It has only been under a year since the last Neptunia spin-off title, Netunia GameMaker R:Evolution, was released. We now have a new one, Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos. Amazingly, we got this title so soon with only that much time!
Game Name: Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5 (Reviewed)
Developer(s): Compile Heart
Publisher(s): Idea Factory International
Release Date: January 28th, 2025
Price: $39.99
Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos starts you off in a new dimension as Uzume Tennouboshi (from Megadimension Neptunia VII). She is hugging a dogoo, the usual basic enemy from most of the Neptunia series, and realizes she shouldn’t be. After looking around she realizes she is not in the Gamindustri she remembers. So she rides on a motorcycle to find Neptune who is in a daze where she loves all dogoos and wants to be with them all the time. Uzume removes the dogs from Neptune while on her motorcycle which pops Neptune out of her dogoo-loving state. Together they decide to find the rest of the goddesses and help them return to themselves.
The Good
One of my least favorite things about Neptunia GameMaker R:Evolution was the bike controls and I was very worried about making a whole side game based on Bike controls. Luckily Neptunia Riders vs Dogoos feels better to control. It also helps that the maps in this game feel like they were created with the bike controls in mind.
The character models and the outfits that were given to the Neptune cast are awesome. They all get unique biking fits. It matches the bike frames that are their default bike and I felt at times I should just keep their default frames on their characters.
The entirety of Neptunia Riders vs Dogoo is voice-acted. The best thing about the Neptunia series generally is its voice cast. All the characters have such big personalities. I was surprised to see that even smaller moments had been voice-acted.
Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos is mainly a two vs two gameplay. You and another character from the Neptunia cast are in a race to collect the allotted amount of dogoos from the map. Usually, it’s 100 dogoos, and your opponent is also going to run after them. You can use long-range attacks to put a negative dogoo on your opponent or you can just get close and do a massive power melee attack and steal some of their dogoos. Be careful as your opponent can also attack you in melee.
The dogoos you find on maps are all uniquely designed and they generally have effects on your motorbike. Some can shrink your bike to fit in other locations on the map, others can make your glide. It’s fun to figure out all the different dogoos and how they affect how you play the game. You can even look at the dogoo encyclopedia that will unlock more dogoos as you collect them in the various stages throughout the game.
The Bad
One thing you notice almost immediately if you are a fan of the Neptunia series is that Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos doesn’t use live 2D depictions of the characters for cutscenes. This was one of my favorite things from the previous games. I loved the live 2D models of the characters and how they moved. The 3D models aren’t bad but they aren’t as polished as the live 2D designs.
I was surprised the whole thing was voice-acted but I was also shocked by another thing, the length of the total game. I finished the game in three hours. Yep, three. I heard the game was short but I was not expecting it to be that short. When the final area came around I thought they were going to flip that on its head with another five areas. They did not and the final area was indeed the final area. The credits rolled and everything. There is some replayability with the time challenges and the solo runs on the levels but if you are talented, you can do both at the same time. If you accomplish a level without taking another character as a partner and finish the level within the time limit, it counts for both. Without the cutscenes, these levels take almost no time at all to finish. About one to two minutes a level.
The gimmicks in the few areas there are gimmicks in, feel good the first time you do the level, but once you go back they feel like well, gimmicks. Some areas have gimmicks like a roulette machine and whirlwinds to get to the islands above you.
The Verdict
Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos isn’t a bad time at all. The new outfits for the characters are great and the bike controlling and accessories are nice, but I can’t recommend this game to anyone but die-hard Neptunia fans. This doesn’t have anything too interesting to the premise or even the world of Gamindustri. It also doesn’t explain anything about goddesses or the world itself of Gamindustri. New players to Neptunia won’t understand any of the terminology that gets talked about. Honestly, the thing most worth the purchase is the magazine edition of this game. The game is just an add-on to all the rest of the goodies you get from that edition.
Neptunia Riders will be released on January 28th, 2025 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.
Review Disclosure Statement: Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos was provided to us by Idea Factory International for review purposes. For more information on how we review video games and other media/technology, please review our Review Guideline/Scoring Policy.
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Summary
Neptunia Riders VS Dogoos is a short game that doesn’t play badly but isn’t worth the price of purchase. I was saddened at the lack of Live 2D models and short play time but the charm of Neptunia is still there.
Pros
- Much better bike controls than GameMaker
- New maps
- Great bike outfit designs
Cons
- Small run time
- Not a lot of replayability
- Removed 2D Live models
