What I Played: Never Alone and Fox Tales

I'm in the middle of NaNoWriMo and so I don't have a lot of words to spare on blogging and game reviews and things. But I wanted to take some time to inform/remind you all that Never Alone/Fox Tales exists.

Whale interior from Never Alone, courtesy Upper One games

Never Alone is the original game, based on Iñupiat legend, and Fox Tales is the sequel? prequel? parallel story? available as DLC. Both are quite short, but they're great.

The co-op is well done: Nuna and the fox have slightly different physics and abilities, and both are equally important when it comes to solving the game's many puzzles. Of course, you could play by yourself (just switch between characters) but that seems counterproductive for a game that's called Never Alone. The art is simple and understated but no less effective and striking.

As you progress you unlock short, informative videos about Iñupiat culture. I like them a lot, but  I wish they were better integrated into the game aside from a completionist "gotta catch 'em all" achievement. Still, I think this is a good first step when it comes to using modern media (in this case, video games) to preserve indigenous heritage and stories that are in danger of dying out.

If you haven't tried Never Alone/Fox Tales  yet, you should add it to your wishlist.