Neva Review – A Platformer With Heart

Nomada Studio is back with their sophomore effort Neva, almost six years after the initial limited release of their well-received game GRiS. While it is another emotional side-scrolling game, the similarities end there. Can this indie team strike gold again with a much-tweaked formula? Incredibly, as our Neva review shows, the answer appears to be yes.

Can Be a Tearjerker

Neva is an emotional journey, with a Bambi-like beginning that will immediately tug at most people’s heartstrings. Without spoiling anything, let’s just say that if violence against animals, even virtual ones, causes you grief, then you may want to skip Neva. Other than that, though, the rest of the game is gore-free, and the violence is relatively tame. Much of the story is told visually, with an eye-pleasing art style which looks great on screens large and small. We played on an OLED TV for most of the game, which really helps to make the various landscapes pop, but it also looks great on the Switch in handheld mode. In fact, there are not many true cutscenes within the game, as most of the story unfolds via in-game events. The only word spoken is by the player character Alba, who calls to Neva, the name of her wolf pup companion, whenever the player presses the button assigned to this function.

The audio work by composer Berlinist is great, befitting the beautiful and occasionally startling world that we find Alba and Neva in. The sounds of nature mix with the ethereal music to produce something that really adds to the emotions experienced in each scene. Neva’s barks, whines, and growls, along with Alba’s occasional calling for Neva is all that’s required to tell the story, as well. There’s no superfluous or repetitive audio here, and wearing headphones can complete the experience.

From Small Pup to Elegant Wolf

Neva the wolf pup starts out small and almost Lemming-like, as she follows you wherever you go, occasionally needing some help or simple encouragement from Alba in order to proceed. As the story progresses, Neva grows with each passing season which constitutes a chapter, until finally she is a fully-grown magical wolf creature who helps to restore nature in a world that has been beset by some evil force, villainous leader included. As Neva grows, she can help Alba more and more, such as being directed to slam into wherever the player is aiming, and biting any enemies she encounters. She is also even used as a light source during one particularly dark scenario, though this sequence is short-lived. Also, yes, you can pet Neva as often and as long as you want whenever she’s standing near you.

Neva is a platformer with occasional combat, alongside some puzzles. Alba has all of her abilities from the beginning of the adventure, and nothing, not even her health, can be upgraded. Instead, players rely on getting better with their limited skill set, combined with Neva’s growing repertoire of moves, to fight evil forces. Having said that, Alba is definitely a skilled fighter, with a trusty sword, the ability to double-jump, and a dash to get out of the way of danger and incoming attacks. This game also rewards playing aggressively, as Alba’s health regenerates with consecutive successful hits against enemies, a lot like in much more challenging games such as Bloodborne. Neva has a handful of boss fights, most of which can be cleared within a couple of tries for most players. It’s not a punishing game, but still the inclusion of an easier Story mode for difficulty will be appreciated by those who aren’t very good at combat.

Runs on Anything, Over Quickly

Neva runs on the Unity Engine, which at this point is a great choice for side-scrolling games of any kind. Even on the Nintendo Switch, the game runs at a nice click and doesn’t noticeably stutter. There are a handful of bosses that have multiple stages of combat, and the action remains smooth throughout. Neva is available on practically every platform available today: there are versions for the Switch (the version we played on), PS4, PS5, Xbox Series (not the One, however), Windows, and even Mac OS.

With a runtime of around four hours, this roughly $20 game doesn’t overstay its welcome, but is also long enough to justify the price. There is a little bit of replayability in that each chapter has a hidden flower to activate. If you manage to find and touch every single one, then you can unlock a special or true ending, which does help to take the sting out of the original ending a little. Beyond that, simply playing the game all over again to experience the sublime artwork and soundscape will no doubt entice fans of these kind of mostly-chill platformers. The length may disappoint some, but overall it feels like a good compromise considering the price.

Neva is a great, concise platformer that should entertain you for a weekend or so. At around four hours for most players (and even quicker on the easier Story difficulty level), the experience doesn’t overstay its welcome, and yet some may be left wanting more. With only one main kind of collectible to grab in order to unlock the game’s best ending, it’s not even much of a chore to completely finish Neva, either. If you enjoyed GRiS, or simply want to support Nomada Studio, then Neva comes highly recommended.

Score: 9/10

Pros:

• Beautiful art work and style
• Ethereal soundtrack heightens emotions at the right times
• Neva is adorable, and can be pet on command!
• Interesting light puzzling, combat
• Story mode difficulty level for those so inclined

Cons:

• Maybe too short for some?
• Violence against animals may upset those sensitive to such content.

Neva review code was provided by the publisher. You can read MP1st’s review and scoring policy right here.

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