Never alone

Studio

Upper One Games, E-Line Media

Publisher

E-Line Media

Senior Developer

Grant K. Roberts, Dima Veryovka, David Koenig, Matt Swanson, Sean Vesce

Erstveröffent-
lichung

November 18, 2014 November 18, 2014 July 9, 2015 (Wii U)

platform

Windows
PlayStation 3
PlayStation 4
Xbox One
Wii U
Linux
Mac OS X
Android
iOS

Game engine

Unity

genre

Puzzle , Adventure , Jump 'n' Run

Subject

Alaska

Game mode

Single player , multiplayer

control

Gamepad , mouse & keyboard

system advantages
preconditions

Windows 7, Windows 8

Never Alone , also known under the Inupiaq -Titel Kisima Inŋitchuŋa , is a mystery - and platformers Run - Video Game from Upper One Games, one to the tribal council of Cook Inlet belonging to game developers, and E-Line Media. The focus of the action is on an Iñupiat girl named Nuna and her companion, an arctic fox . The player has to solve puzzles to explore the local stories and advance the plot. Never Alone was released on November 18, 2014 for Windows , PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in the US and Europe, as well as on July 9, 2015 for Wii U and on December 22, 2015 for Playstation 3.

action

One narrator tells of a story that has been passed down for generations about a violent snow storm in Alaska. It is about the girl Nuna, who left her village alone to find out what caused this terrible snowstorm. When a polar bear appears and pursues her, she is rescued at the last second by a white arctic fox. As a result, a friendship blossoms between her and the fox, which means that from now on they will move on together to face the dangers of the storm. They meet strange beings and helping spirits that the fox can summon. Back in her village, Nuna has to find out that all the dwellings are on fire or have been destroyed and that all residents have disappeared. Now it's up to her to find out what happened.

On her journey she meets the little people, is pursued by a polar bear, swallowed by a whale and meets an evil man who tries to snatch the bola from her. In doing so, she finds out that this terrible man, who is constantly persecuting her, has destroyed her entire village and displaced the residents. The violent storms and omnipresent dangers turn their search into an adventure that will test their courage and determination. The man finds her and pursues her again. But she can make him harmless by a ruse, which means his end. Now she continues on her way to finally find out what the cause of the blizzard is. Here, she notes that the storm is getting stronger until they finally discovered a giant man made of ice, the Kunuuksaayuka that with a huge adze smashes icebergs. As a result, a lot of snow and ice is carried away by the wind, which leads to the terrible blizzards. Nuna decides to climb the man and take the adze from him, which she succeeds. She runs away with her. From now on she has a new pursuer. Of course, the giant wants his adzes back and is close on her heels, but Nuna is faster.

Back in her village, the giant catches up with her and demands his adzes back from her. Nuna hits the blade on a stone and thereby dulls it so that he can no longer do anything with it. Then she throws the adze to him. Kunuuksaayuka looks forward to it and starts singing and dancing and the storms have stopped. Nuna's family also returns to the village.

Gameplay

It is possible to control the game alone or in pairs in co-op mode . One player controls the fox, the other controls Nuna. If you play alone, you can switch between the two characters and have to use the different skills to move forward. As with many platformers Run the player has with Nuna boxes move -Play usual, solve puzzles or destroy with special abilities items like ice. In many sections, advancement is only possible if you use the skills of the fox, for example summoning the spirits or climbing higher obstacles that Nuna cannot overcome alone.

By progressing in the game, special film documentaries such as interviews and landscape shots about Alaska, the indigenous people Iñupiat and their myths are unlocked, which should bring the stories and traditions of the people closer to the player and explain them. Therefore, a lot of emphasis was placed on working with the indigenous people to ensure authenticity.

Additional downloadable content

On July 16, 2015, the developers announced the release of a first additional download expansion entitled Never Alone: Foxtales . It tells another story about the characters Nuna and the fox from the main game, based on a tale called Two Coastal Brothers . The expansion was released worldwide on July 28, 2015 for the PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

reception

Carsten Görig from Spiegel Online writes:

“Never Alone is not only worth playing because it is essentially a good game. It is also a wonderfully successful attempt to represent a small, very unique culture in a game. To give the Iñupiat space to transport their life and history into a new medium. Not only through the short background films in which Iñupiat explain the individual passages of the game and the story and which amalgamate the game with a documentary. But also through the gameplay itself, which can make cold, ice and snow tangible and dangers from enemies tangible. And thus also shows that games can tell stories just as the narrator around the campfire used to be. "

- Spiegel Online

Eike Cramer from 4Players writes:

“Never Alone tells the warm-hearted story of Kunuuksaayuka in atmospheric pictures. Even if the game mechanics sometimes react a bit sluggishly and the companion AI is noticed with annoying dropouts, the game would be a nice experience in itself. At the same time, Upper One Games offers a rare insight into the fascinating culture and myths of the indigenous people of Alaska, whose habitat and traditional coexistence are strongly threatened by climate change. Almost every element of the game is linked to the legends and traditions of the Iñupiat and you have the feeling of wandering through a living piece of the mythical world of Alaska - precisely because the high-quality video documentation always provides a reference to the real inhabitants of the region. In this way, Kisima Ingitchuna manages a consistently successful combination of documentation and video game despite minor playful cuts. "

- 4players