Neva (video game)

Last updated

Neva
Neva cover art.jpg
Cover art featuring Alba and the wolf Neva, the game's two protagonists
Developer(s) Nomada Studio
Publisher(s) Devolver Digital
Director(s) Conrad Roset
Producer(s) Roger Mendoza
Designer(s) Oscar Crego
Programmer(s) Adrian Cuevas
Artist(s) Conrad Roset
Composer(s) Berlinist
Engine Unity
Platform(s)
ReleaseOctober 15, 2024
Genre(s) Puzzle-platformer
Mode(s) Single-player

Neva is a puzzle-platform game developed by Nomada Studio and published by Devolver Digital. It follows a young woman named Alba who must travel with her wolf companion Neva across four seasons in a world corrupted by darkness. The game was released for Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in October 2024.

Contents

Gameplay

The game follows a young woman named Alba who forms a lifelong bond with a wolf companion named Neva as the pair explore and cleanse a world corrupted by dark forces. The game is divided into several chapters which sees Neva grow from a young cub to a full-grown adult. [1]

Neva is a side-scrolling platform game in which players need to solve environmental puzzles and fight creatures of the darkness to progress. [2] The player character controls Alba, who can call Neva's name to encourage it to reach the player's desired location. [3] Neva features a combat system. Alba is equipped with a sword and she has two basic combat moves: a horizontal slash and a vertical slash. [4] She can also jump, double jump, perform a short air dash, and dodge hostile attacks. By chaining attacks together, Alba's lost health will slowly regenerate. Healing cairns can also be found in each level. [5] Alba's skills cannot be upgraded, but Neva will become stronger and assist Alba in both combat and transversal. [6]

Development

Neva was Spanish game development company Nomada Studio's second game, following Gris (2018). The studio recruited a larger team for the project, and the game's length was about twice as long as Gris. [6] As with Gris, the game had nearly no dialogue, with the exception of Alba calling Neva's name in various intonations. The team felt that the game being wordless left room for players to freely interprete the events of the game. The story originally revolved around two humans, though the team scrapped this plan as they were impressed by the early drafts for Neva. Princess Mononoke served as an important inspiration for the game's visual design. [7] Unlike Gris, the studio's previous game, the game features a combat system, though the team introduced a story mode to ensure that the game is approachable for all players. [8]

According to Adrian Cuevas, the founder of Nomada Studio, the team wanted explore the relationship through parents and their children, how these relationships change gradually over time, and "how a parent feels when raising a kid, as the kid grows and changes". The team was inspired by their own experience raising a child. In the game, which was divided into four chapters, Neva slowly turns from a timid young cub, to a teenager eager to jump headfirst into dangers, into a fully-grown adult. While Neva gains a lot of new abilities, Alba's core abilities remained unchanged throughout the game. [9] The team wanted players to have mixed emotions: to feel scared when Neva's life is at risk, and to be delighted when Neva performed well. [9] The enemies in the game were inspired by the environmental challenges faced by the Earth. They are the embodiment of fears that one may have raising children. [1] While the earlier segments of the game had a more delightful tone, the later segments of the game contrasted it by having both characters threatened by this corruption. [9]

Neva was announced by Nomada Studio and publisher Devolver Digital in May 2023. [10] The game was released on October 15, 2024, for Windows PC, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S. [11]

Reception

Neva received "generally favorable reviews" according to review aggregator Metacritic. [12] According to OpenCritic, 94% of 50 critics recommend the game. [13]

Keza MacDonald from The Guardian lauded the game, commending its "extraordinary visuals and elegant animation" and "chest-tighteningly effective music". She also praised the seasons in the game for being distinct from each other, as each has its own distinct tone and gameplay challenges. She compared the game to Journey and praised its ability to evoke strong emotions during its short runtime. [16] Writing for Polygon , Nicole Carpenter wrote that the combat encounters show "the evolution of Alba and Neva’s relationship rather than existing as an element of sheer challenge", and that its runtime was suitable for game that was "ethereal" and "devastatingly beautiful". [17] Christopher Cruz from Rolling Stone described Neva as the "most heartbreaking game of 2024". He compared it to films by Studio Ghibli, applauding its art design and its ability to tell a story that is "highly accessible and deeply affecting". [18] The last segment of the game set in winter, in particular, received critical acclaim. [15] [14] [5]

