Neva - Review
Back in December 2018, I posted my review for GRIS and I have often thought of the game since then, I even played through a lot of it again for my Switch OLED review. So when it was revealed that Nomada Studio was creating a new game, I was very keen to see what they were going to deliver. Was the end result something truly enjoyable, or did it make me say Neva again?
The story of Neva is an interesting one, as like GRIS, there are no words or explanations provided to the player, it is all on you to decide what is going on. The opening movie sees your character, a large wolf and its cub, that little one is Neva, discover a bird falling from the sky before becoming corrupted. Before they can really investigate, a flood of black ooze washes over them and the mama wolf is killed, leaving Neva in your care. Over the course of a year, as it plays out in seasons, you and Neva will cross the land to find the source of the blight and take it out. I won’t say anything else of course, as you should experience it for yourself, but just know that the story isn’t that deep, it’s more of a reason to keep exploring the world.
My only issue with the story is that there lacks context for events, yes you can decide what is going on, from what you see but that is all open to interpretation. I also found that the ending of the game wasn’t as impactful as I would have liked, you will know what I mean when you see it. While GRIS felt more about someone discovering a way out of the darkness, Neva doesn’t have that same drive and while it is good, the story or whatever you might call it, is one of the weakest parts of it.
The gameplay on the other hand is solid and delivers a fun and challenging experience from the moment that you pick up the game. Your character can double jump and dodge from the outset and they never learn anything new, the new abilities come along as Neva grows up. Early on the little wolf cub is nervous about making large jumps, but as she grows, she makes insane jumps without any hesitation. The game doesn’t really offer much more in the later stages compared to the earlier ones, but it does require more finesse of motion, which might challenge some players. Thankfully the game does allow for you to change combat difficulty, should you need more or less assistance, but combat encounters are sporadic enough that it might not matter.
The bulk of the gameplay is you exploring the world, running around and trying to find where you are meant to go and like GRIS, there is no navigation assistance to be found here. The enemies do get more advanced, the further in to the game you get, but once you learn their mechanics, they shouldn’t pose a problem. As I said though, your gameplay upgrades come in the form of Neva growing up, while she is timid in early encounters, later on she will literally lunge for enemies and tear them apart. One of the cooler abilities Neva obtains is that she will basically rocket across the screen at your command, which is useful for enemies out of reach or if you are surrounded and need some space. Outside of combat and exploring, the only other aspect that you will do is some light puzzle solving, and I do mean light. They are usually just you hitting a switch and climbing a tower that has risen from the ground, nothing to demanding, but some of them will test your thinking and speed.
Of course, we can’t talk about the game without mentioning the visuals, as the game has some insanely good looking moments. Nomada Studio stood above the pack with GRIS and while Neva looks great, it also looks mostly the same as GRIS at times. There were some locations where I would see shapes and textures and be reminded of GRIS and even the main enemy design feels the same to a point. But while there is a little repetition going on here, the game still somehow looks better than their first effort. A lot of that comes down to the layers and how the team use them to create a real sense of depth. In most games your background scrolls behind you, maybe there is another layer between it and you, which gives you a little more to see, here there are many behind you, but just as many in front of you. This cohesion of layers really drives home that the world is bigger than the 2D plain that you run along and as there are animals and enemies that run around on those other layers, making the world feel more alive.
Sadly it is not all sunshine and rainbows as there are a few issues with the games presentation and they really shouldn’t exist. The first is that there is often no telling what is something you can walk past and what isn’t, a great example is the temple structures you find. There was one where upon finding it, I just walked past a few pillars and then couldn’t walk past another and there is nothing visually to indicate what you can’t get around. It wasn’t just pillars, there are tree branches and roots that also cause this confusion and it isn’t something that you can learn to avoid, as it happens a lot. Another issue is the game is sometimes too difficult to see, as they do a lot with light and darkness, with the game looking incredible at times because of it. However, at the same time, it can be near impossible to see platforms or even where you are, as the games brightness overpowers what you are meant to be seeing.
On the audio side there isn’t much to write about, you can call for Neva at any time and depending on where you are, the calls might be calm or frantic. When the action kicks into gear, so does the music and it has enough behind it to help you feel that things are happening, but for me, I love when the music would fade away. The first time I really noticed that I was basically climbing up a cliff and the camera moved into a position and the music faded away, leaving me with just the sounds of the world. Speaking of sounds of the world, there is a section of the game where you are in near total darkness and the enemies around you click repeatedly, it is a little unnerving at times and was a welcome surprise.
Neva is a stunning game that offers up a nice adventure for those willing to dive into it, but it has just as many weird moments as it does welcome ones. Neva is a delight to have along side you in the adventure and seeing her grow over the course of it is great, especially as you can use her in bigger ways as the story goes on. The issue is that beyond that element, there really isn’t anything else here that needs to be experienced, combat is fine but something we have seen before and the puzzles are sporadic at best, along with being basic. For those coming for the art, the game does look stunning, but there are times when the idea of interactive art overshadows the execution of a playable game. If you are like me an enjoyed GRIS, then Neva will be worth checking out, but if you are after something more, this may not be the game for you right now, will that change, maybe because I really can’t say Neva.
The Score
8.0
Review code provided by Devolver Digital
The Pros
Having Neva grow up beside you is a delight to experience as it helps you connect with her
The game looks insanely beautiful at times, with some very rich colours helping to bring locations to life…
The Cons
… but there are times when the game gets to bright and dark, making it hard to see what is going on
There are times when the game gets in its own way, which makes it a little less fun to enjoy
