Over the summer, I decided to turn up the heat a little with the PC Game Pass. I was able to try quite a few titles, but the one that really caught my attention was a first-person, parkour-shooter game called “Neon White.”

You play as a character called Neon White, an assassin from hell who was given a unique chance to redeem himself of his sins. Basically, the purgatory department in heaven told Neon White and the other assassins of hell that they may compete for a sacred object called the Mechanical Halo, which allows the user to reside in heaven. This is the only chance that the assassins have of escaping hell, and the competition lasts for seven days. Our protagonist, Neon White, realizes that some of the other assassins seem familiar and that he may have known them in a past life. While aiming to be the victor of this competition and claim the halo, he also wants to uncover the mysteries of heaven by connecting with these assassins and finding out their truths.

This is a single-player experience in which a Neon White maneuvers through beautifully designed levels while shooting demons and reaching the goal as fast as possible. Imagine if you gave Mario a gun, first-person POV,and set him into a series of short levels–maybe not the best analogy but it’s true.

You might think this sounds like Doom or Halo, but it is very different in structure. First of all, the “levels” are quite literally just small areas in empty space with a set number of obstacles, weapons and enemies. Each weapon appears in the form of a Soul Card, which can be picked up and has limited ammo. A player can have three of the same card and hold two different types of cards. With such equipment, Neon White can speed through a level and must defeat all of the demons before reaching the goal. It is normal for him to never take damage or run out of ammunition, and there are no cutscenes to interrupt the graceful experience.

Another important function of the Soul Cards are their respective discard ability. Each gun has a special effect when you discard it. For example, the pistol allows you to double-jump when discarded, the rifle lets you shoot an explosive and the shotgun lets you dash forward. A player must make optimal use of both the shooting mechanic and the discard mechanic for each Soul Card in order to complete a level. Some enemies drop a weapon when defeated, which often lets a player know how to further optimize their route in the level.

There are also bonus levels which are unlocked by claiming hidden gifts in the main levels and delivering them to the other assassins. Neon White engages in a lot of dialogue with them, some of which is slightly romantic as well. The format of this portion of the game is kind of like a dating simulator. I always skip the dialogue so I have no idea what is actually going on between Neon White and the other assassins. All I know is that they respond to his gifts with challenge levels. Neon Yellow’s challenges disable discard abilities while Neon Red’s levels make excessive use of them. Then there is Neon Violet; her levels are just pure torture.

The speedrun aspect of this game is very important. In fact, it is one of the primary objectives. A player can unlock medals: silver, gold and ace depending on how fast they completed the level. With more experience in a level, Neon White gains “insight,” which is literally when the game guides you to beat the level even faster.

Of course, that still won’t be enough if you’re aiming for the best possible time. The developers kept in mind that speedrunners would test the limits of this game, and so they set even more difficult records and encouraged the speedrun community to beat them. This may sound discouraging, but playing the game even normally makes you feel like a professional. If you enjoy that blissful feeling, I would highly recommend trying this game out.

At the very least, you can compete with your friends for better times. There is a built-in leaderboard for each level that displays global results and that of your friends on Xbox. Try to get your friends to play this game and see who comes out on top.

You never know, maybe you should claim your seat in heaven before it’s too late.