4.5/5 ★ – MichaelROLeary's review of Neva.

Much like its predecessor Gris, Neva is a stunning, melancholic platformer that radiates emotion through its level design but this time, with simple yet meaningful combat. Nearly-silent, this game conveys what it needs you to feel so organically that it's almost instantaneous. The connection made between player and character, and thus character to Neva, is made before the opening cutscene. You know the "I've only had Arlo for a day and a half but if anything happened to him, I would kill everyone in this room and then myself" meme from Brooklyn Nine-Nine? Yeah, that, but it's a two minute opening animation. It gives you all the information you need to know, without dialogue, for you to snap into the experience wholeheartedly. A lot of games, if you say the platforming is "floaty," that's oft a negative. But not here. Movement is flowy and elegant, as if you're guiding a light weight wrapped in tulle. There's no heaviness forcing precision in jumps and dashes, it's more like you're a dancer and your motions have a tail. Combine that with combat where fencing has a hint of swashbuckling swordsmanship, plus a thrilling dodge that's just barely longer than most enemies can reach, and you've got something that controls as beautifully as it looks. And the way it looks truly is beautiful. The style in Gris, from design work to the understand of color and how they can make you feel, it was unmatched in 2018. Neva is equal to if not surpasses how impressive Gris looked. The presentations tied into the narratives being told in these two games puts me in the position to say I believe no one makes games that are as beautiful alluring as Nómada Studio. They simply understand the correlation between style and story to make something beyond appealing, that draws you in with every sense it can reach. There's enough vagueness to take what you will from this game and its Princess Mononoke-meets-Bambi vibes but it's clear parenthood was a main theme in its creation. Helping your child grow and flourish sending them off into the world, dealing with life as an empty nest. It's a beautifully told tale about that love, and the healing it can do.