Never Alone Review
Platform: PC, PS3 PS4, PS Vita, Wii U, Xbox One
Developer: Upper One Games
Publisher: E-Line Media
Author: K.D.
At first glance, Never Alone may seem like just another platform-style puzzle-based game. That is actually a pretty great achievement considering how the Cook Inlet Tribal Council (the original proposing party for the game) had absolutely no idea how to approach the topic of creating a game. So, already, that’s a great step forward for them. Rooted in Alaskan Indigenous knowledge, this game is a beautiful combination of culture through mutual respect, and the result is just as good as other games. However, there are nuances to this that the average gamer may be unaware of that make this game and its intended purpose that much more poignant and necessary.
Let’s talk about the game. It’s a two-character puzzle-based, platforming game where each character needs to use their skills in order to progress. The two characters are an Iñupiaq girl named Nuna (translated roughly as “land”) and her Arctic fox. You swap control between both characters depending on the puzzle at hand. The story revolves around Nuna and her community. For whatever reason, there is an “Eternal Blizzard” affecting the community, and hunger and starvation is rampant. So brave Nuna seeks out the source of the blizzard to try to get it to stop. Though, at times the gameplay is a bit buggy, the cultural context well outweighs any setbacks.
So why is this game incredible in my opinion? Well, for starters it’s built on cultural respect for the Indigenous beliefs and their culture. Consider this, all of the land in America once belonged to various Indigenous tribes. They then proceeded to have their land taken away by force or mischief. Knowing this, can you truly say you know the history of the land on which you live? For a culture and identity that’s getting left behind and not getting acknowledged, this is a great initiative to put their culture back on the map. This game really accentuates that aspect by having real interviews with Indigenous people throughout the game, which really makes you feel like you’ve learned something by the end of it. The other great part is that unlike a lot of other ventures and portrayals of Indigenous people, this one actually consulted with them all the way throughout the production to ensure that respect was maintained. If that isn’t reason enough to play and support a game, I don’t know what is!
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