Neva Review (PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, MacOS, & PC)

It’s tricky. Nómada Studio captured lightning in a bottle with 2018’s Gris. If you remember it, “absorbing,” “gorgeous,” and “emotionally powerful” were just a few of the acclaims thrown its way. Now, with Neva, recently released on October 15, 2024, Nómada Studio is heading back to the drawing board in an attempt to evoke the senses of the gaming community once again. And while building on an already impressive game is almost a near guarantee for success, the studio may have put themselves into a box they cannot break out of. Let me explain. 

See, Gris told a story about grief. And so, its wordless, minimalist story served its purpose perfectly. Emotion was all you needed to bond with the game. Heck, there were no combat sequences, with only puzzle platforming and a focus on adventure. In the new game, though, we’re looking at a minimalist story open to interpretation. On the one hand, the plot dabbles in parenthood, poking at the push-and-pull of growing up and letting go. On the other hand, you have climate change and humanity as agents of change. 

Both themes aren’t outright but rather evocative based on the visuals you see. So, the question is, are the wordless nature and interaction between the characters enough to drive the game’s point home? Come along as we comb through the game, highlighting what we love (and dislike) about it in our Neva review below.

Less is More

Life is good in Neva. Nature flourishes under the hot sun, with blossoming flowers and blissful trees swaying in the wind. Animals run amok, wildly through the forests. Among them is a mammoth wolf and her cub, the titular Neva, at the helm of protagonist Alba. She’s a young woman whose connection to wolves is unexplained, as is all of the story events that follow. 

You don’t have heavy dialogue cutscenes or character interactions to bring you along on the story. Rather, visuals and audio alone do all the narration for you. But that shouldn’t deter you from playing this game. The hand-drawn art style and plot technique here are gold. 

Each slide is mesmerizing, with layers of greenery, deep blue seas, and wild forests stretching as far as the eye can see. The music is mostly piano melodies, often melancholy, in line with the events in the story. 

Doomsday

Briefly, a mysterious rot has enveloped the world. Bit by bit, birds fall out of the sky. Animals transform into menacing, grotesque monsters out for blood. The corrupt force grows so powerful it overpowers Alba and her wolves. 

When the darkness lifts, the mammoth wolf is dead. Her cub sobs at her side, cueing the waterworks on our end. At this point, you might want to grab a box of tissues because more waterworks will follow as you learn to “mother” Neva. 

There will be lots of heartbreaking moments when Neva is hesitant to face the harsh realities of the world. But there’ll be moments of pure joy, too, as she grows into an independent and fierce companion. 

All of these will be open to interpretation, depending on how you perceive Alba and Neva’s interactions, as will the world around you. You’ll unravel the world across seasons: summer, fall, winter, and spring. Each will bear significance to the story and gameplay, too. However, the exact significance and impact will depend on how you digest what’s to come.

Sweet Summertime

Summer is lively and fun. It represents the season to take in the youth of your adorable little cub, as they easily get distracted by butterflies and all. They often wander out into the wild, and you have to keep looking back and urge them to keep moving. 

But Neva is quite fragile at the start. And so, even closing gaps that are a piece of cake for you may prove difficult for the little cub. So, when they tumble and fall, their cries piercing through the quiet nature, you can’t help but shed a tear for them. 

Still, you press “Y” and urge Neva to try again, and when they panic, you press “Y” again to encourage them to make the jump. When they do, it brings a smile to your face as you resume your voyage toward stopping the dark force threatening the world. 

And then you remember the world around you and how the summer’s warmth flows into your core. The shining sun, the singing birds, and the overall beauty of the world ease your early playthrough. While Neva is still learning the ropes of navigating the world, Alba starts fully equipped with all the abilities she needs. 

Onward

You can dash forward, double jump, and air dash. Neva is mostly linear, so you’ll be pressing onward. It’s a pretty easy control system that needs minimal thought. Much of your attention will be geared toward an evocative experience with endearing environments anyway. 

However, once you reach Fall, platforming will begin to add more complex challenges. You’ll need to combine the dash, double jump, and air dash tools at your disposal to evade menacing enemies and avoid obstacles. There’ll also be collectible flowers hidden in tricky spots that can ramp up the challenge for you if you like.

Dead of Winter

And then winter will hit, with its constant sense of danger. This is where the combat sections are the most intense, as enemies grow in size and number (and power). The enemies in Neva are no easy feat, with pretty slick ways in which they use the environment. Some can influence other animals and plants around them to become more massive opponents. 

Before long, Neva starts to show depth that might have easily been assumed to be non-existent. You begin to think through your next move, even if combat is merely a three-hit combo. Now, to be fair, combat never gets to the point of a Soulslike, as the puzzle-platforming never gets to the level of Celeste, for example. 

This is still very much a straightforward hack-and-slash game where a three-hit combo, downward strike, and precisely timed dodge rolls will do the trick just fine. But in any case, it being a straightforward game doesn’t make it any less a fantastic venture. Ultimately, Neva‘s selling point was never its precise platforming or intense combat. Rather, it is an emotionally provoking story.

Pros

I have to say, though, that as much as you might want to tone down expectations of intense platforming and combat playthrough, Neva does have a few tricks up its sleeve worth mentioning, like a puzzle-platforming section where you need to keep track of Alba’s movement as well as her reflection. There are also moments where enemies can manipulate platforms, thus throwing platforming and combat challenges into the mix. Although some of these outstanding twists feel rushed over, they do provide moments of intrigue every now and then. 

I also love how the camera zooms in and out, depending on the story and gameplay. For instance, it can zoom in on a significant moment between Alba and Neva and then zoom out to emphasize the magnitude of the world in comparison to your character. In that regard, Neva is actually pretty vast, with moments when you may be currently safe but on high alert for gradually encroaching enemies at the far end of the screen. 

These, in addition to the drop-dead gorgeous visuals and its ever-endearing soundtrack you can straight-up download to your playlist, make Neva an absolute must-play. 

Cons

Quite frankly, Neva far outdoes itself, whether in story or gameplay. When you consider that it’s a game focused on evocative storytelling, it nails its purpose through and through. However, you may dislike the relatively slow pacing at the start of the game. The story can take its time to pick up pace. Also, the ending can feel a little bit rushed over. 

Other than that, some gamers may dislike the relatively shallow platforming and combat. Others may find the bond between Alba and Neva, especially in the middle and latter stages of your playthrough, insufficient. Perhaps it’s the high bar at the start of the story set for the relationship between Alba and Neva. You expect a relationship of nurturing and closeness that develops over time.

However, it seems the bond is developed in combat, where Neva learns new abilities and grows, physically and skillfully, to fight alongside Alba. Yet, for a particular section when Neva disappears, her absence is hardly felt. It’s in these moments that the concept of a mother letting go of her child could have been cemented.

Verdict

Neva is a beautifully crafted game, both visually and auditory-wise. Its wordless storytelling serves to evoke emotion in ways that every gamer is free to interpret however they like. Based on your experiences, you’ll find a connection to Alba and Neva’s story and the world as a whole in ways that few games manage to accomplish. Sure, the platforming and combat hardly match the likes of Celeste and Hollow Knight, respectively. However, Neva sticks to its guns and in its propensity for evocative storytelling, excels.