Neon White

Neon White is a fast-paced action platformer from Angel Matrix, designed by Ben Esposito, creator of the earlier game Donut County, blending freerunning movement mechanics with card-game elements. The player takes on the role of White in heaven as one of the "demon hunters," tasked with clearing each level as fast as possible, while collected cards can either be used as one-shot weapons against demons or discarded for special movement abilities such as a double jump, dash, or teleport straight to the goal, turning every level into a puzzle of movement decisions. The game encourages repeated playthroughs with a medal system for speed as well as for finding hidden doves tucked into the corners of levels, so even short levels offer considerable replay value.

On Xbox Series X|S the game runs at a high frame rate, which is absolutely essential for this kind of gameplay built on millisecond precision and constant level replays chasing a better time. The sharp, stylized anime visuals and an energetic electronic soundtrack underscore the sense of speed and precision, while the story sequences between levels offer a lighter, dialogue-driven contrast full of dark humor to the otherwise fully focused action.

The game was released in 2022 on PC and PlayStation consoles, and it arrived on Xbox Series X|S and into Game Pass later, where its combination of speedrun precision, imaginative level design, and a clear rating system quickly earned it a devoted audience. Neon White is now regarded as one of the best-designed titles focused on repeatedly refining a level run, even among players who don't otherwise seek out fast platformers and speedruns, because the game explains its reward and rating system clearly enough to remain accessible to newcomers to the genre.

Why play it: For speedrun precision, imaginative level design, and a clear rating system, it's one of the best-designed titles even for players who otherwise don't seek out fast platformers and speedruns.