Never Alone: Kisima Ingitchuna (2014)

This videogame is an indie puzzle-platformer, the MC is called Nuna, a young girl, and her arctic fox companion as they journey through harsh blizzards and myth-inspired landscapes to save their community. The game is notable for its cultural authenticity, blending gameplay with short documentary-style “Cultural Insights” that explore Iñupiat traditions, stories, and ways of life.

Visually, the game stands out with its minimalist yet haunting art style and narration in the Iñupiaq language, supported by an atmospheric soundtrack. This creates an experience that feels less like a typical platformer and more like an interactive folktale. The partnership with Alaska Native elders and storytellers elevates it into a meaningful cultural work rather than just entertainment.

However, the gameplay itself is often seen as the weakest part. While the mechanics of switching between Nuna and the fox add variety, controls can feel imprecise and the AI occasionally struggles in single-player. Platforming sequences are sometimes frustrating, with trial-and-error sections and floaty movement that detract from the story’s flow.

Despite these flaws, this title has been widely praised for its heart and impact, earning awards such as BAFTA’s Best Debut Game and recognition from Games for Change. It is best approached as a cultural and narrative experience first, and a platformer second, short but memorable, and particularly rewarding for those interested in indigenous storytelling through games. It is one of the most unique games that I've ever played, and if you like these kinds of alternative, more artistic games.

Not writing an in-depth review for this one.

The game is worse than average. A co-op puzzle platformer with slushy controls and a multitude of collision and checkpoint bugs.

The story is based on Inuit culture and is a refreshing setting. Unfortunately I found it meandering without any plot or character development.

There are collectibles which unlock videos of the Inuit people talking about their culture and they are the best part of the game. The gameplay on the otherhand is at best, serviceable and at worse, utterly unplayable.

I have a particular love for game experiences that teach me about subjects connected to our world. Never Alone (Kisima Innitchuna) is based on the traditional Inupiaq tale, Kunuuksaayuka.

This game can be played alone or co-operatively (local only). I played the entire game in one sitting with my partner. It made for a fun evening game session.

Never Alone is a platformer with two main characters. I'm not sure how they're controlled while playing solo but with co-op, each player controls one of them. Players do not get a choice of the characters. Player One plays as the human character and Player Two gains control of the non-human character.

The controls are simple though occasionally don't feel responsive. Overall I thought this was a beautiful adaptation that would make for a lovely afternoon gaming session with a friend as it took less than two hours to complete (and that's with quite a few game overs).

I recommend this game to those interested in multiplayer experiences, short games, storytelling, animal characters, or wintry settings.

When I started playing, I was worried about getting bored with the documentary sections because I was determined to watch them and get the "full experience" of this game. Funny enough, I loved those videos and were my main motivation to keep playing, because the gameplay was getting me bored.

Never Alone is a really pretty game and I absolutely love the the way it uses Iñupiaq legends, culture and way of life in the narrative and design, but the mechanics are kinda mediocre. It's a puzzle-platformer with really simplistic challenges that never got engaging or fun.

It didn't helped that the controls were imprecise and sluggish, leading me to more deaths than I deserved. I also found a nice amount of bugs, a couple of which made me restart the game.

I think it could be better in co-op, but also could be even more frustrating. I'm not interested enough to check.

Look. I'm glad this game exists and I learned really interesting things about a culture I really didn't knew about. I wish for more games like Never alone, but I hope they're a little more fun, engaging or mechanically interesting.

(I didn't played the Fox Tales expansion. Maybe if you tell me is worth it, I'll buy it).

Well quite frankly, this game should have been awesome: it's beautiful, the cultural insight is interesting and the girl/fox relationship is lovely. The game mechanism borrows a little from "Brother - A Tale Of Two Sons" as you have to collaborate to solve puzzles. Unfortunately, it becomes, quickly, a really bad platformer, riddled with bugs.

It was clearly not coded by people with gaming experience and you end up failing at simple jumps to restart more and more frustrated every time. The living forest level is a deal breaker and, even if I passed it because I'm stubborn, I was simply not enjoying the game anymore. A game has to be entertaining above all. When the fun goes away, the conclusion comes forward: it's a bad game. End of story.

I loved the exploration of the folklore in this story. It is something I have never seen before in games or movies and while I love the representation and artistry behind this one the gameplay is beyond dull. Playing felt boring, repetitive, and just flat-out disappointing. Which is a shame since it had such amazing concept and writing behind it, but it just failed as a platformer. The good thing is the game is not that long or pricy, so picking it up might be worth it for the art, music, and story just don't expect much from the gameplay.

“For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.” –Audrey Hepburn

Never Alone (Kisima Inŋitchuŋa) was a beautiful and informative 2D platformer with a two character system that has you swapping between the fox and the girl to achieve different tasks. This could be done with two players and I honestly think that would make the experience more enjoyable because at times you have to swap very quickly and move the characters a bit far to get through different obstacles. This would be much more seamless with a second player taking care of the different tasks while you focus on the tasks of one.

It does a great job teaching you all about the culture of the indigenous people of Alaska, the Inupiaq. It swaps back and forth between gameplay and live action video of people from the tribes explaining life in the brutal conditions. Learning about this lifestyle is really what kept me personally interested until the end. It was so cool to hear them talking about how they are able to hunt for food in the month of November when there is no sunlight for the entire month. This among other anecdotes from the native people was a very entertaining addition and I believe that it gave the game an extra bit of depth than it would not have had otherwise.

The young girl and the fox set off on a journey that is an old tale of folklore called Kunuuksaayuka passed down by the elders. It is traditionally a boy in the story but for the video game they decided to have the protagonist be represented as a girl. The girl comes home after being chased by a polar bear to find that her village has been burned to the ground and destroyed. She runs into a man wearing a mask who inexplicably knows who she is and asks her to retrieve a drum of his that some mischievous little guys stole from him.

After finding and returning the drum the girl is presented with the bola, which is used to open many ice covered areas in the game, and is traditionally a weapon used for hunting. An evil man soon catches up to the girl and it becomes clear that the man was looking for the bola when he burned her village to the ground. The girl and the fox make a break for it using the new weapon to aid them in their journey moving forward.

Click here for the full review... https://thewellredmage.wordpress.com/2017/07/10/never-alone/

A platform game have based on inuit culture following from what I understand a legend of sorts.

The game is fairly short. The story strange but with a certain charm. I didn't find it the most interesting but I didn't mind it. The problem lies with the game itself. You control two characters - a girl and a fox. At any time you can switch between the two. However controlled by AI second character has tendency to die more often than I would find it acceptable.

The platforming is also not of the highest standard. The controls don't feel super responsive. The mechanics somewhat disappoint as well. The whole wind mechanic that can push you one way or another is more annoying than fun. The second level is a water level!

I've played it through but did not felt the urge to play the fox tales addon. Can't really recommend this game really.

4.5/10

It's not completely terrible. The atmosphere and folklore of the culture is interesting stuff and it's a lot of fun learning about it.

However, the gameplay is buggy and the mechanics aren't solid. It's frustrating clearly making a jump clean only to have the person hang off the ledge or just fall completely. Also has frustrating AI.

I also just don't find it that entertaining to play even if you take out the mechanics. It's your typical, run, jump, occasionally throw something (in this case to break ice) and get chased type of gameplay. It uses some puzzles with the fox but they're not that great and it seems more like a gimmick rather than a great core element to the game.

My 4.5 almost means that it's average, which would have been a passing grade, so it doesn't suck. It's just not worth recommending.