From a sensory perspective, Neva may be the most pleasing game I've ever played. The hand-drawn 2D art style is an easy sell in the indie market, and games like Hollow Knight, Spiritfarer, and Cuphead manage to raise the bar year after year, but Neva's art, music, and animation come together in one of the most stunning exchanges of visuals, sound, and movement I've experienced in a long time, setting a new gold standard.
It's a standard that Neva's developer Nomada Studios arguably set six years earlier, with the quiet, contemplative Gris. It's easy to see how this team would move on to something like Neva, whose immediately evocative world and character design certainly feel cut from the same cloth. But Neva manages to come across as a meaningful evolution of Nomada's artistic flair: its world is thicker, more tangible, more wrought by danger, beauty, and mystique than Gris', something that is realized through a precise balance of illustration, setpiece design, and sound design.
It's cliché to say, but there's no other way to put it: it feels like you could reach out and touch the world of Neva. Every step that protagonist Alba takes through the game's four distinct chapters lands with weight and meaning, which is only aided by the more subtle, gradually unfolding elements that contribute to Neva's greatness. Indeed, Neva is more than just a pretty face.
Neva: Princess Mononoke Meets The Last Guardian
Neva's narrative, which Nomada opts to tell without the use of dialog, is likely to remind many players of Princess Mononoke or a myriad of other, equally charming allegories about changes happening in the natural world. It weaves an enrapturing story about the slow and inevitable death and rebirth of nature, much in the same way that an ancient civilization might tell a story through paintings on cave walls or songs around a fire. It doesn't take much chewing to get down.
That's not meant to be derogatory: Neva doesn't need to be obtuse or dense. In fact, its story benefits greatly from its simplicity, begging players to feel their way through it rather than think too deeply about it. This is achieved, once again, through exemplary art design and music, which perfectly capture the essence of each in-game season, from the unfeeling decay of fall to the budding promise of spring. Each season is unmistakable and painfully familiar, which allows Neva to tell its affecting narrative. The game's story isn't symbolized by the changing of the seasons—the story is the changing of the seasons.
As the game's world evolves, so does the titular Neva, the dog-deer hybrid that accompanies Alba on her voyage. Players watch as Neva turns from a helpless pup to a capable, independent adolescent, to something else entirely, and it's remarkably bittersweet. Him needing Alba less feels like the loss of a certain kind of relationship, but his growth is impressive and has a direct impact on gameplay, making the player more powerful. In some ways, Neva feels like the touchstone for the game's narrative, a fuzzy, attentive manifestation of the interminable changes of the world around him.
Neva's Use of Combat and Platforming
Much like its predecessor, Neva implements rather simplistic game mechanics, never getting too deep or technical, and certainly lacking the expressiveness of many other action-platformers. Highlighting the first part of that compound word seems apt, as combat is the most obvious difference between Neva and Gris. It adheres to a three-hit-combo formula, and while a few extra abilities rear their heads over the course of the game's meager runtime, they don't do much to meaningfully deepen the gameplay. There is almost always one optimal way to tackle each combat encounter, and the game doesn't leave much room for experimentation.
In some ways, Neva feels like the touchstone for the game's narrative, a fuzzy, attentive manifestation of the interminable changes of the world around him.
At a certain point, though, criticizing Neva for its simple mechanics would be much like criticizing an apple for not being orange enough—it's just not really a relevant point. And Neva's gameplay, while not particularly complex, is pretty fun for what it is. Straightforward hacking-and-slashing feels nice and responsive, and I was surprised by how challenging it could be at times. The difficulty of the game's boss fights or more intense set pieces isn't earth-shattering, but it's not nonexistent by any means. In other words, the gameplay has more meat on its bones than you might first assume.
Platforming, specifically puzzle platforming, is a slightly more significant part of the Neva formula. Each level introduces compelling twists to the game's central mechanics, which keeps jumping from box to box interesting despite rudimentary locomotion abilities. Solving each platforming puzzle won't require too much effort, but this might warrant a slightly greater demerit than the simplicity of the combat. There were times when it felt like Neva was holding back, not stretching each level's new mechanics beyond their logical conclusion. The most interesting level-based platformers tend to go this extra mile, so it's a bit disappointing that Neva spends so little time with such promising ideas.
On that same note, it might be worth mentioning Neva's brevity. I got around half of the game's major collectibles, and managed to finish my playthrough in just over three hours. This isn't a bad thing, per se, as Nomada is clearly very economical with Neva's well-paced story, but I would be remiss in my duties as a consumer informant if I didn't set these expectations clearly; even if you replay Neva and attempt to get every collectible, it's not a game that you're going to get too many hours from.
Normally, a super-short game with minimalist mechanics would make me say something along the lines of "Neva is great, but it won't be for everyone." But I truly think that everyone should play Neva at some point; it's hard to imagine someone not feeling profound emotion from this trim but unforgettable release, which now sits comfortably on the short list of video games that have brought tears to my eyes. If it has captured your attention in any way, then it's safe to say that it's worth your time. It's certainly worth far more than the $20 Devolver Digital and Nomada Studios are asking for it.
Final Score: 10/10
Neva
- Released
- October 15, 2024
- ESRB
- Everyone 10+ // Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
- Nomada Studio
- Publisher(s)
- Devolver Digital
- Engine
- Unity
- Number of Players
- 1
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Verified
WHERE TO PLAY
Neva is an emotionally-charged action adventure from the visionary team behind the critically acclaimed GRIS.
Neva chronicles the story of Alba, a young woman bound to a curious wolf cub following a traumatic encounter with dark forces. Together they embark on a perilous journey through a once-beautiful world as it slowly decays around them.
Over time, their relationship will evolve as they learn to work together, helping one another to brave increasingly dangerous situations. The wolf will grow from a rebellious cub to an imposing adult seeking to forge her own identity, testing Alba’s love and their commitment to one another.
As the cursed world threatens to overwhelm them, Alba and her courageous companion will do whatever it takes to survive and make a new home, together.
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Adventure, Platformer, Puzzle
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- File Size Xbox Series
- 5 GB (approx)
- Stunning art design
- An emotional story
- Clever platforming and level design
- An impactful soundtrack
- Some platforming ideas feel too restrained
Neva will release on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox Series consoles on October 15, 2024. The Best War Games was provided a Steam code for the purpose of this review.