Never Alone (Kisima Inŋitchuŋa)

Never Alone is a game that I think I definitely like more as an intellectual talking point than I do as a game. But that doesn't mean that I don't like it as a game, because I do.

The game was developed by Upper One Games and published by E-Line Media in 2014 in and is available on the current generation of consoles (PS4, Xbox One, Wii U) as well as the PC. Both the publisher and developer seem to be one trick ponies though, although I might be jumping to conclusions with the developers as it has been less than a year this they made this game. I played the game on a PC through my steam account and using an Xbox controller to play it and based my review on that experience.

The game is a puzzle-platformer, otherwise known as the most basic game genre in terms of mechanics. There isn't much of a break from the standard trope of the genre either, run for this, jump on that, hit this to trigger that, if you have played any platformer before you should be able to figure stuff out before the game even tell you you how to do it.  Despite that though, the game didn't manage to actually be a smooth experience. Despite the total game being around three hours, I am fairly sure at least a half hour was wasted on me trying to deal with glitches in the game or rough corners in the design itself. A couple of examples of this would be getting stuck in vertical walls when I tried to jump and get a handhold and my character would just be sitting there in the wall flailing her arms until I switched to the other character and she then promptly fell to her death, or when I would try to aim the bola at a target and have to essentially walk right up to the target when possible just to avoid missing the throw a dozen times because the aiming in the game is difficult, and lets not forget a running segment where because I was running too quickly and jumped onto the next platform before another character could jump off and as a result I was launched backwards into the sky before landing and dying in the freezing water. I feel that I might be making the game out to be a buggy mess so I just want to make it clear that it isn't it plays well for the most part.
   

I have never hated Polar bears more in my life. Melt those ice caps.

This game isn't about trying to innovate in terms of game genres or mechanics, this game is about trying to innovate in terms of the narrative and its origin and that is something you can really feel in the game itself. At its heart this game is not just about the Inupiat people, it is them. Whether it was the narrator telling the story using their native language, or the fact that the enemies are based on the obstacles they face in nature or their native mythology and the fact the levels are based on the geographic locations that the Inupiat people live you feel that you are experiencing a very real and genuine world that is both familiar and alien at the same time. The small documentary pieces that also get unlocked as you play the game were also fantastic, I actually saved them up to watch all at once and I really enjoyed them, I felt like I had really learned something and I could clearly see the material that inspired this game. I also want to take a second to say that it really does take effort to do this kind of work, I wouldn't assume that it would be simple to adapt a whole culture into a videogame and actually still have a cohesive rewarding story, but these guys managed to do it and do it well.

He stares at you most likely just like the Inupiat elders stared at the developers. Don't bring shame on yourself!

Graphically and musically this game definitely has that indie feel about it. Its all specialty made and specific to the game, but that alone doesn't actually mean its any good. The music isn't much to write home about, it all seemed like standard ambient music stuff and unlike the rest of the game didn't really seem to draw from the music of the Inupiat people that much. Yes there were a couple of sound segments here or there, but as a whole it was just pretty standard composed modern ambient music. The graphics on the other hand are a more impressive aspect, not in the sense that its a big budget shoelace renderer but a beautiful looking game with a unique art style derived from a very real world that gives you both a fantastical setting to experience while educating you about the Inupiat.

Drifting to my death in the Arctic circle really is pretty beautiful.

This is a game I simply can't recommend enough. Despite its technical flaws and slightly high price for a two hour game, this is a really well put together experience. Its looks beautiful, it sounds beautiful, it feels beautiful and not to sound like a massive dork but it is also quite educational. I'm really glad that a game like this not only got made, but that it was actually really good and it was successful too. This game can definitely be used as an example of how to take any culture and adapt its features and lore into a game. Hopefully this inspires the developers themselves and developers from all over the world to make even more games from little known narratives like native Amazonians, or the Tuareg in Africa or the Nubians or the many many other peoples from around the world who have never majorly been featured in the global zeitgeist. Hint, hint, +Tasneem Salim.