Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna) [PC] - Game Review

Reviewed On: PC
Also On: PS4, XB1, Wii U

"Gone with the wind..."

Never Alone is a game whose charm you will desperately want to love, and on the surface there is enough elegance to be intrigued. Unfortunately the Never Alone doesn't do very much as a game.
Difficulty: Easy 
Time Spent Playing To Date: 4 Hours  
Worth Playing?: No
The Bottom Line: "Great concept; failed delivery"

It's challenging to attempt to give this game a fair chance in a review format. While Never Alone was for the most part somewhat enjoyable, I simply could not shake the feeling of mediocrity that I was left with at the end of the experience. Looking back, this game doesn't bring anything revolutionary to the 2D platforming genre, however, I don't think anybody expected that much. But ultimately, it ends up taking a few steps backwards. 

Gameplay:
For the first 90 minutes the platforming felt alright, but about halfway through the fourth chapter things began to fall apart. The true nature of the controls were starting to become more and more apparent. Controlling the characters felt clunkier, attaching to ledges properly sometimes took several tries. The bola stood out as being particularly awkward and could have controlled better to say the least. In a game that seemed to be aiming for simplicity, some of these factors definitely detracted from the experience as a whole. 

The level design felt a bit redundant after a while as well, a lot of the levels or particular aspects of them began to feel the same or just too gimmicky, and for a game that can easily be completed in just over three hours this type of design isn't particularly welcome. 

Story:

This happens to be a category where the game performs well. Based on an Iñupiaq tales and beliefs, the world that the player is able to explore feels fresh for those unfamiliar with the culture. The level design doesn't aid in helping this world feel very expansive, however. 

Visuals:
The game does look great, there is no denying that. The characters are designed to be unique and special in a way that allows the player to feel more connected to them even though the vast majority of the dialogue is delivered by a narrator, rather than the characters themselves. This helps to salvage quite a lot of the blandness that is felt after playing through the game for a while. 

Extra Content:
The cultural insights (documentary type clips) were the true star of the show and largely responsible for keeping me interested in the game all the way through. However, first and foremost, the game should be critiqued for how it performs as an actual game. The cultural insights and story are very nice touches but that alone cannot shape the entire experience. 

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All in all, Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna) has enough charm on its surface to make for a really enjoyable and educational journey. However, a lot of that enjoyment is lost in the boring level design and sometimes mildly frustrating controls that make for a mediocre 2D plaforming experience. While it is a game I'd like to be able to recommend, you'd likely have just as pleasant of an experience watching the cultural insights as a standalone video.

 5 / 10 - Mediocre