Neva Review: Picturesque Platforming Perfection

How do you follow up a game like Gris? You add a four-legged friend and Dark Souls-esque combat bosses, of course. But despite the beautiful watercolours so reminiscent of Nomada Studio’s previous game, the early stages of Neva reminded me more of a two-dimensional The Last Guardian.

You’re Alba, although I only found that out from the game’s marketing. Our protagonist says just two words throughout the game, and for the vast majority of the six hour runtime she just calls out, “Neva”. She’s a little overshadowed by the beautiful wolf cub who grows up by her side over the course of four seasons, but I’ll forgive the eponymous vulpine companion. As the two grow up together, you feel you’re like training a puppy, a Trico, or a gamer.

And you are being trained. Neva gives you nearly all of your tools immediately. Not a moment after you’ve stopped gawping at the stunning vistas, layers of forest that give the 2D designs enviable depth, you’re working out how to jump, roll, and call Neva to heel. The platforming starts oh so simply, and I thought this game might lean closer towards a walking simulator than a true platformer, but as autumn approaches, things get more difficult and platforming puzzles take longer to figure out. Neva never quite reaches the difficulty of Celeste, but it has the same creativity. And before too long, you need to brandish your sword to fight off the forest’s foes as well.

But however chaotic the combat gets – and it can get chaotic – Neva never loses its beauty. Between the incredible score and balletic motions of Alba, the game is dripping in style. It’s the sort of game they write heavy coffee table books about, that non-gamers will flick through and go, “Wow, I didn’t know games could be like this”. Even when you’re down to your last life and a boss takes on a new phase, you still take a moment to revel in the wonder of the creatures and environments animated on the screen in front of you.

Neva is a game that grows on you. Not in the sense that it takes some getting used to, or that it starts slow and gets better. In fact, the start is a powerful blast of Bambi-esque violence, wordless and cruel. But Neva starts with the absolute basics: you run, you jump, you roll. The platforming is beautiful, but simple. As time goes on, you slowly gain more skills – not just abilities or upgrades, but learned patterns and techniques. The game forces you to think hard about how you combine your simple abilities until they’re greater than the sum of their parts, with more difficult platforming sections and fearsome foes requiring both dexterity and memory. Learn the timings, the patterns, the routes. Better yourself. You must, or you will lose your way in the forest.

Similarly to the platforming, you’re eased into the boss fights. At first, all you can do is flee. The monsters are hideous concoctions that find themselves somewhere between NoFace from Spirited Away and Shelob from The Lord of the Rings, immediately at odds with the pristine aesthetics of the forest they’re corrupting. They’re animated like shadow puppets, but don’t be fooled into thinking they’re harmless. As autumn makes way for winter, the fights get more frantic, you have to start learning attack patterns, and Neva gets a little bit Hollow Knight.

The difficulty was perfect for me, with bosses killing me multiple times but never feeling insurmountable. I progressed further into the fight with each attempt, seeing new tactics emerge from Neva’s limited skillset and eventually figuring out second phases with ease. When vanquished, the grotesque creatures transform into Annihilation-esque topiaries at Neva’s howl, and some beauty is restored to this dying world.

If it all gets too much for you, there’s a story mode which makes things easier. On the other hand, if you want to increase the difficulty you can aim to find all of the collectible flowers, which lie in the game’s most tricky platforming sections. Some of these I missed completely, but others I could see, but just couldn’t work out how to get to. They’re being saved for the replay.

Armed with only a double jump and an air dash, the various combinations of these three moves (the two jumps can occur either side of the dash) can unlock anything the game throws at you, provided you have enough skill and patience. The mechanical simplicity is as beautiful as the forest you wander, and I was constantly surprised that this basic moveset could be combined with various types of platforms to create complex puzzles that felt satisfying to overcome.

As Neva throws new mechanical combinations (and, occasionally, entirely new mechanics) at you, the world grows around you, too. Taking place over the course of a year, you see the forest in all four seasons, which keeps both the visual identity and the platforming fresh. Corrupted flowers appear deep in winter and new blossoms sprout in Spring, each offering new and interesting platforming options. Neva grows up quickly alongside you, transforming from an eager pup to a ferocious ally over the months of hard-fought progress. She’s a wonderful companion, her free spirit captured perfectly on screen.

Despite being so central to the story, Alba and Neva are often tiny on the screen, the camera panning out to emphasise the beauty of their surroundings and the characters’ insignificance in the grand scheme of the natural world. The forest is enormous and dangerous, and you are a tiny woman with a pixel-thin blade and a pup who grows with each season. The odds seem insurmountable, especially when you’re so often shown how small you are. But this bold direction is what takes Neva from pretty platformer to bona fide masterpiece.

Neva is one of the most beautiful games I’ve ever played, from the watercolour art style to the clever direction. But it surprised me in its mechanical complexity and combat execution; you always need to keep your fingers fast and mind faster. Add a lifelong vulpine companion to the mix, and you’ve got an all-timer on your hands.

Reviewed on PC.

Pros

• Beautiful art direction and environments that shift with the seasons
• Engaging platforming that constantly reinvents itself over the course of the game
• Fluid combat and stubborn bosses
• Clever use of the core movement mechanics to force you to think outside the box