Echo Apsey from Push Square praised the game's combat and puzzles, and wrote that the boss encounters in the game were "memorable, challenging, and visually impressive". While she noted that the game kept introducing new gameplay mechanics, some of them did not last long enough for players to truly appreciate them. [15] While Jessica Conditt from Engadget described Neva as a "light and responsive platformer", [5] Alice Bell from Rock, Paper, Shotgun felt that the combat lacked precision. [19]

Awards and nominations

YearCeremonyCategoryResultRef.
2024 The Game Awards 2024 Best Art DirectionNominated [20]
Games for ImpactWon
Best Independent GameNominated
The Steam Awards Outstanding Visual StyleNominated [21]
2025 New York Game Awards Off Broadway Award for Best Indie GameNominated [22]
52nd Annie Awards Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Video Game Pending [23]
28th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Outstanding Achievement in Animation Pending [24]
25th Game Developers Choice Awards Best AudioHonorable mention [25]
Best NarrativeHonorable mention
Best Visual ArtPending
Social ImpactPending

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Cave Story</i> 2004 video game

Cave Story is a 2004 Metroidvania platform-adventure video game for Microsoft Windows. It was developed over five years by Japanese independent developer Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya in his free time. Cave Story features 2D platform mechanics and is reminiscent of the games Amaya played in his youth, such as Metroid and Castlevania. After its initial self-published release, the game slowly gained popularity on the internet. It received widespread critical acclaim for many polished aspects of its design, such as its compelling characters, setting, story, and gameplay. Cave Story is considered by many as the quintessential indie game because of its one-person development team and influence on the video gaming world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CCP Games</span> Icelandic video game developer

CCP ehf., doing business as CCP Games, is an Icelandic video game developer based in Reykjavík. Novator Partners and General Catalyst had previously collectively owned a majority stake in the company, and in September 2018, CCP was acquired by South Korean video game publisher Pearl Abyss for US$425 million. CCP Games is best known for developing Eve Online, which was released in 2003 and has since been maintained.

<i>Ōkami</i> 2006 video game

Ōkami is a 2006 action-adventure game developed by Clover Studio and published by Capcom. It was released for PlayStation 2 in 2006 in Japan and North America, and in 2007 in Europe and Australia. After the closure of Clover Studio a few months after the release, a port for Wii was developed by Ready at Dawn, Tose, and Capcom, and released in 2008.

<i>Antichamber</i> 2013 video game

Antichamber is a first-person puzzle-platform game created by Australian developer Alexander "Demruth" Bruce. Many of the puzzles are based on phenomena that occur within impossible objects created by the game engine, such as passages that lead the player to different locations depending on which way they face, and structures that seem otherwise impossible within normal three-dimensional space. The game includes elements of psychological exploration through brief messages of advice to help the player figure out solutions to the puzzles as well as adages for real life. The game was released on Steam for Microsoft Windows on January 31, 2013. A version originally sold with the Humble Indie Bundle 11 in 2014 added support for Linux and OS X.

<i>Donkey Kong Country Returns</i> 2010 video game

Donkey Kong Country Returns is a 2010 platform game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Wii console. The game was released first in North America in November 2010, and in PAL regions and Japan the following month. The game's story focuses on an evil group of Tiki-like creatures known as the Tiki Tak Tribe that are unleashed on Donkey Kong Island and hypnotize the island's animals into stealing Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong's banana hoard, prompting the two to traverse the island to reclaim it.

<i>Q.U.B.E.</i> 2011 video game

Q.U.B.E. is a physics-based puzzle video game developed and published by Toxic Games, with help from Indie Fund, a group of independent game developers. The game, an expansion of a student project by the founding members of Toxic Games, was released for Microsoft Windows through a number of digital distribution platforms, first through Desura on 17 December 2011 and then through Steam on 6 January 2012. An OS X port was later released in December 2012 through Steam and Desura.

<i>Gorogoa</i> 2017 puzzle video game

Gorogoa is a puzzle video game developed by Jason Roberts and published by Annapurna Interactive. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, and iOS on 14 December 2017, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on 22 May 2018, and shortly thereafter an Android and Kindle Fire release.

Duelyst is a free and open-source digital collectible card game and turn-based strategy hybrid developed by Counterplay Games, who initially self-published the title but was later published by Bandai Namco. It had been released in an open beta period in 2015, and the full game was released on April 27, 2016. Due to declining player counts, servers for Duelyst were shut down on February 27, 2020.

