TOKYO, Japan — Oct 14, 2025 — NeverAwake FLASHBACK, the nightmarish roguelite twin-stick shooter and sequel to NeverAwake (and Metacritic’s 40th highest-rated PC game of 2022) developed by Neotro Inc. and published by Phoenixx Inc., battles never-ending night terrors on PC via Steam on Wednesday, Dec. 10th, 2025. The bad dreams begin with the debut demo launching today during Steam Next Fest.
When young Rem’s restful sleep patterns once again turn tumultuous, her recurring nightmares return with a vengeance. With her favorite stuffed animal Gabe-chan at her side, explore the unknown corners of the mind where demonic spirits…wait…are those vegetables?
Well…vegetables can be scary for a little kid! Blast asparagus apparitions, broccoli beasts, and wild wasabi — all of Rem’s least favorite foods. You know what else she hates? The dentist… that one rabid dog that almost bit her on the way home from school…and many other terrible memories across more than 80 randomly shuffled levels.
Begin each run by creating a custom combination of three weapons and three accessories, then float through procedurally generated horrors where enemies approach from all directions. Create hundreds of combat builds for every situation — pelt enemies from afar with traditional twin-stick directional fire, deal chunk damage with short-range shotgun-style blasts, or wreak havoc with wave-clearing 360° bursts.
In the demo, learn all the dreamy details through a gameplay tutorial followed by three stages of hell adolescent anxiety where unpleasant meals manifest as menacing monsters. Turn up the heat and topple two spicy wasabi demons that guard the path forward.
“The feedback we received after the launch of the original NeverAwake is the reason its sequel exists today,” said Hiroshi Sawatari, developer of NeverAwake FLASHBACK. “We are very grateful to have such a vocal community, and we look forward to hearing their input once more with today’s demo launch.”
NeverAwake FLASHBACK arrives on Steam for PC on Wednesday, Dec. 10th, 2025 with language support in Japanese, English, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese. To learn more, visit the Phoenixx official website, Phoenixx Facebook page, follow @Phoenixx_inc on Twitter, follow Neotro Inc. on X / Twitter, and follow developer Hiroshi Sawatari on Twitter.
About Neotro Inc.
Neotro Inc. is a Japanese independent game development company based in Yokohama with a particular affection for arcade games, and has previously released the 2D fantasy side-scrolling shooters VRITRA Complete Edition and VRITRA HEXA for exA-Arcadia. By bringing two words, “Neo” and “Retro” together, Neotro Inc. chose their name to follow the saying “OnkoShuin”（温故知新, which translates to “learning from the past” and “carrying old wisdom to create new.”
About Phoenixx Inc.
Established in 2019 by industry veterans, Phoenixx Inc. aims to support innovative and creative developers from Japan and around the world. Its mission is to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one creator, one game, and one community at a time.
Media Contacts
Eric Pattillo / Yifeng Mao / Sarah Blackwell
Stride PR for Phoenixx Inc.
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