Never Alone Review: A Frigid Trek
Never Alone tells an impactful tale of one's culture I wouldn't have experienced much of otherwise. I am thankful for that and happy for the exposure of one's traditions and stories. Yet, Never Alone as a whole product has glaring issues. The bulk of the game is very one-note. For this deliberately focused and short three-hour experience, some may give it a pass - as I do overall. Still, I can see legitimate criticism stemming from the game's lack of variety, strong characters, and technical missteps. E-Line Media and Upper One Games deliver a worthy journey wrapped in a mediocre video game.
Frozen Wilds
Never Alone primarily features two art styles. The games' simplistic yet beautiful moment-to-moment vistas of Alaska and the narrative weaved via the traditional tribal drawings during cutscenes. Both styles are more than serviceable and held my attention throughout with ease. The game follows an Alaskan tribe, so naturally, you see many snowy locales that I can see overstaying their welcome for some. Yet, for me, this one-note location was too good of a note to write off and speaks volumes for the tribe that withstood the hardships that followed.
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Your journey follows a single child who gets lost in a blizzard attempting to find its source. Thankfully, she's assisted by a friendly fox who helps her return to her village only to find it ransacked and vacant. The two then travel together, risking their lives to save each other from dangers like polar bears, terrible men, and ethereal beings. The entire trek is narrated by a tribal elder in the tale's native language and appears to stay true to the overall source material.
While the child and fox have a clear relationship throughout the game's perils, that very relationship isn't ever really played up. They travel together and want each other to survive. However, in a game without dialogue beyond the narration, the body language and implied emotions from beat to beat weren't compelling enough to convey much apart from a partnership or convenience. It's evident that a more delicate relationship was intended, but the intention isn't supported effectively.
Only five characters appear on screen, but considering the relationship between the child and fox falls a bit short, the game misses the appearance of an overall compelling character. You meet another tribesman, a furious man, and a supernatural being. Still, none of them establish anything about genuine character development or moments to remember outside of one possible moment that also fell short personally.
A Mountain To Climb
Never Alone is an atmospheric puzzle platformer with forgettable puzzles. The puzzles you complete to progress aren't overly complicated, but aren't necessarily fun or engaging enough to stand out either. Controlling either the fox or the child swapping back and forth in single-player or playing co-op, players must utilize or avoid the wind on jumps, throw their bolo to break ice structures, and utilize the fox's sight to call forth ethereal spirits to jump onto. I was never bored with the puzzles, but reaching more fun segments was always welcomed.
However, the puzzles presented progressed in scope and hazards at a reasonable rate. At first, we were tasked with traversing snowy hills with the wind as our only genuine obstacle. After, we moved on to collapsing ice structures, bodies of water, evil spirits, moving trees, and even climbing a massive moving object. The difficulty increased incrementally, feeling both leveled and deliberate. I found it refreshing and appreciated this subtly balanced climb - figuratively and literally.
Additionally, I enjoyed the Cultural Insights tab. Not only did it include some behind-the-scenes knowledge of the making of the game and the natives behind the tale, but it acted as a sort of progression since you collected them in the form of owls around the world. Furthermore, checking my progression incentivized me to look deeper into the culture and shared experiences of that same tribe; kudos to that pairing.
After grasping the platforming and moving on from the village, you encounter a man in a mask. This man tasks you with finding his drum. This appeared to be the first of many fetch quest type objectives I would be given because that form of objective types pairs well with the gameplay. Yet, this is the only time you are tasked with such a thing. Fetch quest objectives in games can be tiresome, but more would have been a good thing in this case. Unfortunately, they don't return.
Above, I mentioned reaching more entertaining or fun segments. The segments I was referring to happen to be the chases. Never Alone works best when you encounter an enemy, and they begin chasing you. Since you are merely a child and petite fox, every enemy you confront is bigger and more menacing than you. Coupling these controls that feel a little less tight than they should be with a dash of suspense goes a long way. The finale shares this sentiment, and I enjoyed it very much.
For this reason and the balance of the game as a whole, I believe that the team truly understood their technical limitations and knowingly designed their game around them. Whether it was the overall length of only three hours, the tightness or lack thereof of the controls, or the segments never overstaying their welcome, Never Alone feels designed with purpose and creativity around an impediment.
While Never Alone reigns supreme in some technical categories, it's not without its missteps. Even though load times and respawn are extremely snappy, I encountered a few hard crashes, my character refusing to move, falling through structures, bad respawn regarding where I was placed, getting stuck on objects, etc. Whenever I got into a rhythm or engrossed myself in the world presented, I was hindered by bugs that took me out of the experience.
Breakdown
Game: Never Alone: Arctic Collection
Developer: E-Line Media, Upper One Games
Availability: PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Switch, Wii U, PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android
Reviewed on Nintendo Switch OLED
Pros:
+ Traditional Tale & Art Style
+ Narration
+ Chases
+ Cultural Insights System
+ Designed concisely
Cons:
- Lack of Compelling Characters
- Forgettable Puzzles
- Technical Missteps
Final Thoughts
Never Alone focuses on the native people, and rightfully so. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about them and their stories, but the game surrounding it struggled a bit. Whether it was a lack of strong characters, stark puzzles, or the technical bugs, the game's substance couldn't carry it enough for me to overlook them. Yet, I rolled credits with a smile on my face because I felt as if I played something unique and influential. Beyond the fun I had during chase sequences, the tale is alluring and narrated beautifully in its native tongue. That coupled with the short run time and clever Cultural Insights System helped solidify Never Alone as a noteworthy experience.
Reviewed by Austin Ernst