is particularly new.

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Leaderboards have been around since the arcades.

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Player ghosts since ancient racing games.

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And I praised the hidden medals in Assault[br]Android Cactus for how they reward the best

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players - without demoralising those who can't[br]make the grade.

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But there's something special about the way[br]Neon White does it.

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For most games...

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time trials, speed runs, gold medals, and[br]so on are the exclusive domain of a few elite

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players.

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Something that we mere mortals just watch[br]on YouTube.

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But that's not the case in Neon White.

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Practically everyone who talks about this[br]game says the same thing - it's almost impossible

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to move on without, at the very least, a gold[br]medal.

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Maybe an ace if you're feeling spicy.

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And it's no surprise: the short levels make[br]replaying easy.

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The tight controls make it fun.

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And the insight system encourages you to do[br]it, by gradually easing you in from a stumbling

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level finisher, to a slick speedrunning superstar.

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And so that's why I'm picking it as the most[br]innovative game of 2022.

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WHITE: "Not bad for a dead guy, huh?"

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Some honourable mentions, as always.

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Like 2019's winner, Baba is You, Patrick's[br]Parabox is a block-shunting Sokoban game that

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soon gets super meta.

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This time, the block you are pushing around...[br]might just be the level you are playing in

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- creating a recursive nightmare of infinite[br]possibilities.

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Sounds like it would melt your brain, but[br]the elegant and considered puzzle design gently

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guides you along a journey of surprising twists[br]and a-ha moments.

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Citizen sleeper is a micro RPG with an inventive[br]dice-based mechanic.

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Each morning you'll wake up with a handful[br]of dice showing random values.

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You can then spend these dots on different[br]tasks, which forces you consider your priorities

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- which jobs are most important, and which[br]characters do you want to hang out with most?

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This makes every choice feel more meaningful.

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Vampire Survivors looks like junk and basically[br]plays itself.

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But this automated twin stick shooter is impossible[br]to put down.

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By lifting the most compulsive parts of clickers,[br]RPGs, musou games, and synergistic deck builders,

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this game burrowed its way into my brain until[br]I forcibly kicked it off my Xbox.

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There was also the Non-Euclidean adventure[br]Hyperbolica, the goofy rhythm game Trombone

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Champ, and Tunic - the game that hides its[br]best mysteries in a vintage instruction manual.

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This year had some real gems.

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And if you want to know my ten favourite games[br]of 2022, then check out GMTK on Patreon - those

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on the video tier can now check out my game[br]of the year list.

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Patreon is also the number one best way to[br]support this channel and everything I've been

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doing this year.

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Since January I've made videos on topics like[br]invisible choices, economies, combing genres,

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and solving problems, and games like Deathloop,[br]Hitman 3, Rollerdrome, and Elden Ring.

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I've made five dev logs about my magnet game,[br]an interactive video essay, a huge Unity tutorial,

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minis on God of War and Fortnite, and ran[br]another monster game jam.

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Thanks to everyone on Patreon who supports[br]this channel, your kindness means the world

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to me.