I am not a woman with a sword, and I do not live in a supple, watercolor world that is quickly overtaken by shadowy, spindly shadows. But I feel like I do. Most days are a struggle as I hit an abyss that threatens to overwhelm me; I have a lot more in common with at this point NevaAlba’s striking humanity than I expected.
Nevaa continuation of the widely acclaimed platformer by Nomada Studio Grisbegins with Alba waking up a fantastic wolf cub with the same name as the game. She yawns and stretches, then continues running, distracted by the falling leaves. Alba and a much larger wolf – presumably Neva’s mother – look on. Together, the three of them breathe in the spring air and glimpses of greenery until a familiar shadow appears over their surroundings. Birds fall from the sky, dead and blackened by flowers, instead of rotting. The larger wolf narrows his eyes and crouches as Alba draws her sword. The darkness wins, knocking Alba unconscious and shrinking the larger wolf. Alba and Neva later wake up and realize the reality of what has happened: Alba’s companion, Neva’s mother, is dead.
Although filled with sadness, Alba and Neva’s lives do not end. The darkness still itches behind them, threatening to consume them Nevalush world, but they must move forward together. Life didn’t stop for me either when my 8-year-old puppy – my best friend – died at the end of May. The creeping darkness, the cancer, followed us for four months before it progressed too far. My life is not the same without him and never will be. My days were darkened with grief. I had to move on because someone else was depending on me. Long before he died, while he was still doing well, my partner and I decided to adopt a puppy. We were supposed to pick her up at the beginning of June. As it turned out, the day after our boy died. Like Neva, our puppy is a faithful reflection of the previous one. She is so petite, so curious and always distracted. She needs directions. Neva too.
For most Nevayou will play as Alba. To start with, Neva mostly follows Alba; With the press of a button, Alba can call your puppy and guide him through a scary crevice or risky territory. What starts out largely as a conventional platform game with uncomplicated combat becomes increasingly sophisticated Neva continues. But at first, Neva is a puppy through and through and acts like one; Neva will run away and get into trouble if the glowing butterfly doesn’t distract her. I see similarities with my own puppy: we spent so much time outside potty training, and just as she’s about to squat and pee, a bee appears. Now it’s time to have fun. As the game and life itself evolves, Neva evolves Nevanaturally. It’s growing, it’s true, but so is the will. The bond between them is formed through their shared struggle to learn from each other. How it plays out in Neva is how the platform and challenges adapt to make room for Neva’s up-to-date skills. Alba never changes. Neva yes.
Ultimately, Neva will facilitate fight larger monsters and facilitate with more complicated platforming sections. Though Neva is an improvement in difficulty, it is never a challenging game. (And if part of the combat is holding you back, you can switch to Story Mode, which eliminates taking damage.) Some may find that Neva too effortless, perhaps if you came into it expecting something with a Soulslike level of difficulty. This is not that game. Lasting just over four hours, the fight is circumscribed overall. But the fight sequences serve the purpose of showing the evolution of Alba and Neva’s relationship, rather than providing a uncomplicated challenge. It’s just the right length for an ethereal game Nevasomething that is equally about what it makes you feel just like it actually plays. There is no dialogue in it Neva — except for Alba calling her name — so let’s play Is how the narrative is expertly expressed. It is very similar to Gris this way; the legacy of Nomada Studio is also observable in the subdued colors, geometric architecture and overwhelming sadness.
Photo: Nomado Studio/Devolver Digital
Between the combat and platforming, Nomada Studio also uses long stretches of almost nothing in surprisingly emotional ways. There are tons of times throughout Neva where all I do is move the controller joystick left or right – with or without Neva – trying to just move forward. In fact, in these too peaceful moments, I found an element of challenge: am I on the right track? Does it really matter? I just keep moving forward.
In moments like these, I think about my own dogs, Alba and Neva, and the wolf that came before. I thought a lot about how my relationship with my up-to-date puppy would change and develop – how it would be different or the same as my best friend. Nothing can replace what I lost, what Alba and Neva lost. But even if forged in sadness, something handsome will grow. We’ll just move on. Alba and Neva too.
Neva will be released on October 15 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC and Xbox Series X. The game was played on Steam Deck using a pre-download code provided by Devolver Digital. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, although Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased through affiliate links. Additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy can be found here.
