Neva is an upcoming platformer from Nomada Studio, the team that made the starkly beautiful and deeply emotional Gris. Neva, which releases on October 15, follows in the same footsteps as its predecessor, casting players in the role of Alba, a girl with a wolf companion who sets out on a journey through a dying world. According to the developer, Neva will follow the growing relationship between the two, who start as unlikely allies before becoming inseparable companions.
I’ve been excited for Neva for a while now and it looks like an improvement in so many ways from Nomada’s stunning debut. Neva maintains the platforming of Gris, but builds upon it with way more mechanics, which are incredibly welcome! For instance, this time around Neva will feature combat and Alba will make use of her sword when fighting off monsters rather than in Gris, where the protagonist avoids conflict at all costs. It seems like when Alba and the wolf first find one another, Alba must work to protect it, but as the wolf grows, it might become an ally in combat, and can maybe even be directed.
Neva, much like Gris before it, is absolutely gorgeous. Ever since its debut trailer, I’ve been in awe of its style, which feels much looser than Gris’ sharp linework, and consequently more expressive. It is also more naturalistic than Nomada’s previous game, seemingly placing an emphasis on the collapsing world in an effort to reflect the real life consequences of climate change on our ecosystems. If that’s the case, Neva appears to be a beautiful tragedy, and I wouldn’t be surprised if just like Gris, it’s a hell of a tearjerker.