<i>Dauntless</i> (video game) 2019 video game

Dauntless is a free-to-play action role-playing game developed by Phoenix Labs. The game initially launched in beta in May 2018 for Microsoft Windows. An early access version was published by Epic Games on May 21, 2019 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, including full support for cross-platform play, and was fully released for those platforms on September 26, 2019. A Nintendo Switch version was released on December 10, 2019. Versions for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S were released on December 2, 2021.

<i>Sokobond</i> 2013 video game

Sokobond is a puzzle video game created by Alan Hazelden and Harry Lee. Gameplay involves moving atoms around 2D grids to form chemical compounds. The game was released on Linux, OS X, and Windows in August 2013. It was later released for Nintendo Switch in September 2021, and iOS and Android in May 2022. The game received generally favorable reviews from critics.

<i>Dead Cells</i> 2018 video game

Dead Cells is a 2018 roguelike-Metroidvania game developed by Motion Twin and Evil Empire, and published by Motion Twin. The player takes the role of an amorphous creature called the Prisoner. As the Prisoner, the player must fight their way out of a diseased island in order to slay the island's King. The player gains weapons, treasure and other tools through exploration of the procedurally-generated levels. Dead Cells features a permadeath system, causing the player to lose all items and other abilities upon dying. A currency called Cells can be collected from defeated enemies, allowing the player to purchase permanent upgrades.

<i>Tunic</i> (video game) 2022 video game

Tunic is a 2022 action-adventure game developed by Isometricorp Games and published by Finji. It is set in a ruined fantasy world, where the player controls an anthropomorphic fox on a journey to free a fox spirit trapped in a crystal. The player discovers the gameplay and setting by exploring and finding in-game pages of a manual that offers clues, drawings, and notes. The backstory is obscured; most text is given in a constructed writing system that the player is not expected to decipher. Tunic's isometric perspective hides numerous pathways and secrets.

<i>Gris</i> 2018 adventure-platform game

Gris is a platform-adventure game by Spanish developer Nomada Studio and published by Devolver Digital. The game was released for macOS, Nintendo Switch, and Windows in December 2018, for iOS in August 2019, for PlayStation 4 in November 2019, for Android in April 2020, for Amazon Luna in November 2021, and for PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in December 2022. The game has sold over 3 million copies.

<i>The Longing</i> 2020 video game

The Longing is a 2020 point-and-click adventure game created by independent developer Studio Seufz. Set in an underground kingdom, the player controls the Shade, a creature tasked with watching over a sleeping king for 400 days. The Shade performs recreational activities, including reading and exploring, as it waits out the 400 days in real time. The in-game timer continues regardless of the player's actions but moves faster if the Shade performs certain actions inside its home, such as decorating the walls with drawings.

<i>Stray</i> (video game) 2022 video game

Stray is a 2022 adventure game developed by BlueTwelve Studio and published by Annapurna Interactive. The story follows a stray cat who falls into a walled city populated by robots, machines, and mutant bacteria, and sets out to return to the surface with the help of a drone companion, B-12. The game is presented through a third-person perspective. The player traverses the game world by leaping across platforms and climbing up obstacles, and can interact with the environment to open new paths. Using B-12, they can store items found throughout the world and hack into technology to solve puzzles. Throughout the game, the player must evade the antagonistic Zurks and Sentinels, which attempt to kill them.

<i>World of Horror</i> 2023 video game

World of Horror, also known by its Japanese title Kyōfu no Sekai (恐怖の世界), is a role-playing video game with a 1-bit pixel art style inspired by the works of H. P. Lovecraft and Junji Ito. The game was created by Polish developer Paweł Koźmiński and published by Ysbryd Games. It was released into early access on February 20, 2020 through Steam, GOG.com, and Microsoft Store. The full game was released on October 19, 2023 for macOS and Windows. It was released on October 26 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.

<i>Signalis</i> 2022 video game

Signalis is a survival horror video game developed by rose-engine and published by Humble Games and Playism. The game was released for Windows PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on October 27, 2022. It received generally positive reviews upon release.

<i>Mewgenics</i> Upcoming 2025 video game

Mewgenics is an upcoming tactical role-playing roguelike life simulation video game developed by Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel. The game has players breed cats, which assume character classes and are sent out on adventures, featuring tactical combat on a procedurally-generated grid. Originally announced by Team Meat in 2012 as a follow-up to Super Meat Boy, the game experienced a protracted development cycle, before being cancelled and subsequently reacquired by McMillen for development with Glaiel in 2018. Mewgenics is tentatively set to be released via the digital distribution platform Steam in 2025.

