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Neva review - artful puzzle-platforming action with the fullest of hearts
Nomada Studio follows up on the striking Gris with Neva, an effort that's poignant and precise, if maybe just a tad melodramatic.
At times this is a touch on-the-nose: as the narrative shifts, so do the colours, and indeed their tones, from richness and almost wincingly sweet, bright vividity in the height of spring or summer (both seasonally and the characters' lives) to washed out, sallow paleness in moments of isolation, or inky-dark depths of despair. With quite a truncated runtime and not a great deal of space for narrative development beyond the initial setup, getting repeatedly blasted with operatic crescendos, maximalist visual splendour, and scenes of cute dogs in peril can occasionally mean the melodrama crosses over just slightly into mawkishness. It could go beyond leaning on the aesthetics of the games that inspire it and attempt to engage with their themes - of Ghibli's parables on industrialisation or coming-of-age or war; or Team Ico's obsession with movement, sentience and natural harmony - with greater sophistication or nuance.
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