Tevi Preview – Cute Characters, Challenging Gameplay

Developer CreSpirit has shown they know how to deliver a great action experience with the release of Rabi-Ribi and deep storytelling, as seen in A Light in the Dark. Now, the team is blending these two skills for their newest adventure, Tevi. I was able to play through a demo to get a better understanding of what this team is putting together. Although challenging, there is an addictive Metroidvania experience to discover in this charming new title.

The demo allowed me to play through a few hours of gameplay. However, I wasn’t really briefed on the backstory of Tevi. Instead, I was thrown into a tutorial before setting off on my own while trying to piece together the narrative. There’s a grand adventure to discover across the many towns and connecting world. Further, townspeople can be interacted with to learn more about the environment.

However, given the roll-out of information, I couldn’t keep up with the various characters, who I’m assuming will be more fleshed out in the final build. So, from what I was able to gather, Tevi has two partners, Celia and Sable, who grant her access to a variety of magical-based attacks. They can take a human-like form and often appear in dialog to give their opinion on a situation or help guide Tevi’s next move.

Narrative aside, I did enjoy just how many characters there were to meet and interact with. Given the brevity of the scenes, they didn’t have time to reveal too much about their personalities, but they each made an impact on me. This could be due to the excellent character illustrations. Okay, but I’m guessing you’re not here to hear about the story elements of gameplay, but I assure you they’re there, and I’m looking forward to learning more about each character.

Now, onto the action. This game is a Metroidvania bullet hell adventure. From its early moments, it doesn’t shy away from testing your skills to chain together magic and attacks. You can switch between Celia and Sable with the press of a button to shoot range attacks and then follow up with melee attacks. The hitboxes of the enemies are very interesting. You’re able to get pretty close to enemies without taking damage, so all you need to be aware of are their attack patterns.

That said, some enemy attacks can be rather brutal the further you get. Each screen tests your skills, but there are enough customizable options to make Tevi a decent fighter. While exploring, you can use buffs and new abilities to access new areas and tie into your combat. Over time, your arsenal of attacks because relatively robust allowing you to chain together long combos and cause high amounts of damage.

However, this comes at the cost of avoiding damage. While regular enemies can be dealt with, bosses show off this game’s true bullet-hell nature. To put it simply, these encounters are tough. However, I can’t say I wasn’t having fun. I was constantly pushed to utilize the depth of options available such as buying new equipment from the store to add higher jumps and dashes. The loadout is unlocked steadily, but secrets within the map lead to additional add-ons.

Tevi is an evolution of the past releases from this team. Its high challenge pushes your understanding of the genre, contrasting with its charming and colorful design. There’s just so much to discover and detail that expands past the scope of this preview, but I feel like this is a game you should have on your radar. No worries, though; we’ll keep you updated on its development and release.

Tevi is coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam in Q3 2023.