NevaPublisher: Devolver DigitalDeveloper: Nomada StudioAvailability: 15th OctoberPlatforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch
I experience games differently now that I am a parent. I find myself incredibly aware of any young charges, virtual or real, and become invested in their wellbeing very quickly. In short, I have become a protector. It is a role I do not take lightly.
This sense of protectiveness is something Barcelona-based developer Nomada Studio is counting on for its next release, Neva, a breathtakingly beautiful 2D puzzle-platformer. While the studio’s previous game Gris was a solo journey negotiating the stages of grief, the player character in Neva – a woman named Alba – is not alone. Rather, she is joined by a young wolf companion.
This wolf is Neva, which is Spanish for snow – a name that serves as a nod to the wolf’s white coat as well as snow’s purity. Neva is Alba’s ‘child’, and as her mother, Alba (which translates to dawn) will do everything in her power to protect and nurture the wolf pup. The studio hopes players will, too.
I went hands-on with Neva during an event in Barcelona last week. At the beginning of my preview, I meet Alba and Neva, along with another fully grown wolf companion. As they walk together through a lush landscape, they start to notice their world succumbing to a sickness. A bird lies dead on the ground, black flowers covering its now lifeless form. Soon, more birds fall from the sky, before a darkness full of malicious entities swarms the three. Alba and the large wolf do their best to fend off the monsters, but Alba is knocked unconscious. When the darkness does eventually disperse, the other adult wolf appears dead. Alba and Neva now only have each other, and together must fight the darkness killing their world. The emotional stage is set.