I have nothing bad to say Neva. As a matter of fact, Neva is a living fairy tale set in scenes of dreamlike natural beauty, starring two creatures bound by tragedy and driven by a desperate need to protect each other — and save the world in progress. As a game, Neva offers excellent swordplay and precise arena action, with a comprehensive list of abilities that change purposefully with each new stage. Like a piece of art, the whole frame of the Neva it’s surprising.
This is what a flawless game looks like. This is what it feels like to play the perfect thing.
Alba is the main character Neva and ugly. When we meet him, he is a seasoned warrior and walker with a cloud of silver hair, the limbs of a dancer, and a flapping red cape that hides a thin sword. His wolf friend, Neva, is a lamb at first, easily distracted and still learning how to navigate the forests and fields of their land. In the beginning, Neva needs Alba. At the end of the play, after seasons of growing up and brutal battles, Alba also needs Neva.
None of these explanations are spelled out, but the characters’ actions and a few animated vignettes make their backgrounds clear, and the rest of the story falls apart in the same way. The only speech in the game comes from Alba as she shouts, “Neva?” or, “Neva!” or, “Nevaaa,” with each press of the interaction button. Her tone and level of panic changes with Neva’s changing mood in the environment – Alba’s voice is filled with anxiety when she and the wolf are apart, and sad or playful when they are close. Standing next to Neva and pressing interact allows Alba to pet her (and yes, there are achievements for doing so). In a million small ways, the mechanics of the game build a deep emotional connection between Alba and Neva, until it feels like they are one entity, fighting the darkness as one.
Alba and Neva’s world is amazing. It’s made up of lush forests, sun-baked valleys, soaring mountains and twisted cave systems – all consumed by a seeping, inky-black rot spread by a swarm of white-faced giants. Decay works like cordyceps, destroying the bodies of large animals and turning them into zombie-like killing machines. In some places, it takes the form of spiky brambles and bony vines that deal damage when you touch them. These monsters – round bodies, screaming faces and spider limbs – appear consistently with various attacks, mixed, flying in the air and rushing. It is Alba and Neva’s mission to destroy the decay and the monsters, and restore their land. For the completionists among us, there are also glowing white flowers hidden between the levels, and finding them all unlocks something special.
The game is divided into four seasons, and as Neva grows, so do her abilities. Alba, meanwhile, stays strong and becomes more powerful as she and Neva learn to fight together. For starters, Alba can jump, double jump and dodge, and she has a basic sword attack and a downward thrust that can hit enemies and explode at weak points from above. In the later part of the game, Neva is able to jump on invisible platforms and basically teleport to any place she likes, watching from the high hills as Alba climbs walls of white flowers to reach her.
This is a stark contrast to the early stages, where Alba had to coax cub-Neva to jump through small spaces, and brings home the play’s theme of parental love. Finally, Alba is able to throw Neva into battle like a targeted projectile, and she will viciously attack any enemy she hits. This ability is a bit silly at times – like when you’re trying to reach a hidden flower and end up throwing Neva into a wall over and over again until the angle is just right – but it quickly feels like a natural, necessary extension of Alba’s arsenal. . Other than that, Neva doesn’t seem to care.
Mechanically, Neva is an incredibly light and responsive platformer. Playing on PlayStation 5, the input never lags; Alba can jump, double jump and dodge with ease, and these three abilities reset with the slightest touch of the area. Enemy hitboxes are robust, encouraging players to fight in close quarters and avoid hazards between swings of Alba’s sword. Health increases as Alba arrives without harming herself, and healing cairns are liberally sprinkled throughout the scene. Mid-air levels, where Alba jumps between the sides of the cliff and jumps out of the enemy’s floating bridges, develop a good sense of precision, daring players to push Alba’s techniques to their absolute limits. Neva it provides subtle but clear guidance using only local references, and I never once felt lost in its platform sauce. Levels alternate with the seasons: complex navigational puzzles and tricky mirror levels are gradually added to the side-scrolling action, constantly testing Alba and Neva’s ability to work together.
Alba and Neva are linked in every scene, but their bond is evident during the fights, especially when wolf throws have become a reliable part of Alba’s attack-dodge rhythm. This makes it more stressful when, in some stages, Alba has to fight alone. Neva’s presence brings a lot to Alba’s abilities, and especially in the last few hours of the game, my controller felt empty any time she wasn’t fighting me.
I don’t want to say too much about the last sections of the Neva. The play builds to an inevitable, emotionally charged finale, with pockets of deep longing and dramatic reconciliation sprinkled throughout the soaring action. yes, Neva he will make you cry. I really did, with big, bad tears.
Neva laced with magical facts, it combines the familiar with the improbable in a children’s book that comes to life. Some of the horrors of the world creep into the edges of each landscape, which is amazing and exciting, and the game’s animation is anime-smooth. Neva it looks incredible and plays just as well — a rare and powerful combination. Like Alba and Neva.
Neva is out on October 15 for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Switch, developed by Nomada Studio and published by Devolver Digital.
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