Never Alone Reviews
Never Alone is, nevertheless, an important game offering a fascinating window into a rich and ongoing culture among native Alaskans. And if you are open to accepting that cultural exchange then the barriers dividing the people of the world get a little bit smaller, and we all grow closer to never really being alone in the world again.
On occasion, gameplay feels stale due to the lack of depth and frustrates with frequent death inevitable, but the authenticity of the folklore tale coupled with a great art-style and engaging video docs takes you on a journey that actually feels refreshingly unique and certainly worth a look at its modest price point.
Never Alone tells a deeply personal story of an Inupiaq girl on an adventure to survive the elements. This is a spellbinding experience that not only introduces players to the real stories and culture so important to the native Alaskan community, but goes one step further by creating two dozen informative videos featuring interviews with tribe elders, storytellers and artists. It's a dazzling adventure that is not to be missed.
Anyone who is transported by this timeless tale will undoubtedly forgive the various worries of youth from which the game suffers and will live an experience if not rare, in any case sufficiently striking to remember it in several months, even years, with a touch of nostalgia.
Review in French | Read full review
Never Alone is an interesting and deceptive experiment in edutainment, or whatever you want to call it, and as such it must be evaluated in all its parts: in the face of an often limping gameplay, the title of Upper One Games gives a touching and detailed overview of the culture and folklore of the iñupiat, serving it on a dish much more attractive to gamers. A production not free from defects, but undoubtedly to be rewarded for its noble intentions.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Never Alone is short, and will run you at two hours, assuming you don't get stuck. The puzzles are usually straightforward, and don't take a lot of difficulty to solve, so a player approaching this game looking for challenge will be disappointed.
Never Alone is something of a disappointment. It's by no means a terrible game, but the experience of playing doesn't live up to its gorgeous presentation, lovely atmosphere and genuinely interesting content. It's a pleasing diversion, provided you can round up a mate to play it with, and it tells a compelling story – but its drawbacks make it hard to recommend unreservedly.
Never Alone offers an average experience as a platformer with puzzles to solve but it's the game's narrative and tribute to the Inupiat people that makes it stand out as a unique experience. A perfect choice of artwork and use of cultural traits contribute to make Never Alone an insightful work which can also be enjoyed as a game.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
So, should you buy Never Alone? It depends. I can't recommend it to everyone: the game is short, and it doesn't really include much challenge in either puzzles nor platforming. But if you can look past that, you'll find a stunning, unique game that uses the medium to deliver a beautiful story and an incredible world – and that's worth experiencing.
A disappointing but noble effort.
Effortlessly charming and surprising insightful, Never Alone is only hampered by some frustrating control issues and unfortunate technical hiccups.
A fascinating insight into an interesting culture held back from greatness by average platforming mechanics.
Never Alone isn't without its merits. Telling an interesting story of a dying culture, it's a hugely flawed game that manages to conjure warmth in the icy cold.
Never Alone takes a familiar game style and adds a unique sense of distinction with its well-realized atmosphere and native story.
Bravo to both Upper One Games and E-Line Media for putting this gem out there, this is definitely a worthwhile and enjoyable title for all ages to enjoy as well as learn from. I truly hope that this title does well or at least meets their expectations I'd like to see more from these companies in the same vein as Never Alone.
If I had to describe Never Alone succinctly – I’d say that its intentions are pure but that it falls flat in its execution.
Never Alone: Arctic Collection is an endearing attempt to blend a learning experience about the Iñupiaq culture and its folklore, and bring that to a video game.
Play it for the documentary, and play it in co-op
It offers a perfectly executed story, underpinned by fantastic background research, and just happens to use the interactivity of gaming to push its narrative of the Iñupait community to a wider audience.
Never Alone is a beautiful game, full of fairy tale delight and educational knowledge. It isn't as patronising as that might sound as it keeps the two well-separated enabling you to take or leave as much of the cultural content as you like. It struggles though with being a compelling video game with its slow start, short running time and AI issues. It comes away respectful of its inspiration and educational as well, but won't last long in the memory as a gaming experience.