by Vanessa 'Nessie' Hague
Never Alone, one of this month's "free" offerings for PS Plus members has been praised by critics since its initial release. The game tells the story of Alaskan indigenous culture through the gaming medium. I can confirm that all of this praise is very well deserved; in fact, it's refreshing to see a game which is influenced by such an ancient culture and handles the story with the attention and respect it needs.
Never Alone, one of this month's "free" offerings for PS Plus members has been praised by critics since its initial release. The game tells the story of Alaskan indigenous culture through the gaming medium. I can confirm that all of this praise is very well deserved; in fact, it's refreshing to see a game which is influenced by such an ancient culture and handles the story with the attention and respect it needs.
The game tells the story of Nuna, a young Inupiat girl who adventures out to save her village when it's besieged by a never-ending blizzard. Along the way, she meets a fox and the two travel to try and stop whatever is causing the blizzard and save her village. Never Alone is a simple yet effective puzzle-platformer, requiring you to switch between Nuna and the fox to overcome the more challenging of the puzzle elements.
Admittedly, the game's campaign is short. I completed it within only a few hours; you only travel through a handful of different locations, with narration and a short cutscene splitting the sections. Due to the nature of the story and the emphasis the developers wanted to put on the cultural influences and folklore, the short run time works to the game's advantage. Within the game, you can also "pick up" and unlock pieces of information which help to further explain the Inupiat culture and artistic choices within the game. I suggest you check out these little snippets from time-to-time whilst playing because they really do offer some invaluable and interesting insights into the folklore and culture.
Admittedly, the game's campaign is short. I completed it within only a few hours; you only travel through a handful of different locations, with narration and a short cutscene splitting the sections. Due to the nature of the story and the emphasis the developers wanted to put on the cultural influences and folklore, the short run time works to the game's advantage. Within the game, you can also "pick up" and unlock pieces of information which help to further explain the Inupiat culture and artistic choices within the game. I suggest you check out these little snippets from time-to-time whilst playing because they really do offer some invaluable and interesting insights into the folklore and culture.
Switching between the two characters gives nice little variations to the game-play; Nuna can push blocks and is the slower of the two characters, whilst the fox can jump higher (he can later fly) and is generally faster. The two different styles are blended together well, as the game requires you to switch frequently between them to progress.
Having said that, the same feature can be the source of some frustration, as occasionally, whomever is the AI partner can fall to their death through sheer stupidity or get killed by certain enemies. Whilst it doesn't happen constantly, it did happen to me one too many times for it to slightly sour an otherwise lovely experience (This could possibly be avoided by playing in co-op, as the game allows a second player to join if you have an extra controller, but as I didn't, I couldn't test this theory). It is a small gripe but the story is lovely and heartfelt and the overall art style is memorable and unique enough that Never Alone manages to overcome its shortcomings. Plus with the game being relatively short, it's a fairly relaxing and laidback game to play; don't rush through it, savor the experience and if you haven't already, give it a play before it disappears from the rosta.
Having said that, the same feature can be the source of some frustration, as occasionally, whomever is the AI partner can fall to their death through sheer stupidity or get killed by certain enemies. Whilst it doesn't happen constantly, it did happen to me one too many times for it to slightly sour an otherwise lovely experience (This could possibly be avoided by playing in co-op, as the game allows a second player to join if you have an extra controller, but as I didn't, I couldn't test this theory). It is a small gripe but the story is lovely and heartfelt and the overall art style is memorable and unique enough that Never Alone manages to overcome its shortcomings. Plus with the game being relatively short, it's a fairly relaxing and laidback game to play; don't rush through it, savor the experience and if you haven't already, give it a play before it disappears from the rosta.
Grab It Whilst You Can!
Along with a bundle of other free games, Never Alone will only be available for free for the next few days before Sony updates to next month's free game package, so download it now whilst you still can!
Did you play Never Alone? What did you think?
Did you play Never Alone? What did you think?
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