“In the narrative of Gris, there was no space for death.”
Neva
I experience games differently now that I am a parent.
In short, I have become a protector.
It is a role I do not take lightly.
Rather, she is joined by a young wolf companion.
The studio hopes players will, too.
I went hands-on with Neva during an event in Barcelona last week.
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.
“The narrative has a lot to do with the fact I just became a father.
I wanted to explain a story where you could see this changing role.”
Eventually, Alba will come to rely on her child to help her through the world.
“I have my children, and I have my parents.
Despite players controlling the ‘parent’ throughout, Nomada still considers Neva the game’s main character.
“You don’t unlock any new abilities as Alba,” Mendoza explained.
“It is actually Neva who, by growing, brings you new gameplay elements.”
“And that is what we are trying to show at the beginning of Neva.
This is unlike Gris, which had no violence and no fail state.
She can also recoup some health by striking her enemies with her sword while avoiding getting hit herself.
“It was one of the main concerns we had when designing the game,” Cuevas told me.
It is not an easy game, but it’s not a hard game.
It is not that punishing in general.”
So, narratively, combat fits very well.
Also, as a studio, we wanted to try something new.”
Meanwhile, Alba deals more damage to her enemies and will have some assistance with the likes of jumps.
“We hate people to get frustrated if they don’t want to feel frustrated,” Cuevas smiled.
And that is fine, it is a valid opinion," he said.
“But, Neva brings more things to the table.”
So, what exactly are the enemies Alba and Neva fight?
“you’re free to understand [the enemy] as a metaphor for whatever you want.
“We don’t want to besuperspecific about what the monsters are,” Medoza furthered.
“We want people to make their own connections.”
My time with Neva was over too quickly.
Even though Neva isn’t out yet, the team already has plans for its next project.
Studio Nomada is keeping the details close to its chest for now, though.
“I want to rest and spend time with my family.
I have just become a father for a second time,” Roset said proudly.
“I already have ideas for another project, but for now, I am taking it easy.”
This article is based on a press event in Barcelona, for whichDevolver Digitalprovided travel and accomodation.
