When comparing Star Realms vs Neon Shadow, the Slant community recommends Star Realms for most people. In the question“What are the best local multiplayer games on Android?” Star Realms is ranked 6th while Neon Shadow is ranked 12th. The most important reason people chose Star Realms is:
Asynchronous online play allows for the player to get matched up against a friend or random opponent.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Asynchronous online play
Asynchronous online play allows for the player to get matched up against a friend or random opponent.
Pro Bases
Bases are permanent cards on the playing field that each player needs to try and destroy but giving that there is a choice each turn to hit a base or the players ships, it becomes a juggling act of what takes priority to destroy.
Pro Unpredictable
There is no way for the player to know what will be in their hand or what they will eventually be able to purchase, making for every game being unpredictable.
Pro Pass and play multiplayer on a single device
Players can play a multiplayer game locally using a single device by passing the device between the two players for each ones turn. This makes for an easy way to duel when only one device is around.
Pro Single player mode
There is an included single player mode where the player faces off against the CPU.
Pro Diverse multiplayer allows you to easily play locally or online with friends
Neon Shadow supports local area network multiplayer as well as online multiplayer support for death-match play.
Pro Familiar and classic FPS and arena gameplay that is easy to understand
Core gameplay mechanics are of old-school first person shooter. Players move room to room finding objects called nodes to shoot before being allowed to leave to the next room. While trying to find the node players will of course be facing off against AI controlled enemies.
Pro Great controller support that allows a wide selection of different controllers to work
Neon Shadow has built in HID controller support, SHIELD Games support and MOGA controller support. So no matter what type of Android controller you own, it should work out of the box.
Pro Anyone can pick up the game and figure out the intuitive touch controls
There is no jump button, reload button or an interaction button, keeping the touch controls interface quite simple. Left side of the screen moves the player, right side looks around, and there is a fire button. This makes the controls simple to understand and use.
Pro Varied powerful weapons keeps the gameplay entertaining
Each weapon in game gives a sense of differentiating power. There is a good selection of guns that all have different shooting abilities and power. Each one allows the player to feel as though they are well equipped for the task at hand.
Pro Tablet split screen same device multiplayer allows 2 players to easily play on a single device
Neon Shadow allows 2 players to play multiplayer on a single tablet device using split screen. Controllers would be ideal for this.
Cons
Con Design is lacking
More thought, design and production value could have been added to the game to give it a better polished feel, sadly it is not the case as most aspects pass as just serviceable.
Con Shallow gameplay
While the story and game mechanics are serviceable one has to wonder how much better the game could have been if more attention was focused on these areas during development.