Never Alone immerses you in a world that will probably feel more foreign than any of the fantasy lands created in most video games. It does so by marrying a wonderful and beautiful art style with ever so brief documentary insights, ensuring that hours go by in interest and fascination. The game is not without its problems, however, namely the slightly frustrating gameplay of the first half and the times of very frustrating gameplay in the second half, but overall it is an enjoyable game, best played in one sitting on a cold Sunday afternoon.
Nuna is a young Iñupiat girl who is rescued by an arctic fox during a blizzard in the vast tundra of frozen Alaska. When she returns to her village, she finds that a terrible man has terrorized the people and lay waste to many of the homes. She is given a task to fulfil by an old man and this sets off a chain of events that plays out the rest of the game.
You play as both Nuna and the fox, with the change of character happening at the press of a button. As both characters have different capabilities (the fox is more agile and Nuna has… thumbs), you will find yourself constantly having to switch. But this never becomes tiresome and in the end feels as natural as pulling off a combo in a fighting game. A typical early scene would involve the fox scurrying up a ledge so that he can push down a rope for Nuna to climb. It has the feel ofBrothers: A Tale of Two Sons. But unlike Brothers, Never Alone can be played as a co-op experience – one playing as Nuna and one as the fox.
Never Alone looks fantastic. It has a couple of different art styles – most cut scenes are shown in an almost aboriginal style of drawing, while the gameplay has a cartoonish look to it. Both feel well-suited to the action on the screen and both are pleasing to look at. The game is framed by a circle of haze that gives the action an almost dream-like quality. The lighting and snow effects make you feel warm and cold in equal measures. All in all, the game does its best to attract you.
And for the most part that initial attraction rings true with your overall impression of the game. The first half is fun and the different roles of the two characters ensure that there is always something interesting to be doing on screen. However, the game suffers slightly from the Assassin’s Creed disease – sticking on ledges. This can be slightly frustrating, especially when you are platforming with fine margins. Furthermore, if you are playing alone (never say ‘never), the character controlled by the AI can decide to do some silly things… like walk off a platform. You are never punished very much for dying, but these things can annoy none the less.
It’s the second half of the game where the gameplay becomes slightly more problematic. The sticky platforming persists, but the silly decision making of the AI is replaced when the fox takes on a different form. Now the mechanic involves the fox being able to manipulate certain things on the map and push and pull Nuna in certain directions. The fun of these mechanics is very short-lived and there is a stage or two late on that feels like a battle of attrition. The energy and momentum of the first half of the game grinds to a halt and the overall experience suffers for it. As the platforming difficulty intensifies you will find yourself unsure of where you are to go and what constitutes as a platform. This will lead to a lot of dying.
Small owls in the game represent that you have unlocked a ‘Cultural Insight’, essentially a tiny documentary on the indigenous people of Alaska. These supplement the game fantastically and can be enjoyed either as you go along or saved up and watched at the end. I chose to watch them as I went along because I felt that they broke up the gameplay quite well and I realized that I was looking forward to seeing the next one. It’s an interesting technique from the developers and gives you a much better handle on the world you are visiting.
Never Alone is a good game with a unique setting, art style, story and presentation. And although the gameplay just doesn’t have the polish to put it up there alongside a game like Brothers, it doesn’t stop it from being enjoyable and well worth experiencing.
This review was dedicated to SovietsUnited
Log in to comment