Summary
Summer Game Fest 2024 introduced audiences to Nomada Studios' next game,Neva. The developer ofGris, considered one of the bestindie gameswith a high-painted art style, is looking to take what made its hit game work and take it further with new mechanics, a touching story, and an even more beautiful world. While the game’s release and other details aren’t set in stone, its current content shows that it is reusing and modifying the formula that made its predecessor successful.
Neva’s official gameplay trailerwas released on the 8th of June 2024 and showed that the game, while looking similar toGris, has a lot of things to make it a unique experience. Nomada Studios' next entry in the gaming industry will revolve around a woman named Alba and a wolf pup, with the two working and traveling together to save the pup’s mother from the dark forces that took her. While there isn’t much information to confirm what the game entails, what’s presented shows that it will be a narrative-driven platformer with mechanics not present in the developer’s previous game. If executed well,Nevacould look to see success similar toGrisand maybe take itself a step further.
How Neva Looks to Improve on Gris’ Formula
Given thatNevalooks to carry onGris' legacy, several things should show that the game is doing so. Fortunately, the content in its official trailer displays the promise of the developer’s formula being improved in ways that players can look forward to. With what’s currently known aboutNeva, here’s how it intends to reach greater heights:
Implementing all of this intoNevameans that Nomada Studios must ensure it meshes well with the formula it intends to reuse and improve. Considering the game has no promised release date, the developer can use the time to work on interlocking the combat mechanics, art style, and environments to create a seamless and emotional journey. WithGrisreaching an impressive milestone in salesand being well-received by its players, there’s a good chance that theNevacould do just as well or even better if everything it intends to introduce or reuse is properly developed and executed.
What Neva Shouldn’t Do
Those who have juststarted playingGrisor completed it will realize that the game’s beauty revolves around its simplicity. Its platforming and puzzle-solving are kept simple for players to immerse themselves in the deep story being told.Nevaseems to have an emotional plot it wants to share, but it won’t be able to do so well if it’s too difficult. With the game having combat, it needs to ensure that it’s not too hard that players can’t progress, but also not too easy that it would make fighting seem pointless. LikeGris,Nevashould have the right balance of simplicity and engagement, so that everyone isn’t hindered from witnessing and enjoying the progression of the plot.
Another thing the developer shouldn’t do with the combat is to give it a complex system. Players will not be able to appreciate agame with an amazing hand-painted art styleand story if they’re too focused on improving their protagonist to become a lethal warrior. If the game has to have any skills and upgrades, they should be kept as simple as possible. Having players obtain them automatically after reaching a certain point in the plot keeps things going and can help ensure they aren’t broken from being immersed in the narrative.
Nevamay be looking to become one ofthe best hand-drawn video gamesin the industry, but it cannot just rely on the successful formula of its predecessor,Gris. While it has enough going to give it a seemingly unique identity, it still borrows things that made Nomada Studios' previous entry an indie hit. But ifNevamanages to use what it took and properly modify and add to it, then it has a chance of becoming an extraordinary title that fans will talk about for a long time.
GRIS
WHERE TO PLAY
Gris is a hopeful young girl lost in her own world, dealing with a painful experience in her life. Her journey through sorrow is manifested in her dress, which grants new abilities to better navigate her faded reality. As the story unfolds, Gris will grow emotionally and see her world in a different way, revealing new paths to explore using her new abilities.GRIS is a serene and evocative experience, free of danger, frustration or death. Players will explore a meticulously designed world brought to life with delicate art, detailed animation, and an elegant original score. Through the game light puzzles, platforming sequences, and optional skill-based challenges will reveal themselves as more of Gris’s world becomes accessible.GRIS is an experience with almost no text, only simple control reminders illustrated through universal icons. The game can be enjoyed by anyone regardless of their spoken language.
