Following the critically-acclaimed international launch of Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna) last week, E-Line Media and Cook Inlet Tribal Council announced that it is available on PlayStation 4 in Europe.
Never Alone is the first commercial video game based on a U.S. indigenous culture and created by game development veterans in close collaboration with nearly 40 Alaska Native elders, storytellers and community members. Delivering a culturally-rich, authentic and fun gameplay experience for a global audience, Never Alone has already received plaudits from critics the world over, including Eurogamer (10/10 – “Never Alone is stunningly poignant – and quite brilliant”), Kotaku (“a charming, beautiful game”) and PC Gamer (85% – “A beautiful, fascinating exploration of a world that may soon be nothing more than fantasy”).
E-Line has also released details of its recent version 1.1 patch for the PC Steam release of Never Alone, which included the following improvements:
• In single-player mode, the character you’re not controlling will behave more intelligently
• The difficulty of the last few chapters of the game is more balanced with earlier chapters
• General control improvements
• It will be harder to accidentally switch to co-op mode when using the keyboard
• Fixes to address Save Game issues
• Fixed a bug where Never Alone would fail to launch when Steam was in Offline Mode
• In addition, the patch includes a new key-binding text file that is optimized for play on AZERTY and DVORAK keyboards.
A Never Alone version 1.1 content patch is planned for release on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 shortly, with more additional content updates on the way in the coming weeks.
Never Alone is available now for digital download on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC for £11.99 (UK) and €14.99 (Europe).
About Never Alone
In Never Alone (also known as “Kisima Ingitchuna” in the Alaska Native Iñupiaq language), players take on the roles of a young Iñupiaq girl and an arctic fox in an atmospheric puzzle platformer that combines traditional stories, settings, and characters that have been handed down over generations by Alaska Native people whose roots and heritage date back millennia. Featuring imagery and themes drawn directly from Iñupiaq and other Alaska Native cultures, Never Alone contains striking visuals that emphasize the sensibilities and perspective of these indigenous Arctic people, and allows players to work cooperatively to succeed in challenging and harsh environments.
The Never Alone team is comprised of Iñupiaq elders, artists, storytellers and other community members as well as game industry veterans who have served in key roles on such popular titles as Interstate ’76, MechWarrior II, the Tomb Raider and SOCOM series, Quake Live and many more console and PC titles over the years. Never Alone appears under the E-Line brand “Upper One Games”, which was created in concert with Cook Inlet Tribal Council to pursue the shared vision of developing and publishing ‘world games.’
Key Features of Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna) include:
• 1- and 2-player modes, both involving cooperative play (in single-player mode, the player can switch between the roles of Nuna and Fox at any time);
• 8 engaging chapters that take players across treacherous ice floes, Arctic tundra, underwater ice caves, boreal forests, cliff-built coastal villages, and more;
• Game story, settings, characters and gameplay inspired by traditional Iñupiaq folklore, including the story of Kunuuksaayuka that has been handed down for generations among the Iñupiaq people;
• Encounters with traditional Alaska Native folklore characters such as Manslayer, Sky People, and the Little People;
• In-game narration by a master Iñupiaq storyteller in the spoken Iñupiaq language – a first for a commercial video game;
• Exclusive unlockable video insights into the Iñupiaq way of life, told by Alaska Native elders and youth.