Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna) is an atmospheric puzzle platformer and the first game to be developed in collaboration with the Iñupiat, an Alaska Native people, drawn from a traditional story that has been shared across the generations. Nearly 40 Alaska Native elders, storytellers and community members contributed to the development of the game.
It features two characters, and it can be played in single-player mode or play cooperatively with a friend as you trek through frozen tundra, leap across treacherous ice floes, swim through underwater caverns and face enemies both strange and familiar.
You'll explore awe-inspiring environments, perform heroic deeds and meet legendary characters from Iñupiaq stories — all narrated by a master storyteller in the spoken Iñupiaq language.
If you've got enough patience you'll probably be able to mine for the diamonds in the rough - but the easily frustrated should steer far clear.
If you're inclined to rage-quitting or you aren't a platforming fan, Never Alone probably isn't for you. But if you're willing or able to overlook frustration—or you have a friend to ease up some of the AI issues through co-op—Never Alone is an experience worth having and sharing.
Measured solely as a puzzle-platformer, "Never Alone" has nothing on games such as "Braid" or "Portal," which offer far more intricate challenges. However, this is a game that transcends its gameplay. The bio of one of the game's scriptwriters, Ishmael Angaluuk Hope, mentions that in his younger days he was ashamed of his Native Alaskan heritage.
The story and information is interesting, but the gameplay is an unimpressive delivery method
Never Alone is one of those games I want everyone I know to be able to play. It's a really great example of the good that video games can do in the world, and of the artform they really are. Anyone can play it, everyone would find something to enjoy about it, you can play it with a friend, and non-gamers would even enjoy watching you play due to the...