Quick Look: Never Alone

I am relieved that this game is not about memes, but that's all I can think about when I see the title.

Hahaha, nice MGS reference, Drew.

Bought this game a few days ago. To be honest I purely bought it for the whole arctic/inuit sort of atmosphere and the good PC Gamer review, because the slightly clunky controls/AI and limbo esque puzzle platformer-ness of it are kinda off putting...

Looks neat! Will def buy.

I beat this a few days ago. The platforming can be a little wonky at times and the A.I. will float off every now and then (causing me to have to retry certain puzzles a few times), but nothing gamebreaking. Just a few minor frustrations (and the A.I. part can be solved if you have someone to co-op with). I would definitely say this is kind of a poor man's valiant hearts or Limbo, but I still found it pretty enjoyable. Slick visuals and the documentary videos on the arctic people are fucking amazing and were worth the experience to me.

Always good to see diverse cultural backgrounds appear in games in an interesting way.

P.S. Spirits don't belong in Alaska!

I just played through this this afternoon, it's not a good videogame - however, it's a really cool look at a culture I know next to nothing about and because of that I'm glad to have played it.

I'm glad to see that this game looks good. I was curious about it when I heard the premise. I don't know much about Alaska, it'll be cool to watch some of those videos.

That fox is adorable.

Aww man arctic foxes are the cutest ever.

One of my favourite games of the year. Challenging, emotional, beautiful, and inspiring. The wind makes for a cool mechanic, and the puzzles are cohesive with the world compared to Limbo or even Brothers where they feel a bit of padding. The story goes in some really interesting directions like with the blizzard and the fox that changes up the gameplay. Playing with another person is the best. Also, great female protagonist who doesn't get nerfed anywhere along the way but still shows vulnerability. There doesn't need to be much dialogue to show her strength and courage against a harsh world. She was meant to be a boy based on the original folktale.

I really love that games like this and Valiant Hearts are a thing. It adds another dimension to gaming in general.

I wish I could go to Cool Sunglasses Island.

I bought this after seeing the 10 it got on Eurogamer and started off quite enjoying it, but by the end I was totally fed up with the trial and error platforming and just wanted to get the game over with as soon as I could. It's far from a 10 in my books, but then I'm not naturally bias, unlike the reviewer who gave it that score.

Hey I love steal drums.

That island flavor, mon!

A touching and unique story hidden behind a pretty terrible game. Its still in the process of being patched so hold off on playing until its finished, or play co-op as its designed.

Initial version was buggy as hell with an evil difficulty spike, both so off-putting as to dampen the whole experience for me.

Game was funded by a grant given to a native american tribe. Made by native american people. Based on native american folklore. Then reviewed by a native american. Apparently that's a negative 'bias'. Uh, OK.

Seems like their peers would be the harshest critic. A game like this, attempting to present a tradition to people outside of that world, skirts a fine line between honouring said tradition and commodifying it.The fact that the reviewer liked it strikes me as pretty important.

Plus, if you desperately need an in-depth criticism of the underlying game mechanics, there's literally like a hundred other websites out there that will do so. Some people might actually be interested in what the game's about equally as much as to how it plays.

@vitor: Oh - this must be the game I heard an NPR story about. Thanks for reminding me - off to get some backstory!

A Vulcan Raven origin story? I'm down.

This seems super neat. I'm really glad this exists.

@vitor: There is such thing as a positive bias, you know.

Is it not the reviewer's job to go in depth on how the game works? I am all for story driven works in video games but gameplay is important no matter how much the story takes hold of the game. A native american reviewer is not a bad idea to show a game like this to, but it is concerning if they are more inclined to favor the game because of it's subject matter, not that I want to make outright claims like that since I do not know what went on with the review process.

"Did you ever see Happy People, Jeff?"

"Uh, I've seen the video for Shiny Happy People."

bias lol. it was his opinion. everybody is "biased"

Looks like fun, I'll probably get this soon.

About the end area mechanics It becomes rather platform heavy and doesn't control very well.

Wait... What? By not "naturally bias[ed]", do you mean not Native American? Other than your race and gender, I can't imagine any other ways to be "naturally" biased.

Remember when Patrick was extra excited for Watch_Dogs because it was set in Chicago? That's the kind of bias that Eurogamer review had: the reviewer was especially inclined to like it because of its subject matter, which they themselves made very clear in the review. It's not even that they are native american, but that they are very interested in native american narratives, which they again make very clear in the review. cale isn't saying anything the review itself didn't.

Also bias has degrees, everybody having some bias towards everything does not make the word unusable.

For the love of God, people. Bias is a noun. People can have a bias or biases, but they cannot "be bias". They can "be biased".

Anyway, this game looks pretty and cute and educational. Might pick it up eventually.

This sweet, sweet game makes some people so damn bitter.

Well, the game is certainly well intentioned. But it looks like a chore to play. And the documentary videos that break up the gameplay feel out of place. I think it would have worked better for those videos to be in a menu option as an extra and allow the story telling within the game itself to describe the significance of the events the player is taking part in. As it is now, it feels disjointed.

Reminds me of the snow stage from Ninja Gaiden 2 but less swords.

Mysterious Fox Reference!

Honestly the only part I don't like is the jarring break between produced documentary and video game. That's easily addressed by just avoiding all the videos until after but yeah.

It's really cool that this game was made in collaboration with native Alaskan peoples and they succeeded in making a proper video game about their culture.

You can watch the documentary videos whenever you want, you can play through the game and completely ignore them and watch them afterwards, you can save them for the breaks between areas in loads or watch them as you unlock them. I did feel weird watching the videos as I was playing the game, so I wound up simply watching them after I'd finished the game.

In a way it's actually good that they're so prominent, it encourages you to watch them since they feel like an important part of the game rather than just some random unlockable extras. I think they actually handled it pretty well - letting you know that, hey, this stuff isn't meant to while away in an extras menu at the bottom of the start screen but also letting you decide when you want to watch them.

@homelessbird: Just wait for the third sequel: 4Never Alone.

This game is really cool. I love the idea of telling the story of a culture through a video game, and Native American culture is very under-represented in modern media. The gameplay looks pretty good but not mindblowing, but I think the aesthetic holds it up. And I love the little fox. So cute.

I don't know, I was getting an Uncanny Valley feeling from some of those cut scenes.

LMAO, a reference for The Mask

Oh dear god Drew's MGS reference around 2:40 just got me.

I'm all for a game exploring a culture completely alien to me, but the game being nothing but a puzzle platformer, and the narration really bum me out.

This looks really pretty.

Awe darnit...that fox is totes adorbs :D

that little girls companion is so ..... foxy (YEEEEEEAAAH )

I love the idea of using video games to tell traditionally styled stories, even if this looks a little clunky for a first pass.

I really appreciate Drew's effort in being knowledgable about accessibility of a game and its price. It's always annoyed me when the guys have no idea about any of that in a QL (usually only knowing it if it's ridiculously overpriced), and I wish it were an editorial dictate to know that kind of thing beforehand.

This looks really cool.

Picked it up on PSN and really enjoyed it...at first anyway. Not trying to be a downer, but some of that late game platforming with those "floaty" controls? What a nightmare.

Also, for those curious, I beat it and found all the collectibles in about four hours.

The concept and the design saved it though. I may have gotten mad at it sometimes but I don't regret picking it up.