I think Neva and I are going to get along quite well.
To this end, people who know me know what kinds of games I like: first-person shooters, point-and-click adventures, story-driven third-person action-adventures, and puzzle-platformers – or as I like to call them, Limbo-likes. If your game tells a poignant, emotionally compelling story with a beautiful art style, gorgeous music, and no dialogue whatsoever, then there is a good chance that I’m going to really like that game. It doesn’t always pan out, though; Black The Fall was a shameless and mediocre clone of Playdead’s seminal 2016 masterpiece Inside. Somerville was made by an ex-Playdead developer but couldn’t quite reach the narrative heights of Limbo or Inside.
But Neva, the new Limbo-like from the developers of 2018’s outstanding GRIS? I played the first 45 or so minutes of it and it is checking every good box there is for this subgenre. Let me start with the obvious: no, not the art style. I’ll get to that. But the dog. OK, so Neva isn’t a dog, but she’s this universe’s mythical equivalent of a canine companion. I must’ve held the Y button down five times in the first five minutes to pet Neva, and I hope the developers at Nomada Studio include an unlockable achievement for doing so.
Anyway, Neva’s beautiful opening sequence instantly made me care about Neva and protecting her at all costs from the dark forces that are corrupting this previously pristine world. And pristine it is. As I started to mention earlier, the art style in Neva is as colorful as it is unique. I adore the full use of the color palette that’s on display here, from the muted greens of the dark forest to the bright yellow of the open plains, Neva’s world is absolutely stunning.
Fortunately, it shows the initial signs of having the gameplay to back it up, too. While the first three-quarters of an hour I played only served to slowly introduce the combat mechanics, eventually intertwining them with the platforming in order to create the puzzle-platforming these types of games are known for, that meandering path was an engaging one. I was riveted the entire time, wondering what might come next. My hope is that Neva’s combat and puzzles continue to stack and layer on top of each other to create more and more intricate gameplay as the campaign winds on, and the boss fight that concluded my demo was a welcome sign that this indeed might be the case.
In addition, I was pleased to stumble upon a couple of secret items during my demo, suggesting that while there might not necessarily be enough meat on the bone here for multiple repeat playthroughs, there should hopefully be a bit more to look for that’s slightly off the campaign’s seemingly linear golden path. All told, Neva was one of many games I played during June’s various summer gaming preview events, and it’s one of the few I’m still thinking about weeks later. It looks like it has the potential to be very, very special.
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's executive editor of previews and host of both IGN's weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, so it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.
