This is a review of the DLC for Never Alone. For the main game’s review, please see: https://backloggd.com/u/RedBackLoggd/review/1648515/

Note - as this game rehashes almost everything from its predecessor, no in-depth discussions will be had on the GFX or sound


Foxtales is the sole expansion to Never Alone, offering another retelling of a (presumably popular) Iñupiaq tale. Is it worth the trouble? Well, that’ll depend on how much you like deep sea diving!

Yes, like Avatar 2 did for Avatar 1, Foxtales primarily revolves around water as you and your canidaec companion weather the icy seas in search of a runaway mouse. Puzzles are once again simple quid pro quos, the lion’s share entailing you utilizing stones to both circumvent obstacles and breakdown barriers blocking spirit winds. Interestingly, despite the title of Foxtales, your unnamed boy arguably plays a larger role in each stage due to him being the only one capable of navigating the boat and tossing boulders.

Speaking of the protagonist, graphically the game is a bit on the lazy side as the devs didn’t bother altering the character model to separate his sex from his predecessor’s. There was inconsistent gendering in the first game too, but I was willing to chock that up to translation errors: here, though, he is consistently referred to as a Boy despite being visually indifferent from the female of Never Alone.

Ironically, your Fox companion was given a slight makeover & new animations, his fur boasting a slight silver mane and his model doing things like putting paws up on the side of the boat and ducking whenever a rock falls into said vessel.

But ultimately there’s nothing much to say about Foxtales: it’s less than an hour, has a story with an unclear message, and is basically unconnected to its predecessor. It’s not inherently bad; however, filtering a potentially-strong cultural tale through a forgettable lens doesn’t exactly do it favors.


NOTES
-I’ll give the devs credit for crafting new enemy types rather than reskinning old ones.

Note - this is a review of the base game, for its expansion see: https://backloggd.com/u/RedBackLoggd/review/1648517/


Never Alone made the indie rounds back-in-the-day for being the first major video game to focus on the Iñupiat, its contents adapting a popular oral story from said tribe’s folklore. You control a young woman named Nuna who sets off on a quest to find the source of some horrible blizzards that have been afflicting her town. Question is, are the game’s contents as novel as its premise, or is it another case of flimsy execution? Well, it won’t challenge veteran players, though I could definitely see it being a gateway for newer ones, particularly those who have a close friend at-hand.

Yes, that’s right, Never Alone is local co-op only, and while you can technically play it solo, I’d recommend finding a buddy as this is one of those titles that best suits the format (like the name didn’t give that away). While Nuna is your protagonist, it’s not long before her arctic ally shows-up, the goal of each chapter devolving into the two of them working in-tandem to surpass obstacles good old-fashioned puzzle platformer style.

Unfortunately, Never Alone’s puzzles are a bit on the easy side, meaning it doesn’t take more than a few seconds to deduce the solution upon second glance. Now, of course, simplicity isn’t synonymous with fun, and I certainly enjoyed my time with the game, but it should be made clear that, unless you’re playing it for ulterior reasons, you won’t find much exterior motivation here (+) -- this is less of a brainteaser and more of a cinematic introduction to a thoroughly-interesting culture.

That aside, there were some objective flaws with the gameplay that do bear repeating, the worst being the presence of game-breaking bugs. On multiple occasions my brother or I found our sprites stuck in a falling animation, and it appeared to be triggered whenever we immediately jumped after taking a fall; other times, a scene wouldn’t load and we’d have to restart from the last autosave. Now thankfully the checkpoint system is very generous, otherwise my monitor may have found a controller chucked through it; however, that doesn’t excuse the continued existence of errors almost 10 years post-release.

The second issue I had concerned a set of magical bolas you’ll frequently employ during the course of your journey as their controls are inverted and they lack a trajectory path, resulting in many many failed throw attempts. All cards on the table, I personally never got frustrated, though I could definitely see this being problematic for other gamers given the bolas’ extensive usage in-game.

Visually, Never Alone has rightfully earned acclaim for its presentation as this is a gorgeous title. It actually adopts two different art styles, one for the base game and the other for the slideshow cutscenes scattered throughout the story. In the former, you’re looking at something akin to an HD WiiWare release, with 3D modeling and cartoon-esque rendering propped against relatively-realistic backdrops of nature vistas. In the latter, cinematics resemble stenciled drawings overlain with a tan filter, their presence bringing to mind those old Tomie dePaola illustrations from the Strega Nona series.

Ultimately, though, the best graphical feats owe fealty to some superb animation and illumination work wrought by the artisans at Upper One Games. For starters, 90% of Never Alone takes place amidst heavy wind, and visibly seeing the effects of the gull on Nuna’s hair & cloak, or the Fox’s tail & fur, were delightful to witness. Even more impressive are the transitory animations as, with the exception of bola pull-outs, every single one of them is perfectly seamless: whether you’re going from a drop to recovery, or prone to standing, I never once caught those stilted frames oft seen in independent video games.

Lighting is largely static, but the few times the devs implement dynamic interfaces, they’re definitely spellbinding, the best instances ironically emanating from the bolas, whose blue glow shines on both Nuna and any obstacle you toss them at (++). In addition, a flurry of green spirits boast their own radiance during scripted sequences, bringing a dark viridescence to the Alaskan Tundra.

Speaking of dark, it should be noted that, while the story here is pretty heavy, I’d honestly put it in the same category as other children’s works like Secret of NIMH or Courage the Cowardly Dog in that it’s ultimately appropriate for kids (+++). There are some interesting twists that occur, but fundamentally the game follows the same general beats as other cultural fables (minus the preachy lesson at the end).

SFX is overall very good, with footsteps differentiated between the many characters and environmental interactions hosting grand reverberations - given that Mother Nature is as much against you as the demons within, it was terrific hearing such colossi as icebergs, snowstorms, and collapsing trees actually resound like their real-life counterparts would to a lone human. My sole complaint (no pun intended) is that the footfall was a little soft-sounding, though I understand that may have been deliberate due to the potential repetitiveness.

Nuna and the Fox have their respective grunts, but by-and-large the voice acting comes down to narration from a guy named James Mumigan Nageak, who does a fair job even if he’s a bit too monotone-ish. That said, as I noted in my review of Jotun, it’s difficult to judge non-English voice acting when you’re not fluent in the language, so I do concede Nageak could very well be putting greater nuance (or vice-versa!) into his oration and I’m simply incapable of noticing.

The score by Brendan J. Hogan operates in a low-key way, alternating between soft piano touches and hard drums to highlight the arctic beauty about you whilst accentuating action beats respectively.

In the end, Never Alone is a case of what you see is what you get - a beautiful platformer for either green gamers looking for a gateway into the genre or parents seeking a title to play with their kids. As long as you’re willing to overlook some glitches, you should have a pleasant time.


NOTES
+It blows my mind reading a number of negative Steam reviews ranting about trial & error puzzles. If you’re so frustrated with Never Alone that you have to resort to slinging mud-at-a-wall, you’re better off sticking with Checkers.

++The bolas are further amazing in that they follow the physics engine of the game: throw them at a slope and they’ll individually roll-on down; fling them into a body of water and they’ll make a splash!

+++In case it comes across like I’m denigrating Never Alone by calling it a children’s game, here’s my obligatory “no, I’m not using adolescence as an insult.”

-There is only one visual con, and that’d be the close-ups of Nuna and the Fox yielding some slightly-uncanny compositing. The distant camera, hoodie, and bellowing snow pellets were no doubt deliberate (smart) design choices in that regard.