Video Games can be considered a lot of things apart from just a means of entertainment; some argue that games are art in themselves, while others may say that games are developed with an intent, a message which is passed from the developer to the player. Few games have a real impact on the player nowadays, and fewer still have impact as strong as Never Alone.
Never Alone is not just an adventure game, it is a story first of all. It stars a little girl, Nuna, and an arctic fox who joins you after saving the girl from a polar bear’s attack. From this point on, the player may then switch between the girl and the fox by pressing a button, or also start local co-op and decide who will control which character. From there the game takes you on a journey through the Alaskan landscape, full of ice, snow and icy water in which you or the fox cannot fall, else it’s back to the checkpoint. The two characters have their own abilities which are used to help the other, for example the fox can climb ledges which the girl cannot reach, and to then roll a rope conveniently placed at the top of the ledge so as the girl can climb too. Nuna has abilities of her own too, most notably the bola, basically a slingshot which enables the destruction of ice blocking the path. It makes for a fun puzzle element amidst the core platforming of the game.
As said before, Never Alone is not just a game but is a story above all else. Journeying through the icy Alaskan levels will unlock Cultural Insights, a set of brief videos showing locals and their traditions, one at a time. Each feature focuses on an aspect of the Inupiat, the natives of Alaska. The features are unlocked when you encounter a similarity in the game, for example after bonding with the arctic fox, a video explaining how Inupiat view these animals is unlocked. These insights, apart from teaching the culture of the people, tie the game nicely and also give a background setting to the events of the game.
One of the core gameplay and story aspects of the game are the legends of spirits among the Inupiat. As explained in one of these insights, the people of the region have a spiritual relationship with the weather, which they call SiỊa. SiỊa has a soul just like human beings, and is able to show itself through various manifestation, the most common of which being a spirit animal such as a bird, which shows the way forward, or an antler which helps you in difficult parts by boosting you upwards towards a cliff. This physical manifestation is one of the main features of the game, since at certain points in the level, when either one of Nuna or the fox cannot make it through, these animals appear and aid your progress.
Among all the puzzles which you encounter in Never Alone, one notes how these spirits which come to aid you are linked more to the fox than to the girl. This further shows how united nature is, and how the developers wanted to capture the feeling which dominates the tribe of the Inupiat. To make the player delve more into the experience, the narratives during cutscenes are acted out by a member of the Inupiat, and subtitled in English. In the beginning of each level, there are quotes from Robert Nasruk Cleveland, who was the first recorded one to tell the story, and whose daughter aided the developers in creating Never Alone.
The game is based on an Inupiaq story known as Kunuuksaayuka, which was also known as Nasruk’s story since he was the one who “owned” it. Kunuuksaayuka originally features a boy, but it was thought that there were too few girl role models in video games and thus went for the decision to put a girl in the game, while leaving the rest of the story unchanged. The design decision paid off, since the girl really captures the audience in a way that a boy probably could not have, in the sense that a girl is perceived as much more fragile and thus the misfortunes happening in the game will have an impact on her, while a boy is seen as more resistant, and let the events pass him by without any fuss.
Never Alone is one of the few games out there which combine a living culture and a neat little platformer. Its puzzles are fair while not being easy, and the sections which you need to maximise each character’s abilities shine in a game which does a very good job on its own. Do not be fooled by the environment; for a game located in such a cold setting, it really warms the hearts of any who play it.
Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.
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