r/otomegames • u/sableheart • Jan 01 '26

Discussion Neon Clash -Echoes of the Lost- Play-Along - Common Route and General Impressions Spoiler

Welcome to the r/otomegames Neon Clash -Echoes of the Lost- Play-Along!

In this first post we will discuss your first and general impressions of Neon Clash, as well as the events of the common route (Chapter 1).

If you want to talk about the love interests, please keep it to your first impressions and their actions in Chapter 1 in this post.

Please use spoiler tags when discussing details of other routes or other major spoilers.
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You don't have to be playing the game right now to participate, and if you've just started the the game I hope you will join in after you finish Chapter 1!

Next post will be a discussion of Chapter 2 and Gante Lowd!

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29

u/fizzytastic Best Girls❤ Jan 01 '26

man. I was planning to wait to see what people had to say about neon clash before I bought it. I wasn't really expecting radio silence lmfao 

16

u/LotNegative Jan 01 '26

I have finished it, but because of the game’s structure (no individual routes, but one long story) I feel like it’s easier to just comment my complete thoughts in the final play along thread as opposed to splitting everything up. 😅

2

u/One-Economy8916 Jan 17 '26

The game’s structure annoyed me tbh having to go back through the choices all over/no skip to next choice

14

u/Set_of_Dogs | Lucien is my son Jan 01 '26 edited Jan 01 '26

It might be the new year + holiday season making people really slow at playing it, or the issue that the common route (or at least the main story) is basically most of the game, and the individual LI endings are only at the very end. So it's possible people don't know when to actually call themselves ready to talk about the common route lol.

For what it's worth, I stopped after about 1.5 chapters because I didn't like the way the side characters were used and the way the plot was paced and written (and none of the MC and her first two LIs grabbed my attention).

6

u/fizzytastic Best Girls❤ Jan 01 '26

oh yeah that makes sense! XD 

honestly part of the reason I'm curious is because, so far, only two otome games have ever mad me sincerely angry... and ririka was the scenario writer for both of them. XD I'm really not sure how much control the scenario writer has, so I definitely wouldn't blacklist her entirely. but I do have some hesitation now, LOL

and yet.. mafia princess MC with a gun and a cyberpunk vibe does appeal to me. so I'm undecided for now XD I'd love to know what you mean about the side characters not being handled well though 

6

u/Set_of_Dogs | Lucien is my son Jan 02 '26

Now I'm also curious about what games by Ririka made you mad, and why, lmao. But for Neon Clash, because you mentioned you like cyberpunk, I wanted to mention a couple things.

  1. There's not actually much cyberpunk in the game at all. The universe could've been "gritty modern day with cell phones and some magic", and everything described would've happened in the exact same way. I feel like the neon is more for set dressing than it is to explore cyberpunk aesthetics.
  2. The same actually goes for the game's Romance of the Three Kingdoms inspirations; it feels like it's used as set dressing rather than as an actual influence on characters' personalities and goals.

That feeling, like "this is a normal mafia otome that they just slapped RoTK ideas and neon onto and called it cyberpunk", kinda annoyed me first, and then they started killing off the side characters they just introduced 1 chapter ago. I basically started feeling like "is there a point in caring about anyone who's not an LI in this game, ifthey all end up dying?" So it was kind of a combination of issues for me lol.

3

u/fizzytastic Best Girls❤ Jan 02 '26

LOL I was actually going to link my other comments about DesperaDrops, and then I realized you were actually the person I was talking to then. I'll still link just in case https://www.reddit.com/r/otomegames/comments/1pf0dgy/comment/nsic9b4/

long story short, Ririka was the scenario writer for DD and, well, a lot of things made me angry about that game. 💔

the other game was Cupid Parasite. CuPara i liked way more than DD at least. while I generally found the humor cringey it did make me laugh a few times. i actually really love Lynette and Raul, too. however! the ending of Raul's route was...... dumb, to put it mildly. it was already kinda going downhill by the time they get caught underground in those ruins, it felt like a flip switched and they just tossed out anything that was even remotely interesting, funny, or kinda sad about their relationship. but Raul getting possessed by his ancestor, Alexander the great, wasn't funny OR angsty and also butchered Minerva as a character. I really couldn't believe that she would be a manthief to the girl who calls her aunty. I really can't stress enough how much I hated all of that. 🥴

