We Are Eva Will Have You Picking A New Favorite Color 

Indie games are widely considered the gems of the gaming industry, mainly because in comparison to AAA projects, indies push to be different and creative since they often aren’t plagued by corporate influences. Ukrainian developer Totally Normal Creature’s 2D platforming game We Are Eva may just be the latest inductee into the category of indie gems, especially if you’re a big fan of platformers.

By chance, if you aren’t, well then, it’s a completely different story.

We Are Eva is what you’d call a “Dimensional Platformer“, a term the developers coined themselves, and that’s actually an accurate description of the game.

It’s a neat concept, but does it fare well enough for you to consider buying the game? Find out in my We Are Eva review below.

We Are Eva Is A Dimensionally Swell Adventure

In We Are Eva, you take control of Eva, the titular protagonist. She’s a jolly character with awesome dialog. The game frequently breaks the 4th wall, so Eva might feel like a sentient being from time to time.

The writing was so good in fact that the game was more like me and Eva were on an adventure than me thinking I’m playing the game as Eva herself.

Great character, but let’s move on to the gameplay.

We Are Eva is divided into 116 levels, out of which 5 serve as the tutorial. In every level, two dimensions are overlapping one another and each of them has a unique color and gameplay mechanic.

Eva’s color changes depending on which dimension you’re in, and you can switch between dimensions with a press of the designated button. 

The green dimension for example is the basic variant where you can double jump, and grab onto walls to maneuver yourself.

Purple, on the other hand, has inverted left/right movement, and the red dimension has limited visibility, which made me wish I had the Alan Wake torchlight.

To progress, you’ll have to close at least one of the two Dimensional Gaps present in the current level to continue. Closing the Gaps is simple, you just have to touch them. The tough part is actually getting to those gaps, as you would expect.

A Brutal Experience With A Knack For Getting You Killed

There are many platforms on each level, but half of them are alternately color coated. If you’re in the green dimension you’ll be able to see the orange platforms, but you won’t be able to climb, stand, or interact with them in any way unless you switch dimensions.

The Dimensional Gaps are placed in tricky spots, so with each passing level reaching them gets more and more difficult. Closing both Gaps in a level is extremely difficult, but We Are Eva doesn’t punish you for not doing so.

You’ll have to double jump, switch dimensions mid-air, dodge enemies, and grab onto ledges, while simultaneously keeping in mind the different control schemes.

Oh, and the levels are “dynamic and changing”, meaning each time you die, the level changes up a bit with the platform locations. 

As for how you die, touching either the screen borders by falling or getting killed by mobs or traps does the trick. To put it simply: We Are Eva is a damn hard game, but that’s what makes it enjoyable.

Amazing Music And Mind-boggling Traversal

As per the creators, We Are Eva is inspired by Celeste, which I assure you is true as both games have snappy music and require you to possess great button-mashing skills. The game design is great as well. Each dimension has its own different animation, music, and mechanics, although they get a bit tiresome near the end of the game. 

The level arrangement is very creative too, so props to the developers for designing levels that can be solved in multiple ways. Overall, it’s a well-tailored experience and one you’ll enjoy if platforming is among your favorite genres.

We Are Eva Stands Out But Is Too Fixated On A Single Aspect

Dead Cells, Celeste, and Hollow Knight are all amazing platformers, and each of them packs something unique, but above all else, in the pursuit of polishing what makes them different, they also bring innovation in every little thing. We Are Eva, however, isn’t up to par in that regard. I’m not sure how much time they spent perfecting the Dimensional travel, but I feel the game lacks creativity beyond that feature, like at all.

The story never builds to the bigger why. I get that you can’t do many things as there are massive limitations, but if halfway through the game the player has no clue about what’s responsible for causing the current events, and who are they even chasing, then that’s a very bad job at giving the player a sense of purpose, which is something you always need and We Are Eva doesn’t do that in the slightest. 

The writing was extremely good, there’s heart put into it, but it gets stale, primarily because Eva’s the only one doing the talking. There aren’t any NPCs in the game (at all) and that’s a big disappointment as lore-building would make We Are Eva ten times better. After the first 50 levels, the remainder of the game is harder for sure, but don’t expect to see anything new except a couple of more, you guessed it, Dimensions. Granted, We Are Eva succeeds in what it wants to be: a spectacular platformer. But it doesn’t go beyond that, plain and simple. 

Is We Are Eva Worth The Purchase?

It’ll take you about 2 to 6 hours to beat the game depending upon your playstyle. We Are Eva will launch at the price tag of $14.99 which is a decent price point.

The game is fun but relatively short and has little to no replay value unless you’re a speedrunner or want to do some personal challenges.

Otherwise, that price tag may feel steep.

The bottom line is: We Are Eva does a lot of things brilliantly, but prioritizes its standout feature more, and resultantly, shakes up the foundation for what makes games great; the story, lore, characters, and purpose.

We Are Eva is still a giant step in the right direction for the developer, and I can’t wait to see what they make next.

An Ambitious Platformer That’ll Make You Rage, Euphoric, And At Times, Exhausted

We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to Totally Normal Creature for providing us with a review key. This has enabled us to comprehensively experience and review ‘We Are Eva‘. Rest assured, this generous act has in no way influenced the objectivity and impartiality of our analysis. Thank you!