I am not a woman with a sword, and I do not live in a soft watercolor world quickly engulfed by dark, spindly shadows. But I feel like I do. Most days are a struggle as I strike back against the abyss that threatens to overwhelm; I have a lot more in common with right now Neva‘s striking human character Alba than I expected.
NevaNomada Studio’s sequel to the critically acclaimed platformer Grisbegins with Alba awakening the fantastic wolf cub of the same name as the game. She yawns and stretches, then trots on, distracted by falling leaves. Alba and a much larger wolf – presumably Neva’s mother – watch. Together, the group of three breathes in the spring air and bursts of green, until a familiar shadow washes over the area. Birds fall from the sky, dead and black with flowers instead of decaying. The larger wolf narrows his eyes and crouches as Alba unsheathes her sword. The darkness prevails, causing Alba to fall unconscious and the larger wolf to become shallow. Alba and Neva later become aware of the reality of what happened: Alba’s companion, Neva’s mother, is dead.
Although consumed by grief, life does not stop for Alba and Neva. The darkness still itches at their backs and threatens to consume them Neva‘s lush world, but they must continue together. Life didn’t stop for me either when my 8-year-old puppy – my best friend – died at the end of May. A creeping darkness, cancer, followed us for four months before it progressed far too far. My life isn’t the same without him, and it never will be. My days were darkened by sadness, I had to move on because someone else depended on me. Long before his death, when 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. That turned out to be the day after our boy died. Just like Neva, our puppy is the spitting image of the previous one. She is so small, so curious and always distracted. She needs guidance. Neva does that too.
For the most part Nevayou play as Alba. For starters, Neva Alba usually follows; Alba can call the puppy at the touch of a button and lead her over a scary hole or through dangerous territory. What largely starts as a traditional platform game with simple combat becomes increasingly complex 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 she isn’t miserably distracted by a glowing butterfly. I see the similarities with my own puppy: we’ve been outside potty training for so long, and just when she needs to squat and pee, a bee shows up. Now it’s play time. As the game progresses, and just like life itself, it is Neva who evolves NevaNaturally. She is growing in size, yes, but also in will. The bond between the two is created through their shared struggle to get to know each other. How this plays out Neva is in the way the platforming and challenges adapt to make room for Neva’s new abilities. Alba never changes. Neva does.
Ultimately, Neva will help fight larger monsters and assist with more complicated platforming sections. Although Neva is an improvement in terms of difficulty, it is never a difficult game. (And if some of the combat is holding you back, you can enter story mode, which stops you taking damage.) Some may discover Neva too simple, perhaps if you came in expecting something with Souls-like difficulty. This isn’t that game. At just over four hours long, there are limited battles in total. But the battle scenes serve a purpose of demonstrating the evolution of Alba and Neva’s relationship rather than existing as an element of pure challenge. It’s the right length for an ethereal game like Nevasomething that is as much about how it makes you feeling as it actually plays. There’s no dialogue Neva – except Alba shouting her name – thus the gameplay is how the story is skillfully expressed. It’s very similar Gris that way; you can also see Nomada Studio’s legacy in its muted colors, geometric architecture, and overwhelming sadness.
Between the combat and platforming, Nomada Studio also uses long stretches of almost nothing in a surprisingly emotional way. There are plenty of moments everywhere Neva where all I do is push my controller’s joystick left or right (with or without Neva) in an attempt to just move forward. I have actually found an element of challenge in these too quiet moments: am I going in the right direction? Does that really matter? I’m just moving forward.
In these moments I think of my own dogs, of Alba and Neva, and of the wolf that came before. I’ve been thinking a lot about how my relationship with the new puppy will change and grow – about how it will be different or the same as it was with my best friend. There is no replacement for what I lost, for what Alba and Neva lost. But even if it is forged in sadness, something beautiful will grow. We just move on. Alba and Neva too.
Neva will be released on October 15 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC and Xbox Series X. The game was played on Steam Deck using a pre-release download code from Devolver Digital. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, although Vox Media may earn commissions on products purchased through affiliate links. Additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy can be found here.