Nevais a platformer by Nomada Studio that tells the story of a young titular wolf, who is joined by the PC Alba. Players watch Neva grow from a young cub to a capable companion in a dying and decaying world. Although all games can be seen as works of art,Nevaand its predecessorGrishave pushed that aspect for Devolver Digital’s portfolio. This also, understandably, means drawing inspiration from other games, facets of popular culture, literature, paintings, and more. While some ofNeva’s influences might look more apparent, such as Studio Ghibli’sPrincess Mononokewith its wolves and forest threat, others might be somewhat more surprising or subtle like Michael Ende’s 1979 novelThe NeverEnding Storyand 2016’s action-adventure gameThe Last Guardian.
In an interview with Game Rant,Neva’s lead producer Roger Mendoza spoke about howPrincess Mononoke,The NeverEnding Story,andThe Last Guardianspecifically inspired the upcoming game.
How Princess Mononoke And Michael Ende’s The NeverEnding Story Inspired Neva
At a glance,NevaandPrincess Mononokehave some obvious similarities with their wolf characters. Mendoza also acknowledged the similarities between some ofNeva’s enemies andSpirited Away’s No Face, but spoke Mononokeas a particular inspiration, with Mendoza andNevacreative director Conrad Roset both being big fans. Specifically, Mendoza saidNevahas “hints to Mononoke” referring to what happens to the forest.
While most might remember the1984 movieThe NeverEnding Storywhich was somewhat based on Ende’s novel, it was the latter that inspiredNevaand, specifically, its depiction of The Nothing as an indeterminate force that ravages the world. Mendoza went on to explain how Roset was inspired by the concept of The Nothing inNeva,which similarly doesn’t specify what its enemies are as something for players to unravel themselves:
He really liked this idea of, as you said, The Nothing, of this presence that is everywhere, but it’s not super specific. That is something that we wanted to do withNevain the sense that we’re not telling what’s happening or where things are coming from, necessarily. It’s more of you trying to see that the world is dying, and you’ll have to face your fears.
How The Last Guardian Inspired Neva
Mendoza also explained howGenDesign and Japan Studio’sThe Last GuardianinfluencedNeva, which has some obvious points of comparison because of the former’s young protagonist’s bond with Trico. As Mendoza explained,
Again, just to give an illustration from games, we looked a lot atLast Guardian, which is also taking care of and raising someone. It’s a game we really love, and it was a good foundation for building that role. It was a good place to start and see what they did and attempt to take the best things around that and do it our way.
WhileThe Last Guardianhad its problems for some players from a technical standpoint, it is widely considered a beautiful portrayal of friendship. Of course,Nevahad other influences, like the paintings of Claude Monet, for its backgrounds. It will be interesting to see howNevabrings together its various inspirations into its own signature design and how that influences the evolvingparent-child relationshipbetween Alba and Neva. Either way, it’s a game that looks to be every bit as an emotional and beautiful journey asGris.
