I am tentatively giving this game a thumbs up, and doing so purely because of the atmosphere, environmental storytelling, and because I just got back from a trip to Alaska.

The platforming in this game is... not great. I found many of the puzzles frustrating to solve (they were not hard), and I encountered a number of bugs that required dying to fix.

I praise the creators for their collaboration with the Alaska Natives, and I thank you for bringing one of their stories to my screen. Touch up the platforming for the sequel and I'll be there.

Never Alone can be considered a puzzle platformer but it’s pretty light on both elements. It focuses on the Iñupiat tribe with tons of documentary videos that are found as collectibles. The game also has a full fledged co-op mode for the entire campaign including the DLC. None of what it does is really great but it still has enough to offer if you can get the game on sale.

The game is quite charming with the designs and graphics. A lot of what’s shown in gameplay form (enemies, living beings etc) is part of the aforementioned tribe. The narrator also sounds appealing when speaking in their own language. The gameplay is pretty enjoyable and can feel relaxing when not a lot is required whether it’s thinking or platforming. There are checkpoints that also save your progress, you have chapter select and you can reload a checkpoint from the menu when needed. The achievements are the good kind. They are divided in level progression and finding all the 24 collectible owls. Single player and co-op offer distinct experiences since there are 2 characters. You either control both characters on your own with the AI taking over a few simple actions sometimes or you and a second player control the characters.

The game’s flaws are mainly bugs, pacing issues and not enough budget for the DLC characters. The bugs are not gamebreaking but it’s a shame to experience them with such an atmospheric game like this one. Reload from the last checkpoint will be your best friend. I’m mostly thinking of the last chapter of the main game when I’m talking about pacing issues. You’re dealing with a lot of moving elements, timing things right and dying easily. The controls are not the best but they work when the game doesn’t demand a lot from you but that’s not the case with the last level. The DLC helps with ending the game on a more positive note since it focuses on the puzzling aspect more. However, the DLC is a different story about 2 brothers. The main game is about a girl and a fox. And yet the same character models are used for the brothers. This felt pretty odd. This doesn’t ruin the game but I’m not sure how the developer/publisher thought this would fly. One last point about pacing issues, you find documentary videos constantly, especially at the beginning. You’re encouraged to play the videos right away for being linked with what you encounter in the game. The entire game (including DLC) is a little over 4 hours to 100%. I felt interrupted from playing the actual game too often. This could have been done better.

The PC version can be gotten for €1 including the DLC from the ‘Playing for the Planet’ Humble bundle (14 days left as of this writing). There is a 1 item tier where you pay for this one game only which is exactly what I did (I own most of the other games that interest me from that bundle). I’m glad to have experienced this game in preparation for Never Alone 2. But I’m also mostly glad for not paying much to play it. Never Alone 2 needs to improve significantly to warrant paying a higher price. I can recommend 1 while it can be gotten for cheap but not over €5.

good 3h30 to 100%