“What should we have for lunch?”
“Pizza or Chinese?”
“We had pizza two days ago, let’s go with Chinese.”
“Is that noodle place open yet?”
“I think they open at 12:30.”
“Okay, one more hour and we order food.”
Never Alone, or Kisima Inŋitchuŋa which translates to “I Am Not Alone“, is a light puzzle-platformer videogame based on a traditional Iñupiaq tale called Kunuuksaayuka.
I am not familiar with the original tale, but in the game, a little girl called Nuna and her arctic fox friend set out to save their village from a constant devastating blizzard. They have to get through all sorts of difficulties to reach the source of the storm, like strong winds, ice caves, aurora borealis spirits, and an evil arsonist.
The gameplay is pretty standard for a side-scrolling platformer, you have two characters with different abilities, and need to combine them to overcome some very light puzzles. The fox can scramble up walls and throw down ropes for the girl, and the girl can destroy huge icicles to clear the way.
You can play the game alone, switching between Nuna and her fox, or as a couch co-op game for two players, each of you controlling one of the characters.
Based on the brief introduction it is clear that writing this review is a bit of a struggle since the game is fairly short and the gameplay doesn’t evolve much. With platformers, you usually get new abilities and can create new combos as the game progresses, but Never Alone has very limited variability.
You could consider this game educational because it does provide a lot of insight into Iñupiaq culture through unlockable short videos. I am going to let everyone decide for themselves how much value does that add for them, I am going to review Never Alone as a videogame, because even educational games have to be able to stand on their own.
The Good
The game has a unique look and atmosphere, mainly due to the non-mainstream and lesser-known Iñupiaq motives. The game is full of weird and beautiful spirits, traditional drawings, and all the narration is done in Iñupiaq.
The story takes place in the tundra, so the environment is mostly snow and ice, but the developers managed to make the levels distinguishable and get the most out of the setting.
The arctic fox is really cute, its whole demeanour is very endearing.
This game is designed for two players, which is fairly rare, so kudos for that.
And I think that is about it for the good stuff.
The Bad
Probably the main issue with the game is that the fox is just sort of there. It isn’t really established why does it care about the village or the girl, so it feels a bit out of place. The fox changes during the course of the game, but that just makes its motivation and the overall purpose more confusing.
The controls are also quite annoying and clunky. I still don’t fully understand which button lets me get out of the water, but if I just smash all of them it happens after a while.
The game has some mechanics that seem interesting at first but quickly become cumbersome. For example, some of the levels have this strong winds that push you back and you have to lie down when they come. It is fine the first time and maybe up until the fifth time, but the twentieth time it feels like a chore and padding for runtime.
One of the levels also features a mini-boss battle, where the fight itself is difficult due to clunky controls, and it doesn’t have much to do with the overall story. It feels very out of place.
The puzzles are very boring and unimaginative, I can barely call them puzzles, to be honest. You really can’t compare it to something like Degrees of Separation or Unravel. Mostly you just have to move a box with the girl, get the fox to jump up high and throw down a rope, and you are good to go.
The Co-Op
The co-op setup is pretty standard, you need to combo your skills to get through the obstacles, but as mentioned above, it is not a challenge, you don’t have to figure out the solution together or anything.
It is possible to play the game alone as well, and you can sort of feel it during the game, you have to spend a lot of time waiting for each other.
Oh, and the game restarts from the previous checkpoint if one of you dies, and you will die a lot due to clunky controls, so that is really annoying.
The Recommendation
The game is pretty mediocre, it is fine entertainment for a lazy afternoon, but there isn’t much more to it. If you want a good co-op puzzle game, try Degrees of Separation. If you have played all the famous games and have £12 to spare, give Never Alone a shot. It’s not great, not terrible.
Info
| Release Year | 2014 |
| Genre | Platformer |
| Difficulty | Easy |
| Number of Players | 1 to 2 |
| Length | 3 hours |
Rating
| Overall | Mediocre |
| Story | Bad |
| Co-Operation | Bad |