Developed by Devolver Digital, known for taking the most unique of titles under their wings, Nomada Studio, creators of one of my fave indie titles ‘GRIS’, brings you their newest creation, ‘Neva’. Similar to the stylings of anime, ‘Princess Mononoke’, this 2D platformer is an epic adventure of a girl and her wolf. With it, they answer the age-old gamer question… “Can I pat the dog?” The answer is a profound YES.

Playing as the guardian, Alba, you witness the death of your Wolf Spirit companion, at the hands of the filth and darkness that effects the lands. Adopting her wolf pup, Neva; death brings life, as you both travel and try to dissolve the ichor of sickness taking over. There is no dialogue but the visuals are very powerful at telling the story. You watch Alba and Neva progress throughout time together as a duo; growing in strength, skill, and confidence.

The story could be seen as an allegory for the destructiveness of mankind as we spread and cause damage to environments and poorly treat animals daily. The positive message that can be taken home is that we can have a positive effect and turn things around if we take action. The external and internal journey for the characters’ connection rings home so well to the player, making for a mesmerising dream-like experience.

Playing through seasonal chapters, the controls are simple but can be at times frustratingly surface-level. Thankfully, it does come in an Adventure Mode and a Story Mode, the latter meaning you don’t have lives to track.

The game is mostly made up of platforming and combat utilising double jumps and dashes to problem-solve how you will slice through enemies with Neva. The added most interesting spin is you can control Neva with growing control as time progresses which is a great addition as the enemies do become quite dull.

Initially, you can only whistle Neva to follow, calm her or even pull her up off her feet from a tumble. Eventually, as she grows into a mountain of a wolf, she can utilise more innovative abilities such as teleporting to attack, lighting Alba’s internal soul like a lamp, and even riding her into battle like a faithful steed.

You also acquire a Samurai sword and chaining attacks will bring your health back, represented by flowers wilting as you take damage. Trail markers along the walk will also restore your health.

The graphics are beautifully crafted. In gorgeous watercoloured graphics, the colours are almost bleeding into each other.

The environments are stunning pieces of artwork themselves with contrasting soft and pastel magical forests, lonely and dusty greys of foggy swamps or tundras, and violent reds and blacks for ruins of long-forgotten fortresses.

The audio is just as ethereal as the style of the game with whimsical bells, chimes, and strings. The tone does shift though often building to a crescendo during a boss, amplifying the seriousness of danger for the audience. Even the whispers and echoes of the character itself can send shivers. 

The only critique I have is in Adventure Mode, where your lives matter, sometimes the respawn locations are tedious. Not all locations, but sometimes you may die and have to run back to a spot continuously. To climb a vine and platform a bit to die in the same spot multiple times can be frustrating especially if it is in a boss fight encounter.

‘Neva’ is such a whimsical but heartwarming tale. While the loose combat may not be super impactful the story alone at times feels like a punch in the chest and comes full circle proving that maybe we will always be in a constant fight with the darkness and so is this world. Deep.

Written by: Stacey