It’s been a while. Sorry about that. Life gets in the way sometimes and then you look up and it’s been three months since you’ve written an article for your independent gaming website. Thank you all for still interacting with the page in the meantime though.

Your patience and engagement does not come without a gift, as I’ve been alerted to an upcoming run-and-gun retro-inspired shooter called Neon Inferno, and it looks incredible.

Neon Inferno takes place in New York City in the year 2055. You play as one of two assassins, Angelo and Mariana, and traverse through “The City’s” five boroughs as you seek to make a name for your crime family throughout the dystopian future. You’ll face the corrupt NYPD, other crime syndicates, and more as you try to rise to the top.

The game will take players through the impoverished battle-torn slums of the Bronx, where the police and the gangs wage vicious war covering entire neighborhoods in flame, to the walled neon gardens of Inner Manhattan, where the upper-class and the lawmakers idle away their time enjoying the fruits of high culture, blissfully shielded from the chaos and the agony of the outside world — for now. No word yet on if you’ll be able to visit me in New Jersey just yet.

Fans of the run-and-gun shooter genre like Contra, Wild Guns, Metal Slug, Sunset Riders, and more will be right at home here. If you’re like me and love the PlayStation 1 and Sega Saturn era of games, you’ll dig the 32-bit sprite graphics and killer soundtrack reminiscent of the era.

The game is developed by Steel Assault developer Zenovia Interactive and published by Retroware. The protagonists were designed by Japanese illustrator Tsukasa Jun (司淳) of Psikyo fame, the studio who made the classic Cho Aniki series, among other games. He also drew the art below:

A demo is available now on the Neon Inferno Steam page. You can also check out the game’s official website for more details. Neon Inferno releases October 1, 2025 for PC.