Impressions: Neva already moved me with its parental approach

When I reviewed GRIS at the tail end of 2018 I was surprised, naïve me, at how good it was in everything that wasn't obvious at first sight: its mechanics, its direction, its puzzles, its game design. Conrad Roset's art contradicted its monotonous title by splashing watercolour across the screen, while its narrative ran through the five stages of the duel, each linked to different colourings. Playing Neva for the first time the other day in Barcelona, I did so already with the knowledge of what Nomada Studio are capable of on a gameplay level and with the curiosity to discover where artist and developers are heading this time around.

From its first trailer, Neva already made it clear that it is committed to a more active gameplay, mainly through the introduction of combat mechanics. It will be a slightly longer and deeper game than GRIS, and this new recipe means that puzzles, the main challenge of the previous game, will leave more room for battles, while walking and platforming will continue to be the main activity.

It is also structured by chapters, but instead of counting them by emotional stages and colours, as far as we know they comprise the four seasons of the year. I met Alba and a puppyish Neva in the middle of Summer in Chapter I, and then was struck by how much she had grown up and what the now teenage wolf could do in Autumn, Chapter II.

What's interesting about this approach is that with each season, as Neva grows and matures, not only do the narrative factors evolve (mainly the relationship between the two protagonists), but so do the actions you can take with the creature. In my demo, I went from having to keep an eye on the wolf cub all the time to discovering how she helped me with her bites. From having to call her, pet her to calm her down or clear a path for her, to watching her learn an extra magic jump or rage at the evil creatures.

It is clear, and Conrad Roset explains it to us in the interview that you can see between these lines, that Neva is about the paternal-filial relationship. And about the pandemic and its lockdown. The illustrator himself became a father on those dates, but also other members of Nomada Studio, such as co-founder Roger Mendoza. We'll see the vulnerable, naïve, needy Neva turn into a foolish 'teenager' and then... we'll see. As the vixen is much more aggressive in the second chapter, I asked if we would go to the extreme of fighting her, but it looks like that won't be the case. Anyway, I expect a very powerful mythological being towards Winter and Spring.

Of course, everything else is a mystery. What's going on in this world that seems to be falling apart (those references to confinement). What are these dark creatures straight out of Spirited Away (there's one that even gobbles up the others) and Princess Mononoke? Where are Neva and Alba going?

I'll leave all that as a teaser, the same I got from the preview build. I was also left wanting to do puzzles, understanding that there will be fewer given the new emphasis on combat or platforming with a companion character. The Y button is used to call Neva, or perhaps to pet her or help her mantle onto a platform. Alba, meanwhile, can attack with her sword (X), roll, dash through the air or even swoop down on enemies.

I can't say anything about the evolution of the combat yet because it was basic enemies, but this won't be about unlocking new abilities for the woman, but about using new wolf moves in the middle of the battle. By the way, a curious addition is that the girls recover their health by chaining together accurate hits, which is certainly an interesting touch of balance.

The platforming sections were as beautiful as they were surprisingly challenging, and you had to think about where and how to jump before doing so. The rest was a lot of walking, some of it so long it became a trek, but again I understand that these were the introductory sections.

I'll leave the most obvious for last. The audiovisual aspect here is not a wrapper, but the main vehicle of the experience. The leap from GRIS is from more monochromatic environments and minimalist shapes to organic settings populated by mythological creatures teeming with life. Symbolism now embraces nature, animation is at another level and Berlinist's notes accompany in a more cinematic way. I found it hard to take off my headphones and leave the controller on the table, but fortunately there's less than a month left to play Neva, and this time it's coming out on all platforms.