Neva: A Stunning Indie Adventure That Will Steal Your Heart (and Maybe Your Afternoon!)
Neva Review: A Breathtaking Eco-Fable That Rivals Gris!
Nomada Studio's Neva, the long-awaited follow-up to the mega-hit Gris, is here and it’s absolutely gorgeous! This hand-animated, wordless 2D platformer brings back that same captivating style while forging its own unique path. Published by Devolver Digital, this is an eco-fairytale adventure with simple but deeply satisfying combat, movement, and puzzles. And unlike its predecessor, Neva keeps a faster, simpler pacing and while still remarkably beautiful!
Gris was already celebrated as an emotionally resonant experience; especially within that niche group of fans looking for that thoughtful experience. Nomada Studio (founded by Ubisoft alums and artist Adrián Cuevas) did it again with Neva, continuing to impress within that style, adding another beautiful, evocative soundtrack (by returning composer Berlinist). It manages to feel both familiar and completely new— a true testament to creative genius. Though brief (easily finished in an afternoon!), it is intensely engaging, worth your every minute! Let's jump into the story.
Alba and Neva's World: A Bond Forged in Nature
Our protagonist Alba lives with two magical wolves: Neva (a pup!), and another larger wolf that features amazing antlers— they live peacefully in a dark verdant wood! The peaceful life ends the day an ominous dead bird with inky, spreading blossoms falls. This sets off this incredible battle against dark forces.
Neva's design is genius: Its visual storytelling is crisp and precise, perfectly portraying every movement; creating some unexpected levels of detail that really set this particular game apart from others! It perfectly showcases how creative level design truly matters and those intuitive ways this narrative is developed. The encounter with those shadowy, masked foes–each movement instantly makes these instantly clear– showing the care in crafting those specific environmental puzzle moments that make these highly engaging challenges and creating this truly fantastic experience, showcasing just how this smaller detail of designing those individual enemies can also influence so many aspects surrounding those fights.
Confronting the Darkness: A Simple, Yet Satisfying Combat System
Alba's abilities remain simple, featuring jump, double-jump, slash and dash– nothing truly revolutionary! Those basic abilities then build new moves throughout Neva's fifteen levels or so, yet still quite minimalistic; making every encounter completely satisfying. The enemies—globular black phantoms (think No-Face from Spirited Away), spreading their darkness and perverting plants and animals; creates this unexpected creative challenge with very distinctive visual flair that emphasizes those environmental dangers, really showing how far they went to create unique imagery through unique animation design; something you won't easily see repeated often.
And her bond with Neva is superb; showcasing how unique that animal companion aspect could be. You'll help Neva revive corrupted creatures, making a connection that gets stronger, with the addition of integrating her more directly into fights. I'm not revealing how—this gameplay mechanic and story development is a key reason why the gameplay mechanics truly shine and those choices made are uniquely wonderful— that development remains surprising and affects the gamer deeply, and deserves some careful attention! It totally pays off big time and would create unique, unforgettable and really enjoyable experiences throughout the narrative, further justifying the focus on unique design choice! That tightrope of a bond makes those battles memorable and impactful in that narrative, without those kind of oversimplifying clichés, resulting in the superb ending to each storyline that’s explored.
Visual Masterpiece: A Feast for the Eyes
Neva's visual design? Totally breathtaking! Everything, from monstrous animations to the fluid camera work–zooming, panning, tilting across landscapes; completely highlighting and shrinking Alba into a small speck! Some screens are literally picture-perfect; emphasizing how gorgeous those landscapes truly are! This artistic prowess creates such an amazing sensory experience which creates that atmosphere unique to this game, really creating that uniquely gorgeous visual language never previously seen.
This beautiful style impacts every scene. The color palette highlights both the danger and beauty of Alba's adventure, conveying much more than that simplicity alone would initially allow; showing this deeper level of storytelling. That level of detail throughout those environments truly emphasizes this; showing a layer never easily visible in similar-styled games.
Final Verdict: A Short, But Sweet and Surprisingly Memorable Adventure
Neva offers both “Story” and “Adventure” modes. I played the more challenging “Adventure” and was totally impressed, without finding anything that was truly difficult– there's even that additional incentive of those 100%-ers and plenty of collectibles that make the gameplay experience last. Yet every bit remains surprisingly balanced!
The difficulty and progression were perfect; that incredible gameplay never stumbled upon those spongey bosses; which are sometimes a critical issue within this style; it simply maintained that excellent pacing between exploration, combat, puzzle solving and this really is only found in the very highest quality production; further enhancing and solidifying why this smaller production is something worth considering, even in a genre vastly oversaturated! It’s hard to find the right mix; however this really nails it. Even comparing this production to Playdead’s fantastic work in Limbo and Inside, although wildly different in tone and story themes and general approach and gameplay, shows just why these creative choices succeeded: Neva's impeccable level design, its vivid world, are fantastic. This will impress you. It’s a short game; however most players will likely start anew once they've finished.
Conclusion: Don't Miss Out on This Hidden Gem!
Neva is truly exceptional. Its inspiration from Studio Ghibli and others shines through, creating those recognizable aesthetics that audiences adore, without hindering Neva’s own distinctive identity! The visual design and simple, balanced gameplay make it a must-play Indie! Get this game! You will not regret this choice, because those memorable characters, environmental designs, and overall excellent gameplay, will likely stick in the memories of players for many years to come! Don't miss out! It drops October 15th on PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox Series X|S.
