Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Never Alone is a puzzle platform adventure game available for download from the PlayStation Store for the PS4. The game was developed in harmony with the Alaska Native community and is an historic collaboration as it delves deep into the traditions of the Iñupiat people of Alaska like no other game before it.
The Storyteller game mode enlightens players with a story before every level in the Iñupiaq native language which really provides a genuine back story and purpose to each and every level. Cultural insights features a total of 24 videos chronicling the natural world, culture, love and respect, sharing stories and community with 2 videos initially available, while the remainder of the 22 cultural videos are unlockable as players progress through the story of the game, therefore providing a total of 24 interesting mini-documentaries.
The character design mostly revolves around a girl from the Iñupiat called Nuna and a white fox who helps her along in her journey with spirits that help them both along particularly treacherous or out of reach paths, while there are some enemies such as polar bears, little people and an angry man.
Imaginative environment design is mostly set outside during a blizzard in an environment full of ice capsules and ice sheets with some darkly lit caves sporadically positioned as a means to make it through to the other side of the cave to find just as harsh conditions.
The performance during remote play is excellent as the graphics, audio, controls and general performance are all at the same level of quality as the PS4 version with the control scheme remaining intact for the same experience during remote play, while tapping the touch pad has been mapped to the touch screen to quickly provide access to the cultural insights menu.
The controls are well mapped to the DualShock 4 controller and consist of pressing X to jump; pressing square to interact with objects such as lowering ropes as the fox for Nuna to climb or holding square to push and move objects; pressing O to enable Nuna and the fox to brace against a heavy gust of wind; pressing triangle to switch between characters; changing the direction of the left analogue stick or alternatively pressing left or right on the d-pad to move Nuna or the fox; changing the direction of the right analogue stick to throw the Bola at thin sheets of ice or enemies; pressing the share button takes you to the share feature menu; and pressing the options button to display the pause menu. The touch pad is appropriately implemented as tapping the touch pad quickly accesses the cultural insights menu, while the DualShock 4 controller vibrates subtly after a small jump, although it vibrates more intensely after a heavy landing following a larger jump or fall and during scenarios in which a polar bear or an equally formidable enemy is in hot pursuit of Nuna and her fox. However, there is no light bar implementation which is surprising as it could have displayed a range of white, grey or pale colour tones to reflect the ongoing blizzard.
Graphically, Never Alone has excellent character design and animations for every ally and enemy throughout the game, while the standout of the graphics has to be the amazing blizzard and snow effects encountered throughout the duration of Nuna’s journey.
The presentation of the game is solid with a great user interface across various menus such as the main, cultural insights, options and gameplay menus with support for navigation via the left analogue stick, directional pad, face buttons and touch pad, although it does not include support for navigation via the right analogue stick. The background of the menu screens consists of an unrelenting blizzard taking place above a tent with very limited visibility due to the heavy snowfall.
The voice-over is that of a storyteller telling a story in the Iñupiaq native language of the Iñupiat people accompanied by subtitles, while the sound effects include jumping, running, shivering from such cold temperatures, the fox shaking the snow from his fur and the winds of the oncoming blizzard, alongside tranquil music. There is no DualShock 4 speaker implementation which is surprising given the sound effects it could have produced such as blizzards, jumping, running, subtle sounds which Nuna and the fox project and the tranquil music.
The trophy list includes 15 trophies with 13 bronze, 1 silver and 1 gold trophy. The majority of the trophies can be earned naturally as there are 7 bronze trophies and 1 silver trophy that are story related such as the Close Call bronze trophy for the fox saving Nuna from the polar bear, while there are a further 6 bronze trophies and 1 gold trophy for finding and viewing all 24 of the cultural insights which will mostly be found by progressing through the game, although there are some exceptions to this rule on occasion which certainly makes the Insightful gold trophy the hardest trophy to earn from the entire game. It is estimated that depending upon skill and a good trophy guide to provide some helpful tips that it would take between 3 to 5 hours to 100% the trophy list.
There are no difficulty levels, but there is a steep difficulty curve which is capable of somewhat randomly coming into play as an area will be easily navigated followed by an area that requires far more precise jumps or a puzzle which may not necessarily be as easily figured out as players may believe it to be from looking at it for the first time. However, it is this sudden turn of pace that keeps the gameplay fresh and unpredictable as the player could be jumping between ice sheets one moment and attempting to solve a puzzle the next.
There is an effective form of local co-operative multiplayer as a second player can join the game by pressing X to control the fox or alternatively a player can switch between the two characters in single player mode. However, there is no online co-operative multiplayer and online leaderboards which is surprising as the online co-operative multiplayer could have reflected that of the local co-operative multiplayer, while the online leaderboards could have featured the quickest times from every player who had completed each level in single player as well as leaderboards for local and online co-operative multiplayer.
The replayability of Never Alone stems from the unpredictability of the puzzles to the inclusion of local co-operative multiplayer to share the experience with a friend, while the absolute standout of the replay value has to be the unlockable mini-documentary videos which will collectively have players returning for quite some time.
Overall, Never Alone is a unique experience which really sets itself apart from other games within the puzzle, platform and action genres by way of embracing the entire culture of the Iñupiat people via innovative gameplay, documentaries and a genuine charm to its storytelling which makes Never Alone a must play game.
Jason Bonnar
Analysis
- Title: Never Alone
- Developer: Upper One Games
- Publisher: E-Line Media
- System: PS4
- Format: PSN Download
- Cross-Buy: No
- Cross-Play: No
- Players: 1-2 (Local Co-Operative Multiplayer)
- Hard Drive Space Required: 4.83GB (Version 1.03)