Never Alone: Arctic Collection

Genre: Puzzle-Platformer

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local)

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Review:

Never Alone, sometimes referred to by its Iñupiat language title Kisima Ingitchuna, is a Puzzle-Platformer originally released in 2014 on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, ported to PlayStation 3 and Wii U in 2015, then re-released in an “Arctic Collection” in 2015 on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One with the game’s DLC expansion Foxtales included. This comprehensive version of the game was later ported to Nintendo Switch in 2022. This game follows a mythical story of an indigenous Northern Alaskan Iñupiat girl who sets out with a white arctic fox companion in search of the source of a blizzard threatening her people, as well as the man who attacked her village.

The presentation here is quite good, with detailed but slightly-cartoony character designs for the game’s 3D characters, and a detailed snowy environment alive with wind. I feel like this presentation is undermined somewhat by the 2D appearance of “spirits” that players must occasionally use as platforms, but otherwise this game looks great. These visuals are backed by an old man’s narration in Iñupiat (subtitled in English), while the characters in the game are also voiced, either speaking in Iñupiat or incomprehensively. For the most part, this works well enough, though the main character’s reactions to new situations seem a bit over-the-top.

As for the gameplay, this game has all the elements of a solid two-character asymmetrical Puzzle-Platformer, with the girl being able to throw a bola and push and pull objects in the environment, and the fox being able to climb walls and interact with spirits. There are some unique and interesting gameplay elements here too, such as the wind being such a major element of the game that there’s a dedicated “brace” button to keep from being blown away.

Unfortunately, one major problem undermines all the good this game does – the controls. The game’s controls are sluggish and at times outright unresponsive. I’ve died in numerous attempted jumps where I pressed the button and nothing happened. The bola controls are also unwieldy and frequently don’t act properly. If you want one character to stay put while you move the other, you’ll find your intentions frustrated when you deliberately move them to a spot only to have them leave it as soon as you swap characters. And just in general the game seems to lack polish, with platforms and characters who don’t act as they should.

In a Puzzle-Platformer, to have the Platforming be as broken as this really harms Never Alone, and it’s a shame because there’s a lot of good elements here that are wasted due to this flawed gameplay. If you’re curious about Iñupiat culture, you may be able to find the patience to put up with this game’s flaws, but most players are better off skipping it.

tl;dr – Never Alone is a Puzzle-Platformer where players play as a young indigenous Northern Alaskan Iñupiat girl who sets out with a white arctic fox companion in search of the source of a blizzard threatening her people. The presentation and cultural elements of this game are very good, but this is largely ruined by gameplay with terrible, unreliable controls, as well as multiple other issues that make this game far too frustrating to play. Unless you’re extremely enthusiastic about the topic matter, skip this one.

Grade: C-

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