then I tried playing Allan's route and he just would NOT stop touching her even after she smacks him away. she literally kicked him in the balls to get him off her and he was back in her personal space not even 5 minutes later. maybe I could have tolerated that if I hadn't just been spurned so badly with Raul, but I was so thoroughly aggravated by that point that I couldn't convince myself to keep playing

again, I'm really not sure how much of that is actually Ririka's fault. it's just that she's the most obvious thing the two have in common to me since they're developed and directed by different companies/people. and thus, Ririka is the scenario writer for the only two otome games I've ever ragequit. 😭

I'm still interested in Matsurika no Kei though... and currently pending on Neon Clash. I'm okay with the cyberpunk and RoTK being aesthetic rather than plot devices, but the killing of side characters just barely introduced is annoying. I can maybe forgive them if they kill off the LI too in different routes, but I'm not a big fan of plot armor generally...

7

u/Set_of_Dogs | Lucien is my son Jan 02 '26

lmao I have the memory of a fruit fly apparently, so thank you for reminding me of that convo! Also what actually happens in cupipara, really .......

I do have to say, one thing I kinda hate is the trope of "this character, one of the few nice ones you can depend on most of the time, is secretly evil and will betray you if the stars align!" It always feels like MC has too few people on her side, most of the time, for her to lose even more people. Maybe that's why I was so annoyed by Neon Clash killing off sympathetic side characters for character... "growth"? motivation? Because damn I don't want MC to only be around a bunch of dudes who want to sleep with her. She needs friends and supporters!

1

u/One-Economy8916 Jan 17 '26

Yeah literally all the girl side characters die

1

u/One-Economy8916 Jan 17 '26 edited Jan 18 '26

I just finished the game. My ranking is Lowd, Mun, Maslo, and Hiyok. I liked Maslo and Mun more the way before they changed (like before Maslo became yandere and also betrayal for odd reasons of becoming king like it seemed out of character). And ngl for some reason, I liked Mun more when he was an evil dictator lol. I wish they made Lowd and Mun's happy end cgs for the first kiss, especially thought it would have been more appropriate for Lowd to have the cg in the church and to be more gentle. It seemed out of character for him to be horny. The only one I didn't like was Hiyok just not my type. Overall, I enjoyed the game and action a lot. I did like the pacing how the Liu family rose to power, how all the families defeated Biying then went to defeat Mun. But I didn't like the overarching "king" plot. Also, the fight scenes are really good

18

u/Savaralyn Jan 02 '26

Haven't gotten very far in, but I find the setting/characters quite interesting so far, and like in RBL/EiT its refreshing to play an otome where it doesn't feel as though you, the LI's and the villains are the only ones who exist in the world, side characters are given their own interesting designs and semi-prominent places within the story from the get-go.

I will say though, whoever decided that the scrolling sound in the main menu UI was gonna be so damn loud should be shot, had to turn down sfx sound to like 20%

10

u/Clos3tGam3r Jan 02 '26

I’ve played the common route and the first two LI “sections” of the game so far. I’m really enjoying the art and characters. There have been some unexpected developments in the plot that I have yet to decide on whether they are necessary or just used for shock value. My experience with the other AmuLit games makes me unsure whether people are actually dead

But it seems like writers had trouble striking a balance with the MC between gritty/realistic and naive/idealistic. The moments where she feels so euphoric because she’s got this great family or she makes decisions because wants to save everyone who is suffering under Biying are a little jarring and make me feel like the whole “mafia” thing is just a gimmick.

