Publisher Digital Revolver and Nomada Studio shared with us back in May 2023, that a little indie game called Neva was on its way. The Art design popped so much it would grab anyone’s attention.
The Art design wasn’t the only thing to impress people. Their ability to tug at your heart strings through a small clip is incredible. Imagine what the full game will be like if the trailer is that good?
Before I get in to it, I am an Indie Novice. I’ve played things like Limbo, Inside, TMNT Shredders Revenge, Valhalla, Rollerdrome, Little Nightmares, and a handful of others. A Indie has to really speak to me for me to pay money for it on release day.
Now that you know my Indie background, let’s dive in to what I believe makes this game so special.
Neva is the Wolf, you play as a woman adventuring in to a broken world that is crumbling to darkness.
You will immediately be greeted by beautiful scenery and a tragic beginning once you start the game.
Neva is only a wolf puppy at the start of Chapter 1: Summertime. The game will guide you through the seasons, fall, winter, and spring.
There are very few controls. Jump, double jump, attack, pet Neva, and about three other abilities that I don’t want to spoil. The game does a great job at trickling out abilities as you go from chapter to chapter.
This game is primarily a platformer, you guide a little wolf through the darkness to get to safety. Without spoiling anything, there will be quite a bit of new ways to traverse the terrain.
You will also have combat. The combat in the game consists of a melee button, rolling to dodge attacks and jumping. With more new toys to come.
I played on adventure mode and found it to be quite challenging actually. The Story Mode difficulty can be switched on and off at your discretion. In Story mode you are unable to die.
As an amateur indie player, the relaxing atmosphere might be something that a not so casual indie player is unfamiliar with. But I found the game calm, relaxing, stressful, dark and challenging all at the same time.
There are quite a few collectibles that will have you go out of your way I’d you’d like. But I personally did very little of them.
The game’s story can be interpretive. As a Father of two kids and dogs, this game hit close to home for me. I was left in tears when it was all over.
This game is a phenomenal reminder that video games are art. I am so glad it caught my eye, because I will forever recommend this game.
Neva is available on Windows PC, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S. The game was released October 15th, 2024. A physical edition is set to come out March 4th 2025.
This was Reviewed on Xbox Series X
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