Combining environment storytelling with just gameplay alone is a difficult task, when you have to put your all into telling a tale as open-ended as Gris. Yet that worked so well, the studio decided they can do it again, and goddamn it, they did do exactly that.
What I really liked about Neva is how Nomada Studio simply just combines their platforming that they're good at, with intricate puzzle solving alongside companion based combat. Their pedigree of using vibrant acrylic art style is etched with the narrative revolving around our protagonist and her canine companion as he grows up within the seasons to fight back a powerful foe.
And with Devolver seemingly losing their spot as top dogs of indie publishing, this one is really helping them be in the map again. Fluid, responsive mechanics, simple yet challenging gameplay as well as the different roles Neva play as the wolf grows up.
The opening starts with the background, seemingly a blissful forest area that is nurtured to imbue absolute peace, like everything seems peachy till a bird drops dead, and starts sprouting black flowers out of it. A woman and a wolf with deer horns later enters the picture.
She seems saddened by the bird's dilemma, a curious cub of the wolf's was intrigued while its mother protects both of them. As other birds started falling from the skies, a looming threat also approaches, dark, intense, and in large forces, overwhelming the protective wolf before the woman wakes up, to see the wolf has sacrificed itself, only leaving her and the cub alive.
You can't pull a tragic fairy tale story like this anymore, not even Disney. Obvious reference to Ghibli aside, what came later is something that captivated me. The woman, Alba, has to journey through a world that is falling apart while helping a cub navigate through a harsh world.
A recurring motif of the narrative is the platforming that acts as a stage for Alba's and Cub's relationship. One that is young and still dealing with grief, needs a parent figure to guide it through by calling his name through a button prompt, holding it will pet it, and it remains ambiguous whether that changes its behavior. But what is clear, there are serious obstacles ahead.
I like how easy it is for Abla to double jump, and then dash swiftly in the air, till I find out why. The game finds multiple ways to create roadblocks or puzzles to solve, one instance are these hands that make the cub unable to move forward, so I just slash it with my sword. Not so fast, as I move forward, there are thorns all around, and this means dispatching source, which is a protruding head of one of the dark enemies. Probably a boss type, foreshadowed when I saw a giant reindeer.
And this one had mini-spawns, the types that can easily be dispatched, but if I mess up, my 3 health bars will easily go down, and I'll die. I didn't die much with their encounters, so much as I did with avoiding the spiky vines, and the giant mutant chasing me.
So yeah, this being my first boss enemy, and as we're running, I couldn't help but notice changes to its form. Just a quadrupedal chasing us, trying to eat us. The game mechanics being so great, it stops being easy soon as the environment becomes aggressively hazardous towards me. Neva always running away scared, and me calling em to find and save again.
Not all places are in peril, as checkpoints like this replenish health. If you see flowers blooming, that's a save point. There are intricate things to find while avoiding certain death, including from just simply exploring the areas to find those hidden flowers.
It's not a metroidvanian in the platformer designer, and can be noticed to be a little on the rails, but you have such a pristine visual presentation almost anywhere you go. Enough to even distract you from the coming threats. Some parts of it are trees, flowers, branches, other times if you remember Gris, the hanging blocks with stairs are around. Which also shifts if you hit the gong.
Also, this is the first of the four seasons chapters played. In here, Alba has to deal with the majority of the black foes before finally getting to the boss battle. Simply a matter of memorizing and avoiding his attacks, before continuously hitting till he goes down. Funny enough, he didn't have reindeer horns, now he does. Intriguing change in detail.
I'll be real, I did not expect encounters and platforming to be this challenging, really had me going since everything was very well-designed to keep coming against me.
Storytelling here is really strong, evocative to the point of gluing my eyes to the screen. With me paying attention even to the minuscule of visual differences. Including the day and night cycle from this one chapter alone. Of course, you have the BGM to thank for as well.
The gameplay also fundamentally shifts, Alba most simply attacks, jumps, and dodges, however, the cub in the later season grows up. Becoming preadolescent, and showing more aggression towards the enemy. Though, this also prompts me to interact more, and try to calm down the wolf. But the best part, now interact during combat, I can tag and get some assistance.
I feel like this was all I saw coming for the next 3hrs of my playtime, this game is short. But offers so much depth and quality, it's hard to miss it. Despite being overly familiar to Gris in terms of gameplay, the added combat and companion aspects really makes this shine.