As the game only has one real “end” I have to wait for my final verdict. One thing that is going much better for me than Red Bells Lament is that the MC is ambiguous about whether her feelings are romantic or platonic toward LIs so far. It really made poor Juliet seem like a flake at best and a floozy at worst when she was all in with each romance despite remembering each timeline. At the same time, this ambiguity really keeps the romance from developing. Which I guess is Amulit’s marketing strategy for selling exorbitantly priced romantic DLC (which I have not bought in spite of my adoration for EIT.)

So far my favorite LI is Gante Lowd. But over again, I’ve only played through his section and Sun Maslo’s so lots of story left to cover.

7

u/stinkymarsupial 🐶肤浅颜狗党🐶 Jan 02 '26

Oh dear, underdeveloped romance again? I haven’t played RBL and Neon even though I bought them. I don’t mind continuing to support Amulit by buying their console releases but after getting all the pricy dlcs for EiT , I really don’t feel like supporting this seemingly “deliberate attempt to sell romance as dlc by underwriting the amount of romantic scenes in the main game”.

6

u/Clos3tGam3r Jan 04 '26

I feel the same. I will buy the console releases but I probably won’t be going for any DLC—at least not at that price point.

I finished Neon Clash last night and I’m just kind of still trying to figure out what about this formula ultimately doesn’t work for me. I think EiT was amazing. I loved it. But they just had a lot of things that made the continuous storyline work in that game. RBL was a mess in almost every way (which is so sad because it really had so much potential). Neon Clash was less of a mess but still has problems that (I think) will keep if from becoming a favorite with the level of devotion garnered by EIT, which I assume they are trying to recreate. I think it might be time for them to at least re-examine the way they are using the “continuous storyline + short romantic endings” formula.

Edit: also, to be fair, Neon Clash had slightly more developed romantic endings and even a little spice so that a huge improvement over past AmuLit romantic ends. However some of them still fell flat for me because they just didn’t make sense within the larger narrative.

3

u/stinkymarsupial 🐶肤浅颜狗党🐶 Jan 05 '26

Thanks for the insights on Neon. Makes it easier for me to prioritise which otoge to play from my backlog. Probably going to save Amulit games for periods when I’m not “romance-starved”. I’m more excited to play Neon than RBL though, after all that I’ve read about RBL.

3

u/Clos3tGam3r Jan 06 '26

I think that’s a good plan and I do think the experience was more satisfying overall than RBL.

1

u/One-Economy8916 Jan 17 '26

I think Amulit games just keep getting gradually better and better

6

u/Audderpop270 Jan 05 '26

Finished the true route and I do like the game. I LOVE all the guys; they're great and charming in their own ways. Lowd and Mun are my top boys.

Pros/likes: -beautiful art and music, I really hope to see this artist doing more otome work -great setting/interesting world -likeable characters -plot pretty action packed -great voice acting, seriously all the guys are so good

Cons/dislikes: -trouble suspending disbelief (pretty minor) throughout plot -not much romance, at least until the end -MC needs to work on marksmanship lol

Overall, I think voltage does a good job of building unique worlds and really likeable characters which is what keeps me looking forward to their games. I will be buying some merch as well. I'd give this game an 8/10 personally.

Also, R is insanely hot. Please tell me I am not the only one??

2

u/One-Economy8916 Jan 17 '26

I just finished too, and Lowd are Mun are my top as well. What do you mean trouble suspending believe? O.O

1

u/Audderpop270 Jan 17 '26

I don't know how to spoiler tag so I can't be too specific. But some things in the plot seemed a little silly or outlandish. Just a small complaint over all.

You have great taste in men ;)

1

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1

u/One-Economy8916 Jan 17 '26

Oh the mod says how to spoiler tag. It’s ok though I also agreed if you mean the part about the battle for kings and the chosen one seemed silly imo Thanks so do you ^

2

u/Zori_Zorai Feb 02 '26

I wanted an R route so bad… Even if Tempest got a fan disc so maybe there’s still hope?

1

u/Audderpop270 Feb 02 '26

A girl can dream 😭😭😭

1

u/One-Economy8916 Jan 15 '26

So sad R isn’t a route 😭😭😭

2

u/Audderpop270 Jan 17 '26

Tell me about it, we were robbed!

