Nomada Studio’s Gris is the studio’s second offering. While Neva isn’t a direct sequel, it plays with the same dreamy hand illustrated look and symbolic storytelling.
A combat and health system are introduced to the game, offering stakes (slightly due to the quick restarts), and one more layer of intensity. Neva isn’t perfect by any stretch, but if elaborate platformers with beautiful authors are your thing, there is a valid reason to check it out.
With environmentalism being the core of a film’s theme, Neva deploys major parts of the film to paint a picture of environmentalism, something that is new to the world as it highlights the importance of conserving the resources that may soon become extinct, all over again, but also something that has been very much in the media for a long time.
Neva reminds us of Studio Ghibli‘s eco-conscious messages as No Face from Spirited Away or the forest spirits in Princess Mononoke.
This game puts you in the shoes of a fierce forest warrior travelling alongside Neva, a mystical white wolf and uses this time to battle corrupt monstrous forces taking over the place this witching and her friend once called home.
That strength feels like Mononoke and her wolf guardians, and that they will be alright as they struggle through decaying, encroaching darkness in a confidently beautiful 2D world.
Neva is visually stunning with seasons becoming different in different forests. The colors light and ambiance change each season making for an ever evolving and immersive world.
The soft, snow covered blankets of winter to the vibrant colors of spring, each setting depicts how decay ravages the world. Blight monsters are corrupt creatures that eat away the land drinking the life it contains leaving behind large black flowers and horrible dark tendrils.
They are these monsters: transforming into each other, blending, becoming not only themselves, but more than who you knew them to be, turning them into these larger, angry things that pose new problems.
Neva’s combat is relatively simple, though functional, using the basic set of moves to dodge and attack. Players can dodge an enemy strike or swing a sword and hit blight monsters.
Standard enemies are a few hits taking, some creatures inhabit the bodies of fallen forest animals (eg. Birds or deer) requiring the player to take advantage of timing and agility to stay alive.
Down here much care must be taken dodging it from larger foes, like mini bosses, as their weaknesses become apparent after wearing them down with aggressive attacks.
The combat itself doesn’t come close to paying off in the precision sense that classic platformer action can, but serves as thematic bridge, framing the struggle against nature’s corruption.
Neva is still the most mesmerizing platforming that is ever put into games, even though it can sometimes be imprecise in later, more challenging segments.
And the protagonist has to roam around the intricate paths between floating tree roots, ancient statues and semi frozen creatures, with now and again interior architectural structures acting as a break from the natural scenery.
They are introducing new structures with their new sometimes puzzling challenges but they were certainly more engaging with tighter controls.
Dreamy and evocative, the platforming makes sense, but the controls will feel too ‘floaty’ for players from more precise, skill-based challenges.
Hidden flowers are collected by players as they explore and tackle optional platforming challenges, although often they don’t feel good enough in return for the effort.
Neva finds a way to harmonize its narrative potential with gameplay deterrence. Whereas Gris leaves a little want more depth of feeling, Neva goes a step in the right way by throwing in the issues of danger and progress.
While it hasn’t arrived with the polish and impact of masterpieces such as Ori and the Blind Forest, it’s an indication of big steps forward for Nomada Studio.
Neva is a gentle environmental message and a touching experience with a bittersweet story and expressive artistry that rings true, despite the occasional pothole in the actual mechanics.
Conclusion
Neva is a wonderful evocation that takes you on an emotional journey as much as it does with its artistry, but its precision with the game play fails at times. It picks up at Studio Ghibli’s environmental ethos but gives us the haunting story of an evil tale of nature’s corruption.
While the platforming and combat are a little rough around the edges, Neva’s stunning visuals, evolving companion bond, and somber narrative are tough to forget.
Gris is a flawed game, but its ambition and emotional weight are impossible to deny, and Nomada Studio’s ambitions are a great step forward for the game industry and a sign of promising things to come.
Also read: Kind Words 2 Review: A Heartfelt Reflection of Humanity Online
