A bird falls from the sky. It decomposes immediately when its lifeless body hits the verdant earth—an ill omen. Smog, fog, and shadowy figures engulf the protagonists, Alba and the young pup Neva, who are looking at the sight with concern. Serene nature turns foul, transformed into a miasmic pandemonium. Thus begins Neva, a game that is sure to please many.
Nomada Studio creates games that are meant to be felt. A game like Neva thickens the air with the moisture of guaranteed tears from its players. Its gorgeous aesthetic and smooth gameplay result from well-honed haptic, visual, and audio elements aimed at generating an emotional response.
Eventually, you will encounter the catalyst of this devastation, the vein of flora and fauna. As Alba and Neva, you will engage in a fight for the future of the forest. Each chapter in Neva is played during a specific season, bringing new sites and challenges. The summer landscape slowly turns black as the world continues to die, while in winter, Alba and Neva traverse snowy fields riddled with dead nature.
Indeed, Neva‘s seasonal structure intensifies the impression of traversing space and time. You can also replay chapters at any time to retrieve missed content or replay your favorite bits.
Neva has simple interfaces. It is sparse and uncrowded, just like Nomada Studio’s previous game, Gris. Neva‘s departure from Gris’ take on the narrative platformer is the addition of combat and a permanent companion (Neva) aiding you on the journey. Though these change the feel and narrative direction of the game when compared to Gris, it isn’t an innovation. Early this year Saviorless, a game made under the constraints of being developed in Cuba, added combat to Gris‘ relaxed platforming and puzzle-solving.
Neva‘s two-dimensional art and world are heavily inspired by Studio Ghibli and From Software’s Dark Souls series. Bright colors and pitch-black shadows are the backdrops of the journey. This contrast accentuates the changes in the world to great effect. Music also plays a big part, just like in Gris. Barcelona-based group Berlinist does a wonderful job creating music that is as part of the game’s DNA as the gameplay. Neva‘s music is dynamic and grandiose to complement the perils faced by our protagonist. Neva would not have the impact it does without Berlinist’s score.
Neva, your canine companion, grows as you play and becomes increasingly helpful. The game is adamant in making you feel emotionally attached. Neva’s struggles become yours. You wait anxiously as your companion struggles to jump over a clearing. Your anxiety turns into concern when the wolf fails. Moments later, you cheer when Neva succeeds. Later in the story, Alba is unable to progress without Neva’s help; the nurtured becomes the caretaker.
Neva is the most sentimental game that I’ve played in a long time. The inspiration it draws from Princess Mononoke is superficial, more Bambi than Miyazaki Hayao. It’s very Disney-esque this way. I tend to avoid overly sentimental stories. Are you helping restore the world in Neva? Alba acts like a steward of the forest and its inhabitants, a savior of the environment. Yet, where does the plight, the black shadow, and its monsters come from? Why are they wreaking havoc?
Neva‘s story is too vague to have any real environmental message. It’s an aesthetic game, and superficial at best. The genuine concern is for a human parent (Alba) and her canine child (Neva) trying to survive a set of fantastical circumstances. As islands drown in our world because of anthropogenic climate change, a more explicit concern would have made Neva‘s environmental musings more impactful.
I would call Neva pretentious if it weren’t a masterclass in minimalism. The game has much to offer as an audiovisual experience because of its minimalist approach to gameplay and storytelling. Its biggest achievement is its visual presentation and artful watercolor aesthetics, courtesy of creative director Conrad Roset. Its second big draw is its length. The game is short and doesn’t overstay its welcome, which helps make its shortcomings more palatable.
Neva is a game for a broad audience. This is why the gameplay is rudimentary. This can be refreshing for more experienced players exhausted by the bloat of modern video game systems with their overt complexity. Nomada Studio has stripped this game’s mechanics to the essentials, and this intentional decision was made so that nothing outshines or overwhelms Neva’s visual presentation and ambiance.
Neva excels as a proof of concept for video games as emotion engines. It gives you meditative moments. As you ride on Neva’s back, contemplate and enjoy the scenery. Alba loves her dog. It’s good to have nice experiences such as this, even when they are just fantasies with no bearing on reality.