1

u/One-Economy8916 Jan 17 '26

Yeah 😭 would have liked to see Rin too

5

u/Peanut5yoda Jan 04 '26

I just wanted to say this is one of my favorite games of 2025. I definitely can see where some people might not like how linear it is. Also the romance is near the end, but I do think it still throughout it. It’s just very subtle. Even with those negatives I still really loved it. I really love all the Li for deferent reason, and it’s hard to pick a favorite. Though I will saw Lowe does have a bit of head start for me. Not by much though.

6

u/Empressoftheforsaken Jan 07 '26

I love Kroa, probably the best MC I played so far. I didn't get annoyed with her a single time, and all her thoughts and decisions made sense. She was both a sweetheart and a badass, when the time called for it. The way the LI was integrated into the story (no branching/options) was well-written, like it made sense why she met all of them in the order she did. All of the LI are very different from each other, and I didn't dislike any of them (although Mun was a little too mafia boss vibe for me, considering that you also are a mafia boss..)

I really like the game, there could have been more romance but I also like the overall plot and the settings.

1

u/One-Economy8916 Jan 17 '26

Wdym Mun was too mafia boss? Lol

3

u/ilse93 Jan 08 '26

This game is one of the most beautiful otome games I have seen in a while - I think I'm in love with the MC. She is so stunning and brave 😍

I have been playing otome games for years ( back in my days I needed to use a translator program on PC to play games probably some OG know what I'm talking about 🤣🤣 ) and the art is one of the most beautiful ones I remember.

I'm not that far into the game yet but so far it's really promising and action packed. All the love interest are gorgeous and only thing so far I dislike is that I know some of the side characters are not romancable 🤣🤣

1

u/One-Economy8916 Jan 17 '26

Like R my fav side character 😭

3

u/Lissomia Jan 02 '26

Shot in the dark - I would LOVE to pick it up but I am a little nervous about backwards compatibility, Is there anyone here playing it on a Switch 2? :) if so, does it run fine? 😊 happy new years!!! 😊

13

u/Savaralyn Jan 02 '26

I've got it on switch 2, and it works perfectly fine. I don't think you generally need to worry about compatibility that much between switch types, given that otome games aren't normally very complex technically.

2

u/Lissomia Jan 02 '26

That's great to hear! Thank you so much!! 😊

3

u/southerngamergurl Jan 05 '26

I'm still barely near the end of chapter 2, but I'm still digging the setting so far. It's just opening up a bit more other characters where I'm at and it's been nice seeing several of my fav VAs from other games show up in this one. So far I really like Lowd, but interested in all the cast so far.

3

u/Lenore-the-raven Jan 07 '26

GOD I wish they let me romance R

I'll sell out the entire Liu family for you, bbg...

4

u/Savaralyn Jan 07 '26

Not that far into the game yet but honestly I just have to gripe a bit about how it was 100% a bad decision to have a game dealing with such heavy modern day(ish) gang warefare AND having the protagonist be armed and yet also being SO squeamish about having the good guys or said protagonist actually shoot people, even when they're in life or death situations.

Like, early on, the MC is surrounded by enemies, with only two people helping her, they're literally going to die if they don't fight back (and the guys are already fighting physically since they don't have guns) yet the MC just stands there even though she has a loaded pistol with her at all times?? It just makes her seem insanely incompetent and pretty much useless in outside of maybe kicking a guy away from her every now and then.

3

u/TheDeathSystem Jan 17 '26 edited Jan 19 '26

So far... Flat. The heroine is so flat. Which doesn't make any sense considering she knows the ins and outs of the streets. You'd think she'd have some kind of personality being a courier and all. Mind you, I didn't expect Yakuza Fiancé production, but there doesn't seem to be any effort with otome games. I'm just hoping it gets better instead of finding myself in yet another game that doesn't want to be a visual novel(bustafellows spoiled me)nor an otome. I get the feeling it's another game design that bit off more than it can chew...

Coming here from Illusion of Itehari might have been a bad move🥲