Farming RPGs have by no means been extra en vogue, with a complete new wave of indie farming life-sims cresting off the success of Stardew Valley and the revitalization of the Story of Seasons collection. Whereas many of those titles iterate on that commonplace farming RPG method first established by Harvest Moon and Rune Manufacturing facility, a handful of titles have branched out into much more esoteric genres, like horror. Though Neverway is just not the one pending entry into the newly established farming RPG/horror subgenre (each Grave Seasons and Village within the Shade had been just lately introduced), it’s the first of those mashups to catch my eye when it was introduced final summer season. I had the (mis?)fortune of enjoying a prologue demo courtesy of developer Coldblood, Inc., and though I solely skilled a brief section of the sport, what I performed left me intrigued by the darkish, oppressive world of Neverway.
The demo begins with protagonist Fiona in her bathtub, reflecting on how a lot her life has gone awry and fantasizing about leaving her unfulfilling life behind for a contemporary begin in a brand new place. Her depression-fueled musings are abruptly interrupted by a knock on the door; yet one more meals supply is ready for her since she will be able to’t carry herself to depart the home. A look at Fiona’s laptop reveals a pile of unread emails, most of that are from her job, notifying her that repeated absences usually are not tolerated and that she’s been terminated. In stark distinction to the chilly, impersonal admonitions of her former employer’s human assets division are a pair of emails from somebody near her, maybe a buddy or lover, reminding her she left her hoodie at their place and might come choose it up at any time when. Fiona is clearly somebody scuffling with melancholy, the final remnants of stability in her life slipping by her fingers.
The final electronic mail is the least private however maybe probably the most curious, a spam electronic mail from an insurance coverage firm advising residents how to reply to a Misplace, an unexplained anomalous occasion. Turning on the TV to look at the information report contradicts this warning, stating that there haven’t been any stories of Misplace occasions in six months. Even from these preliminary moments, unease begins to set in concerning the state of the world Fiona inhabits. What’s a Misplace, and why would an insurance coverage firm warn individuals if the authorities have the state of affairs beneath management? It brings to thoughts our personal authorities’s denial of local weather change impacts, all whereas insurance coverage corporations drop purchasers in droves from floodplains and fire-prone areas: these in energy could try deception to take care of stability and forestall panic, however the market reacts to the fabric actuality all the identical. This consideration to element within the worldbuilding lends Neverway authenticity whereas additionally establishing the underlying hazard. One thing sinister is brewing, even when Fiona is simply too trapped in her cycle of melancholy to acknowledge it.
The specter of having her belongings thrown away in that final HR electronic mail serves as sufficient motivation for Fiona to lastly courageous the journey out of her condominium and into the dirty metropolis exterior her constructing. That is the place the pixel artwork of Pedro Medeiros (of Celeste fame) actually soars. Though character sprites are rendered with squat, chibi proportions, the environments are lovingly crafted with good visible prospers just like the reflective, transferring surfaces of the puddles Fiona passes by, or the graceful animations because the subway practice eases to a cease. Fiona makes it to her workplace, retrieves her discarded belongings, then heads again to the subway platform to return dwelling.
That is the place issues actually begin to get bizarre, as each time the practice passes by a tunnel, encased in darkness, shadowy figures encompass the one different occupant. She asks Fiona if she will be able to see them too, then wanders off to the following practice automotive. Following her, a trippy visible sequence begins through which the practice vehicles slowly break down, transitioning from mechanical to natural. The opposite passenger jumps right into a cavernous abyss, and a large eyeball emerges, its shadowy tendrils reaching out to seize maintain of Fiona till she wakes up, again in her condominium. The buddy who was emailing her is at her door and returns her hoodie. The second is thick with rigidity, proof of the deep historical past between the 2. This particular person is Fiona’s associate, although they gently try to finish issues earlier than Fiona storms off and slams the door of their face as they attempt to end this breakup dialog. We lower to Fiona on a ship, this final little bit of rejection the ultimate push she wants to depart her previous life behind and begin anew.
She steps off the boat and, after a short interplay with the guard on the city gate, she arrives at her new dwelling. Exhausted, she passes out, and the second demo section begins. All of the sudden, Fiona is thrust into a pc simulation that serves as a tutorial for Neverway’s mechanics. Fight consists of a easy three-hit combo and a splash transfer, with each choices affecting her stamina bar. That stamina is similar nicely of power she should draw from to finish farming chores and crafting duties, so the simulation introduces Fiona to farming and crafting fundamentals as she fends off enemies and interacts together with her digital companion, Fang.
There are a number of distinctive wrinkles to fight in Neverway, such because the Soulbound means that leaves behind a hologram of Fang when Fiona dashes. This apparition strikes in a radius after a number of seconds, permitting Fiona to get a number of further hits in whereas dodging. The simulation additionally introduces a fight and traversal device within the type of the hookshot, which may help in transferring throughout gaps and pulling enemies inside vary of Fiona’s sword strikes. I used to be happy to see indications of depth within the fight system, suggesting that Neverway can keep away from the simplistic doldrums of Stardew Valley’s superfluous fight.
Gathering and crafting operate most equally to the Rune Manufacturing facility collection, with every motion drawing from Fiona’s restricted stamina pool and contributing expertise factors to particular person ability ranges, reminiscent of trade or scavenging. Sadly, I wasn’t in a position to absolutely expertise the day-to-day gameplay loop within the demo; the menu does present a calendar system and the passage of time by three main phases (morning, afternoon, and night), so the move of day-by-day scheduling and time administration needs to be acquainted to anybody with farming RPG or life-sim expertise.
After an hour with Neverway, I’m desperate to play extra. Though the demo doesn’t absolutely convey what the core gameplay loop will probably be like, it does showcase the sport’s distinctive promoting factors: an oppressive horror environment backed by lush pixel artwork visuals and a sturdy fight system. I do marvel if the repetition inherent to the life-sim style will undermine the strain and unease integral to a very good horror expertise. For now, I stay cautiously optimistic that Neverway will probably be a scary good time when it releases on Steam and Nintendo Swap later this yr.
