Neversong – Review (PC)
Neversong is an equal parts charming and twisted side scrolling metroidvania from developer Thomas Brush and Atmos Games. Taking place in a world immediately reminiscent of Tim Burton and his gothic fantasy films, this game will quickly grab your attention as you try to wrap your head around exactly what you’re playing. We had a chance to check out the game before its PC release to see if it can deliver an enjoyable experience wrapped in a twisted and emotional package.
Neversong sets up as a somber and emotional journey about loss, regret, and hope. Our protagonist is a young boy named Peet – an orphan whose sole possession is a tender friendship with his only companion Wren. Our pair are inseparable and share a sibling like bond – Wren acting as the older as she teaches Peet to read and play the piano. But one day while playing outside their village, Wren is kidnapped by a strange and hideous creature – one so terrifying that the mere sight causes Peet to fall into a fear induced coma.
Peet’s journey sees him try to collect both the courage and tools needed to track down this mysterious creature and save his only friend. Peet wakes up to his village of Redwind devoid of adults and teeming with children – some confused, some scared, and some euphoric in light of their new found freedom. It seems the parents started to go missing after trying to search for Wren and her captor – who we now know as Mr. Smile. Conversations with the other children divulge clues as to where Wren and Mr. Smile may be found and what will be needed to get there. These conversations are also teeming with charm, personality, and quirky lines. You won’t want to miss a chance to speak to anyone in the world thanks to the game’s excellent and ridiculous writing.
Your time in Neversong is equally spent platforming and puzzle solving with some light combat and boss battles. Controls are quick and precise making platforming mostly enjoyable. The only traversal based annoyance came from swinging vines that need to be used throughout the world. Timing can be a bit tricky and sometimes jumps from these vines aren’t as responsive as we’d hoped. Puzzles are innovative and never too challenging with clues to their solutions creatively placed within environments. In an early part of the game, a centipede monster you need to defeat to progress must be awoken before she is slain. A conversation with the soon to be Scientist Preston reveals that there are certain scents that are likely to elevate the centipede’s heart rate. Another child in the village named Simeon suffers from a disorder that causes him to inflate into a giant ball. By rolling Simeon through certain areas of the dungeon, he will pick up those particular scents and act as the catalyst to wake the centipede. If it sounds bizarre and ridiculous, that’s because it absolutely is. But there is so much charm in these oddities and the inventive puzzles that persist from start to finish.
There are plenty of nightmare inducing enemies found in and around Redwind Village. Dispatching them is simple and reduced to quickly attacking with a bat – your lone weapon. A ballad is rewarded to Peet after successfully slaying each of the games bosses. These songs can be played on the piano at Wren’s house and unlock new tools for Peet to use. These items must be used to access previously unreachable areas. A skateboard is used to rapidly zip along curved surfaces and propel Peet to high ledges . A pair of special gloves allow Peet to latch on to vines that can be swung from and cut down to use as bombs. There isn’t a huge amount of new tools to unlock as you progress. But the items you do receive each get an equal and healthy amount of use and possess the same level of ingenuity as the puzzles. You can also collect cards found hidden throughout Redwind and the village’s outskirts. Some of the cards can be equipped to change Peet’s outfit while others provide bits of lore and character details.
Typically not one to gravitate to the more somber and emotional themed games, I was genuinely surprised with how much enjoyment I got out of Neversong. The game perfectly balances its emotional undertones with excellent pacing, a vastly interesting world, and clever puzzle design. It takes a seriously well crafted and engrossing game to make you laugh out loud, feel uncomfortable, and scratch your head all within a short period of time. Neversong was difficult to put down but comes easy to recommend to anyone looking some something a bit familiar in its gameplay, but vastly different in its personality.
Neversong launches on Steam on Wednesday May 20th, 2020.
*Neversong was given to the reviewer by the publishing company but this fact did not alter the reviewer’s opinion*
