DeVuego

Neva ultimately feels at odds with itself, trying to be too much at once. Its combat and platforming are competent, but not enough to carry the game on their own. Neva’s story seems to be reaching after pure emotional appeal and a more concrete tale at once, but landing awkwardly between them. While the sense of Alba and Neva’s connection is enchanting at first, the game loses focus on their relationship as it wears on. Even its stunning art — the best part of Neva by far — is stuck halfway between some of the most gorgeous depictions of nature I’ve ever seen in a game and less successful dives into surreal yet sparse environments. Maybe I’m being cold-hearted, but even its adorable wolf cub couldn’t keep me interested for long. Neva has its moments when everything briefly clicks, but in the end it takes a half-step in too many directions at once.

Creatures of Ava is a mixed bag when it comes to mechanics, but it’s a game I couldn’t stop playing once I saw the beauty under its surface. The world of Ava is one of the most compelling environments I’ve explored in a video game in some time, and its subversion of worn-out story tropes is nothing short of brilliant. Where most games make playing the hero about laying waste to your enemies, Creatures of Ava provides a needed counterpoint by showing that you can’t always be the hero, and not every story even needs one.