Developer: Nomada Studio
I am back! It’s been a long hiatus, including a 2-week trip to Japan and a couple of weeks of website updates and changes. I’m still working on figuring out what I want Sleepy Toadstool to be going forward but, more on that later. Coming back from Japan a few weeks ago, it felt like all the highly anticipated games were coming out right around that time in October. One of these games is Neva, which first dropped its very enticing trailer a year ago. Neva is a platforming adventure in a beautiful but decaying environment, alongside a wolf companion. Neva is a stunningly gorgeous game that makes you feel the weight of its characters and story; its combat is tough but at times uninteresting.
You play as a woman named Alba who shares a bond with a majestic, giant white wolf with antlers as well as the wolf’s young pup. Not much time is given to learn about this friendship before Alba and the wolf encounter a flurry of dark figures attacking the forest and have to fight back. In this sudden encounter, the mother wolf is slain and Alba is knocked out. Grieving, Alba is left to care for the young pup, Neva, all on her own. Alba and Neva must now stick together and help fight the spreading darkness together. Neva goes from a curious and playful puppy to a fighting companion through the seasons of the game and as you journey deeper in.
So much about this game really appealed to me from the first trailer. The inspiration this game has from Princess Mononoke (one of my favorite movies) is palpable and undeniable - down to the use of a dark corruption spreading through nature. Anyone who knows me would not be surprised that “giant wolf friend with antlers” would be an immediate buy for me. Visually, the style of Neva doesn’t really greatly resemble Ghibli movies (aside from the enemies looking a little bit like No Face), but its storytelling about nature definitely reminds me of Miyazaki’s. It’s specifically Neva’s unique and dramatic art style that makes it one of the most beautiful games I've played. A small issue is that it takes its art style so seriously that it can't compromise the changes that would have been needed to improve UI. At the beginning, I found it difficult to tell what is platform and what isn't, and what is harmful to touch and what isn't. Overall, it’s hard to fault the developers, as they stuck to their vision, and eventually you can get past these little things. The music by Berlinist is incredible as well, as you may expect if you’ve listened to the Gris soundtrack. The melancholy violin and vocals work well with the environments, as well as the more action-heavy tracks.
The story of Neva for the most part is a silent, pensive journey. It’s clear enough to understand what Alba and Neva are now traveling together, taking care of each other in this corrupted world. However, there's a lot that's left up to imagination in terms of what the actual goal is and the direction of this journey. Personally, I wish there had been a bit more context given, without dialogue required, of where exactly we are headed towards. Is the corruption just in our path wherever we go or are we purposely heading for it? When it comes to Alba's companion Neva, the beginning chapter of the game had me sweating with a constant ball of stress in my stomach (in a good way). Not only did I worry, as you’re bound to do in a companion game, that my wolf companion is going to get hurt or caught in some way, but it actually does happen a lot, unavoidably. You have to get used to it a bit and realize that she'll be okay once you get her freed and give her a calming pet. Neva is baby, but not for long. You won’t have to do much of the protecting anymore as she grows up and becomes a partner in battle rather than someone to save. It makes you grow more attached to her, seeing the growth in the creature that she is as a puppy to a fearsome beast. Neva definitely stands at the top of the list for me as far as companions in a game. At the end, this story had a very interesting conclusion - it had me thinking for a while and I wasn’t sure how to feel. It’s one of those that you need to sit with for a bit.
I reviewed Gris a few years back and enjoyed it, but it wasn’t a game I connected with strongly nor was I a big fan of the gameplay. Without a doubt, Gris is a visually stunning game as well, but after playing Neva, it almost makes Gris look like it was a testing ground for ideas for Neva. Stylistically and even in the way you move through the world, the artist's touch is recognized between the two. Neva's environments are somehow more grounded in reality and yet even more majestic, in my opinion. More notably, they developed the gameplay into something much more fast-paced and involved. I was pleased with a level of challenge from the combat that I wasn't expecting, and it kept me motivated to be quicker and smoother. However, I do think the slash and dodge routine can get a little old - perhaps this is because my preferred style of combat is less Dark Souls and more Zelda. I prefer fights (especially boss fights) that involve a gameplay puzzle to really conquer the enemy, rather than one that involves precise but repetitive attacks. Overall, I did really enjoy the combat and boss fights, especially ones that involved Neva’s help, but I like to imagine some different twists or strategies involved that they could’ve added to keep things interesting.
Neva is a tragic but beautiful journey that makes you feel connected to the characters, without there being any actual dialogue. Watching Neva grow from a scared puppy into a powerful beast as the seasons change is incredibly satisfying. The themes of parenthood presented through its subtle storytelling aren’t something I can relate to personally, yet I did feel intense sense of protectiveness and pride when it came to Neva. I recommend this game if you like linear platformers with tough combat, or if you’re like me and you’ll eat up anything that slightly resembles Princess Mononoke. I played this game all the way through and then jumped back in to some of the chapters not only to collect more achievements, but to sit in the ambience of its world for a bit longer.
Neva is available on PC, Switch, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S
Played on: PC (Steam Deck)
Last Played: 11/1/2024
Playtime: 6 hrs
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