I've never been a part of the “Can You Pet a Dog?” craze that has taken over video games and/or still does. As a heartless individual, I'm more interested in what the dog can do: general brutality, a howl that fills my HP bar, letting me climb up its magnificent mane while I'm walking through the wastelands. If none of those things, I'd rather have a gleaming turret on spindly steel legs by my side.
Nomada Studios, incredibly, stuck its hands into my chest cavity and gave me a blood-pumping contraption. After spending some time with its upcoming action-platformer Neva (the game) and Neva (the dog in the game), I have to admit: I really enjoyed petting Neva (the dog).
One more thing I have to admit: our James was right – and he always is, to be fair. The Neva demo I spent an hour with was, I think, largely the same as the one James played not too long ago, though a bit more polished and perhaps some other bits. Basically, read his write-up and get the gist, but I'll offer my own thoughts right away.
And those thoughts strike a similar note: Neva's opening hour is a good time. As expected from Nomada Studios, who have previously worked on the very fine Gris, it's beautifully presented. Protagonist Alba has strong platforming skills, with a nicely weighted jump into a double jump. I also like that you can do mid-air dashes, which adds a bit of complexity to the mix when you need to string those moves together in sequence.
I can't say I found any of the actual platforming games challenging or particularly innovative, but they're engaging enough and likely to evolve in the future. By that I mean you're jumping on platforms or jumping across gaps and maybe dodging a sticky vine in the process – nothing really out of the ordinary, which is fine! What's different, though, is the emotional charge bubbling behind each of these challenges.
As a young puppy, Neva can't fend for herself and is easily spooked by the game's Ghibli-like demons. They're a cross between Spirited Away's No Face and a Minion crawling on all fours. And Neva's mannerisms are so adorable, she chases after butterflies and gets distracted by puddles and fireflies. So when you summon her and press a button to pull her out of her childlike innocence, you're unthinkingly cast in the role of caring mother figure. So much of the platforming may not be spectacular, but with Neva in danger, it's something of an emergency. You've got to save your furry child, even if the actual stakes are pretty low.
Otherwise, it looks like the game's platforming will evolve with Neva (the dog) aging, as will these things called Totems. What I came across was an otherworldly scene where the forest was suddenly replaced with abstract architecture and fragmented steps. I rang a gong and the layout shifted and changed shape, so I'd have to do a mix of jumping and gong-banging to reshape the landscape to exit the level. It'll be interesting to see if these Totems will be incorporated into the forests and the like to add a bit more confusion.
And yes, James was right about the game's combat. Initially, it's not bad, as you're fending off bad guys with a simple sword combo and the occasional parry move. At least in the first chapter, that's all your lot, culminating in a very Soulsy and slightly frustrating boss fight. I defeated the very large four-legged Faceless Minion hybrid on my first try (I'll brag about that), but I kept hitting its legs and chubby belly, taking damage in the process. All because I wanted to get close enough to actually hit the bastard with my sword slashes, which is a bit of a stretch when it comes to fighting a monster that doesn't stagger from my blows and therefore leaves me with very little room to maneuver positionally.
It makes sense that Neva doesn't help in these moments, but it looks like she'll join the fight later and whack those bad guys. What's interesting, though, is that as both Alba and Neva age, Alba's abilities will remain the same (there was also hope that James' sword swings would change a bit). Nomada Studios' technical director Adrian Cuevas said that Neva is the one who will evolve to complement Alba's adventures.
“What's happening is Neva is evolving, gaining capabilities, and that's changing the way you do business a little bit. [Alba’s] “Her abilities. But it's mostly about how Neva acts around you and helps you, more so than Alba herself.”
Unfortunately, we weren't able to test this out ourselves, but I did learn something else. And that was that Neva (the dog) wasn't actually a dog (technically, a wolf) when Nomada Studio first put together its concepts.
“Actually in the beginning [Neva] “There were two of us, and in the beginning you could control both of them,” Cuevas tells me. I asked creative director Conrad Roset about this, and he said that the initial concept for Neva was actually a boy and a girl, which later evolved into a bird and then a bear, and Later a wolf. “You might empathize more with a wolf,” Roset tells me, “but the programming team preferred the bird because it was much easier to play.”
Wolf or something, in the hour I spent with Neva, I became truly attached to her. And despite the game being just a “good time” to play, people's fondness for it made it feel like “a A lot “good time” territory. When I asked Cuevas what he wanted people to take away from Neva after they took their hands off the keyboard or their thumbs off the rubber bands, he gave us a knowing look. Beyond their irises: people sobbing, their heads buried in furs.
“I think similar to Gris, we want them to have a fun experience,” Cuevas says. “It's an up-and-down situation, I don't know how people are going to feel at the end of the game. That'll be interesting to know, but overall I think they're going to feel like it's worth playing.” In this age of the all-consuming live service grind, I think it speaks to something that's pretty relevant.
“We just want people to play the game, enjoy it for a few hours and say 'it was worth it', because there are so many games out there today, too much games. Sometimes you start playing, 'Do I need to keep playing this?' And if they can relate their own story to their child or their dog and they feel something, if it touches them a little bit, then that's perfect.”
God, I'm so worried about that virtual dog. And no, even if none of us are prepared for the emotional devastation its ending will inevitably bring, I can stand by Neva's philosophy. It's a quintessential experience — one I'll be keeping a close eye on as its release approaches.