I was initially charmed but ultimately disappointed by Never Alone. It was great to see a game about such a small Alaskan culture, and I appreciated the little videos. I liked the setup of the little girl and the fox trudging through the wilderness.
For a while, I thought it was going to be like Valliant Hearts -- a nice game with a little documentary mixed in for depth. However, the platforming became tedious, and when I got to a point where the camera wouldn't cooperate (I was tasked with jumping to platforms I couldn't even see), I quit. I was about halfway through. In general, platforming isn't my favorite thing, so it doesn't take much to put me off. There had been other little frustrations before that
I appreciated their attempt to tell an interesting and unique story. It's a shame it didn't have better gameplay.
I noticed that Gamespot and Gamesradar both gave it a 4, which is a little harsh, but they articulated some of my feelings about the game:
"Never Alone is a heartbreaking game, but not just because it's a particularly sad one. No, it's because the game's concept is admirable -- a platformer steeped in the culture and folklore Native Alaskan Iñupiaq people -- but the game itself is shabby."
"I began my time with Never Alone thinking that it could be the kind of game I would recommend even to people who rarely play games, something to hold up alongside the likes of Journey, inspiring me to say, "Look! Here is what games can do!" By the game's conclusion, the opposite was true; frequent and infrequent players alike should avoid it, for no amount of narrative sincerity makes up for this exercise in mechanical frustration."
http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/never-alone-review/1900-6415968/
"Never Alone is a disappointment. The idea behind it is wonderful. [....] It starts incredibly well. [....] As you progress, there’s rising panic that Never Alone is getting the simple stuff wrong. For me, the glum realisation came when I tried to jump off a crate with Fox and got trapped in an endless animation loop. In isolation, it wouldn’t be worth mentioning, but this is just one of many problems. There’s a ‘tip of the iceberg’ analogy in there somewhere, but you deserve better. That, and I’m too sad for jokes."
"As Never Alone moves away from simple storytelling and into complicated puzzling, the problems become more apparent. The camera is unwieldy like a sled pulled by sausage dogs. Occasionally it points you in completely the wrong direction, making simple brainteasers seem obtuse. More frustratingly, not everything works first time. A few puzzles had me stumped because I tried to do a thing - usually smashing ice with Nuna’s bolas - and it simply didn’t work. It was usually only after five fruitless minutes trying Plan B that I realised that Plan A was, in fact, correct. Occasionally, the problems are caused by failures in signposting: an inability to make things even moderately idiot-proof. Other times, they’re full on, what-the-hell-just-happened faults."
http://www.gamesradar.com/never-alone-review/
For a while, I thought it was going to be like Valliant Hearts -- a nice game with a little documentary mixed in for depth. However, the platforming became tedious, and when I got to a point where the camera wouldn't cooperate (I was tasked with jumping to platforms I couldn't even see), I quit. I was about halfway through. In general, platforming isn't my favorite thing, so it doesn't take much to put me off. There had been other little frustrations before that
I appreciated their attempt to tell an interesting and unique story. It's a shame it didn't have better gameplay.
I noticed that Gamespot and Gamesradar both gave it a 4, which is a little harsh, but they articulated some of my feelings about the game:
"Never Alone is a heartbreaking game, but not just because it's a particularly sad one. No, it's because the game's concept is admirable -- a platformer steeped in the culture and folklore Native Alaskan Iñupiaq people -- but the game itself is shabby."
"I began my time with Never Alone thinking that it could be the kind of game I would recommend even to people who rarely play games, something to hold up alongside the likes of Journey, inspiring me to say, "Look! Here is what games can do!" By the game's conclusion, the opposite was true; frequent and infrequent players alike should avoid it, for no amount of narrative sincerity makes up for this exercise in mechanical frustration."
http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/never-alone-review/1900-6415968/
"Never Alone is a disappointment. The idea behind it is wonderful. [....] It starts incredibly well. [....] As you progress, there’s rising panic that Never Alone is getting the simple stuff wrong. For me, the glum realisation came when I tried to jump off a crate with Fox and got trapped in an endless animation loop. In isolation, it wouldn’t be worth mentioning, but this is just one of many problems. There’s a ‘tip of the iceberg’ analogy in there somewhere, but you deserve better. That, and I’m too sad for jokes."
"As Never Alone moves away from simple storytelling and into complicated puzzling, the problems become more apparent. The camera is unwieldy like a sled pulled by sausage dogs. Occasionally it points you in completely the wrong direction, making simple brainteasers seem obtuse. More frustratingly, not everything works first time. A few puzzles had me stumped because I tried to do a thing - usually smashing ice with Nuna’s bolas - and it simply didn’t work. It was usually only after five fruitless minutes trying Plan B that I realised that Plan A was, in fact, correct. Occasionally, the problems are caused by failures in signposting: an inability to make things even moderately idiot-proof. Other times, they’re full on, what-the-hell-just-happened faults."
http://www.gamesradar.com/never-alone-review/