<i>Little Nightmares III</i> Upcoming video game

Little Nightmares III is an upcoming puzzle-platform horror adventure video game developed by Supermassive Games and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. It serves as a stand-alone sequel to the first two Little Nightmares games. The game follows two new child protagonists, Low and Alone, as they navigate through The Nowhere and escape from a looming threat. It is scheduled for a 2025 release.

<i>Lorelei and the Laser Eyes</i> 2024 video game

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is a 2024 puzzle game developed by Simogo and published by Annapurna Interactive. It was released on May 16, 2024, on Microsoft Windows and Nintendo Switch. It was also released for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on December 3, 2024.

References

  1. 1 2 Cuevas, Adrian (May 24, 2023). "Introducing Neva, the beautiful new game from the developer of Gris". PlayStation Blog . Archived from the original on June 4, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  2. ↑ McCaffery, Ryan (July 3, 2024). "Neva Is a Stunning New Puzzle Platformer From the Makers of GRIS". IGN . Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  3. ↑ Archer, James (July 11, 2024). "Neva already makes me want to protect its magic wolf baby with my life". Rock, Paper, Shotgun . Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  4. 1 2 Vogel, Mitch (October 14, 2024). "Neva Review (Switch eShop)". Nintendo Life . Archived from the original on November 11, 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 Conditt, Jessica (October 15, 2024). "Neva review: A platformer that's so perfect, it made me cry". Engadget . Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  6. 1 2 "Here's how Neva evolves and builds upon Gris's gameplay - Roger Mendoza Interview". Gamereactor. September 24, 2024. Archived from the original on September 27, 2024. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  7. ↑ Pelliccio, Meg (September 23, 2024). "Neva Interview: Nomada Studio On Adding Combat And Companions After Gris". TheGamer . Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  8. ↑ Webster, Andrew (October 15, 2024). "The stunning indie game Gris now has a beautiful follow-up about love and loss". The Verge . Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  9. 1 2 3 Fanelli, Jason (October 18, 2024). "The Creators of 'Neva' Wanted to Make the Fears of Parenthood Playable". Rolling Stone . Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  10. ↑ Holt, Kris (May 25, 2023). "'Neva' is the next gorgeous-looking game from 'Gris' developer Nomada Studio". Engadget . Archived from the original on May 27, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  11. ↑ Kennedy, Victoria (August 27, 2024). "Gris developer's next game Neva secures October release date". Eurogamer . Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  12. 1 2 "Neva Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  13. 1 2 "Neva Reviews". OpenCritic . October 14, 2024. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  14. 1 2 Tapsell, Chris (October 17, 2024). "Neva review - artful puzzle-platforming action with the fullest of hearts". Eurogamer . Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  15. 1 2 3 Apsey, Echo (October 15, 2024). "Mini Review: Neva (PS5) - A Stunning Masterwork of Art and Animation". Push Square . Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  16. 1 2 McDonald, Keza (October 17, 2024). "Neva review – sublime portrait of a warrior and her wolf in a dying world". The Guardian . Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  17. ↑ Carpenter, Nicole (October 15, 2024). "Neva, the follow-up to Gris, is devastatingly beautiful". Polygon . Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  18. ↑ Cruz, Christopher (October 15, 2024). "'Neva' Is the Most Heartbreaking Video Game of 2024". Rolling Stone . Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  19. ↑ Bell, Alice (October 14, 2024). "Neva review: a Ghibli-esque platformer with tight visuals and loose combat". Rock, Paper, Shotgun . Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  20. ↑ Moore, Bo (December 12, 2024). "The Game Awards 2024 Winners: The Full List". IGN . Archived from the original on December 13, 2024.
  21. ↑ Watts, Steve (December 17, 2024). "The Steam Awards 2024 Nominees Announced". GameSpot . Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  22. ↑ Bankhurst, Adam (January 21, 2025). "New York Game Awards 2025 Winners". IGN . Retrieved January 27, 2025.
  23. ↑ Vlessing, Etan (December 20, 2024). "'The Wild Robot' Leads Annie Awards Nominations With 10 Nods". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved December 20, 2024.
  24. ↑ Welsh, Oli (January 10, 2025). "Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a GOTY front-runner at the DICE Awards". Polygon . Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  25. ↑ Yang, George (January 28, 2025). "Game Developers Choice Awards 2025 Nominees Revealed". GameSpot . Archived from the original on January 28, 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.