Neva XSX Review

Neva is a beguiling and beautiful action platformer about the passing of the seasons, parenthood, and breaking destructive cycles.

The latest game from Nomada, the devs behind the critically acclaimed and similarly meditative Gris, Neva sees players take on the role of a young adventurer called Alba battling against a horde of nightmarish Ghibliesque foes with the help of a capricious pup named Neva.

The game opens on a bright sunny day as the delightful score by Berlinist sours with flocks of birds swooping and tweeting through the sky before the sky begins to darken and the murmurations plummet from the sky with pitch-black blooms sprouting from their bodies as they hit the floor.

One of the dead birds is picked up by a young adventurer in a beautiful red cape called Alba, flanked by an enormous wolf and its pup. As she looks puzzled at the poor creature a huge black cloud rushes forward twisting and turning as it transforms into a wave of grasping hands and masked faces that engulf the trio, after a desperate struggle Alba is knocked out as she sees the great wolf overcome by the sinister mass.

Some time later Alba awakes to find the cloud has gone and the pup is grieving at the feet of her deceased parent. Embracing Neva the pair give each other a long and understanding look.

Thus our adventure through the seasons begins as Alba and Neva explore this beautiful world, attempt to find the source of the blight that killed Neva’s mother, and bring the world back into balance.

As the seasons change the bright greens and yellow hues of summer make way for deep reds in autumn before shifting to icy tones and greys in winter, you can feel the days getting shorter and the encroaching darkness drawing nearer.

It’s a more complicated affair than Gris, as you can now not only triple jump your way around the environment but there’s also some rudimentary but surprisingly fun combat.

Using her Rapier and while dodging and diving around the environment Alba can dispatch most of the faceless monstrosities she faces with relative ease. Your health is slowly regenerated with each successful hit so you never feel like you have no chance of success. However, you only have three health points and most monsters hit like a truck.

When they do you may get kicked back to a checkpoint that is a little far apart for my liking. Especially during some of the bigger fights and chase sequences. At times you’ll find you were steps away from success only to be kicked right back to the start of the sequence. Thankfully, they’re never that long, and only a minor irritant, but I still found them grumblesome at times.

As the seasons change, Neva begins to grow as well. Starting as a nervous pup that needs protection and encouragement, into a confident companion that protects and looks after Alba, lunging at enemies, helping pull switches, and eventually fighting directly by Alba’s side, and becoming her mount.

Every new phase of Neva’s life from puppy to full-blown dire wolf is used as a clever means to expand their move set and layer in new concepts and platforming challenges. These range from commanding Neva to smash through obstacles to mindbending mirrored platforming sections. The game continues to offer new ways to engage your brain and your platforming skills as the pair grow ever closer.

Though there’s no script to speak of save for the occasional call of “Neva” from Alba and the growls, yips, and barks of the titular beast there’s still a surprising amount of emotional depth on display thanks to a combination of superb animation and a score that pairs perfectly with the onscreen action.

It’s hard not to fall for Neva’s charms. From the outset, the young wolf is simply charming. Anyone who has ever had a pet dog will recognise her reactions, her energy, and how Neva’s beautifully animated movements show that she adores Alba, and the feeling is mutual.

To call the enemies, and the rest of Neva, now that I think of it, Ghibliesque, would be an understatement. There’s clear inspiration from Princess Mononoke, with its giant wolves, possessed demonic boars, and even some ape-like enemies that toss stones at you.

However, the bulk of the enemies look and act like No Face from Spirited Away including an early set piece that sees Alba desperately fleeing from a rampaging beast made of several smaller enemies that have merged together to form an unstoppable murder machine.

It’s beautifully animated and terrifying. But at the same time, I could not put the game down, every setback spurned me on and I ended up playing through the whole thing in a single sitting. Though admittedly I still had a few collectables left to grab. (Thankfully there’s a chapter select option)

Final Thoughts

Strong artistic direction, simple, yet compelling gameplay, and another transcendental Berlinist score make Neva easy to recommend.

As beautiful as it is touching, Nomada has once again proved that they are the masters of creating experiences that you point at feverishly whenever anyone tells you games can’t also be art.

However, Neva backs up its impressive artistry with solid gameplay by blending easy-to-pick-up, tough-to-master platforming with some simple yet deep combat and brilliant boss battles.

But best of all though, it has a puppy you can pet.