Never Alone (PlayStation 4) Review

By Sandy Kirchner-Wilson 25.11.2014

Review for Never Alone on PlayStation 4

Never Alone is based on Iñupiaq stories of an eternal blizzard. The main character Nuna is caught out in the blizzard while hunting. Lost and in danger, she is found by an arctic fox who helps her find her way back to the village. The story goes much further, but to reveal more would be spoiling it. Never Alone is an atmospheric platformer with a difference.

Never Alone was commissioned by a company that wants to bring attention to the native tribes and peoples, in this case the Iñupiaq. It is a noble move to pass the stories to new people through a fairly new type of media. Never Alone is an atmospheric, physics-based, puzzle-platformer, and it's good. It's a well-crafted if short game that relies on well-practiced mechanics that have already been proven popular through games such as Limbo.

Never Alone brings many interesting ideas to the plate and somehow runs them all together without ever feeling disjointed. The main character Nuna is out hunting when her village is hit by a blizzard and she quickly gets lost, but is soon found by an arctic fox. Nuna and her new companion set out together towards the village. No more can be said about the story without spoiling anything. Never Alone has interesting gameplay. It can be played in co-op, where one player controls Nuna and the other controls the fox, or in single-player, where the Triangle button switches between them. Nuna plays as might be expected - running, jumping and using her bola, a traditional Iñupiaq weapon akin to a sling from Chivalry: Medieval Warfare, which can be used to destroy obstacles. The fox is fast and can squeeze under walls or other objects, and scramble up walls. The animal's extra power is communication with spirits, allowing him to move platforms to support Nuna's adventure.

Screenshot for Never Alone on PlayStation 4

The world of Never Alone is scarily barren. The snow fields are oppressive, the ice fields feel dangerous and the caves are claustrophobic. Visually, Never Aloneis incredibly stylish, hitting the top of the scale with its perfect blend of realism and crisp clear, almost cartoonish, faces. The faces are extra clear to show the multitude of expressions that are required to tell the story visually. Fear, sadness and joy are well portrayed in the characters' movements and faces - it's genuinely enjoyable. The game features some very nice fur textures and clothing designs, all based off real traditional Iñupiaq clothing. The spirits and cut-scenes are designed to look like sketches and traditional paintings, which helps feed the already rich culture in the game. Never Alone's collectables are in the form of video interviews with the Iñupiaq about their lives and beliefs, and these are exceptionally produced and very, very interesting.

There aren't many problems with Never Alone, but the few there are can really mar the experience. In general, plaformers have precise controls so that the game isn't littered with cheap deaths. Never Alone, however, suffers from unresponsive controls at key moments. This leads to lots of deaths through spikes and disappearing spirit platforms that are very annoying. The game is also very short, coming in at about three hours, and up to six for one hundred percent completion, which doesn't justify the asking price.

Screenshot for Never Alone on PlayStation 4

Cubed3 Rating

6/10
Rated 6 out of 10

Good

This may look like a harsh score, but it is hard to justify Never Alone's price tag when it is plagued with buggy gameplay and the story is shorter than Halo 4. The game is commendable for its goal and what it achieves in terms of raising awareness on the Iñupiaq culture and stories. In conclusion, Never Alone is a wonderful story and concept that is unfortunately wrapped in a slightly off, but still fun, gameplay experience.

Developer

Upper One

Publisher

Upper One

Genre

2D Platformer

Players

1

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  6/10

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  6/10 (1 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date None   Australian release date Out now   

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