At first, when I saw the trailer, the idea of them turning GRIS into a game with combat felt a bit odd to me. I thought they had run out of original ideas and simply decided to shift from a platformer to a soulslike.
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3366915984
But in reality, they pulled it off, and quite well.
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3364594941
It’s just as short, just as beautiful, but now you'll die during fights. The combat is very minimalist, but it feels like more wasn't really needed for a game of this length. There aren't many enemies, but there are enough.
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3369079586
Overall, I think the game is on par with GRIS. Sure, it doesn't surprise you with its beauty like the first one did, as it borrows heavily from it (including asset reuse), but the result is very, very good.

Story

From the onset, Neva is a tearjerker. Its opening moments introduce the protagonist, Alba, a warrior traveling alongside a mighty white wolf and her pup, Neva. Traveling through the forest’s splendor, their peace is broken as a bird falls from the sky, tainted by a black inklike corruption. Quickly, the corruption spreads, taking corporeal shape and overpowering Alba and her wolf. In the end, the wolf is slain, leaving Alba comfort and care for Neva. Together, they’re what remains of the family. The game itself is both highly accessible and deeply affecting, there wasn’t a single moment during my playthrough where I was more than a beat away from sobbing; the game’s six to seven-hour runtime is an emotionally exhausting journey seen mostly through watery eyes. But the story is a hopeful one, although heavy on melancholy. As Neva comes into her own, she begins to accomplish more and more, making Alba feel less useful or needed. Neva’s going to grow up one way or another, maybe even becoming a parent of her own, will the time come to let her go ?
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3364116555
Gameplay

While the gameplay is not particularly complex and overly challenging, it is pretty fun for what it is, its balance of exploration and simple combat makes it perfect for fans of narrative-driven games over long, grind-heavy experiences. Overall, the gameplay is solid, if shallow. Combat is methodical, centering on properly timed dodges and the right balance of siccing Neva on foes while attacking with Alba. Missteps can be costly, but there’s little penalty to dying as combat sequences will simply start over. Big enemies and bosses aside, there’s only a handful of monster types and the game has a slow build toward any kind of real difficulty. Its gameplay is tight, but simple. Its puzzles are inventive but not overly complex.
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3362822856
Visuals & Soundtrack

Neva is a game of profound beauty. Its minimalist art design is portrait-like, with soft lines and vibrant color imbuing its increasingly fantastical world with a cozy hue. Whereas GRIS resembled an illustrated sketch jumped off the page, Neva feels like a dreamlike take on an oil painting. This work of art is a clear inspiration — it all feels very familiar to Ghibli's Princess Mononoke, both in terms of story and sublime visuals. The game’s soundtrack is heavy on somber piano melodies but ratchets up into stranger, more haunting places as the story goes deeper into dreamlike territory. There’re also multiple instances where the game, which despite never feeling truly small, goes very big with soaring operatic tones for huge chase scenes and boss battles. These moments are infrequent, but well-earned, narratively and emotionally.
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3364116424
Mechanics

Straightforward hacking & slashing feels nice and responsive and I was surprised by how challenging it could be at times. Platforming, specifically puzzle platforming is a slightly more significant part of the Neva formula. Each level introduces compelling twists to the game's central mechanics, which keeps jumping from box to box interesting despite rudimentary locomotion abilities. Solving each platforming puzzle won't require too much effort, but this might warrant a slightly greater demerit than the simplicity of the combat. There were times when it felt like Neva was holding back, not stretching each level's new mechanics beyond their logical conclusion. The most interesting level-based platformers tend to go this extra mile, so it's a bit disappointing that Neva spends so little time with such promising ideas.

Verdict

All told, Neva is one of the games that enchants you with its stunning visuals and touching story, rarely do games move me to tears but this tale of a woman rearing her cub in a world plagued by demons had a deep emotional effect. A very special platformer that everyone should get to experience in my opinion, especially if you enjoyed playing GRIS. 10/10 recommended.

The game is very pretty and doesnt feel bad to control but honestly thats all it has going for it and im honestly kimda disappointed considering how excited I was for it after gris but this kind of just feels like that game's shadow or something.

where gris explores interesting themes through well thought out mechanics, this game has uninteresting combat.

where gris has cool puzzles or platforming challenges, this game has combat. (the platformings ok)

and where gris has motivation and drive..
i had a friend play this and we kept having the same conversation:
"what is my purpose??" "you walk to the right."

idk maybe its better than i make it out to be but personally im disappointed.