Game:

Never Alone (2014)

Category:

Let's Play

Duration: 5:46

18 views

0

Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPf6prbS2UmtASvhgyLuNzP26uAm0zkvI
Never Alone, also known as Kisima In?itchu?a ("I am not alone"), is a puzzle-platform adventure video game developed by Upper One Games and published by E-Line Media.
It is based on the traditional Iñupiaq tale, "Kunuuksaayuka", which was first recorded by master storyteller Robert Nasruk Cleveland in his collection Stories of the Black River People.

We play as the Iñupiaq girl Nuna and her Arctic fox. As an "atmospheric puzzle platformer", Never Alone's puzzles entail swapping control between Nuna and the fox.
While the fox is fast, Nuna can pick up things and open new areas using her bola.
The story and its structure is based on the intergenerational transference of wisdom.
Told in the form of an oral tale, unlike traditional platformer games, which involve overcoming obstacles and defeating enemies, Never Alone rewards players with collectible "cultural insights" - video vignettes of Iñupiaq elders, storytellers, and community members sharing their stories.
The central plot revolves around discovering the source of the blizzard that has ravaged Nuna's village and restoring balance to nature.
Other stories include that of Blizzard Man, the Little People, Manslayer, the Rolling Heads, and the Sky People. It takes place in a harsh physical environment.

The Iñupiat are an indigenous Inuit people who live in the territory of Alaska, in the USA near the border of Canada, where the Bering Strait is located.

Folklore and video games, in an educational aspect, have similarities. As the first brings the culture of a people, its memory, its history and its identity, “Never Alone” gives life to a narrative that immerses players in the Inuit culture with its mythical characters and folkloric legends, creating a language and a web of knowledge that is captivating and engaging.

These small videos are unlocked as we progress in the game and are related to each of the next levels.
For instance, when we are introduced to clothing made from the skin of hunted animals, the blizzard in the game gets stronger, but it's okay, because Nuna is already protected by the aforementioned coat.
When we get to know the drums, the owl-man appears and asks us to find his stolen drum.

In the main story the protagonist was a boy named Knuuksayuka, but this was changed by the game's production team, as they wanted to create a strong, independent female protagonist who could represent and serve as an example to all young women who play Never Alone.
It was also a way of thanking Minnie Aliitchak Gray, daughter of Robert Nasruk Cleveland, who told the stories to the production team. She translated her father's story and added details and information so that Nuna became as faithful a representant to the Iñupiat culture as the boy was.

The original story has many metaphors about the arrival of colonizers and the contact between them and the Iñupiat, and how the entire colonization process was violent, hurting not only the people but also their culture.
Photos shown by the “Cultural Insights” of the Scrimshaws of the Iñupiat.

The owl-man is a character that almost personifies the Iñupiat culture.
He is wearing his fur coat, his pipe is full of scrimshaw and the only thing missing is his drum.
At the end of our mission, the owl-man plays his drum while singing in Inuktitut with great joy.
He is connected to the immaterial culture of Never Alone; during the narrative about the drums in the Cultural Insights we learn that the owl-man was the spirit of an owl that took the form of a human in order to help Nuna with their wisdom.

During the game, we interact with various types of animals and entities in different ways: we have the polar bear and the arctic fox (or simply Fox, Nuna's companion) and the spirits that have animal silhouettes.
The Iñupiat have a very serious and ancient relationship with the fauna, flora and environment of the region.
Animals are the protectors of nature, and nature is the most important thing there is. Nature is “Sila", from the smallest animals to the most distant layer of the atmosphere, it is the building element of souls.
The bola can be interpreted as the symbol that represents the Iñupiat culture in the game, everyone tries to take it away from Nuna because of its importance and connection with the spirits since she is able to touch them and get their help (with Fox’s calling).


Follow me on Twitter:

http://www.twitter.com/NicoHDgaming

Live Stream at:
http://www.twitch.tv/nicohd
Add me on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/nico.hdgaming

Follow me on Instagram:
https://instagram.com/nicohdgaming