Upper One Games Reveals Never Alone

"What good are old stories if the wisdom they contain is not shared?" asks Upper One Games, whose position as the first Native American video game studio makes them one of the most unique voices in the industry today. 

Upper One has announced its first game Never Alone (or Kisima Innitchuna), which seeks to answer that question. Based on Iñupiaq folklore, this puzzle-based platformer seeks to share the tribes culture and history with a larger audience. Players take on the role of Nuna, a young Inuit girl and her arctic fox companion as they attempt to rescue their tribe from a never-ending blizzard.

The scenery and character designs of the game both draw heavily on the legends of the Iñupiat, and the result is a game with a unique, atmospheric visual sense. Never Alone is the studio's first project, and this announcement almost marks its one year anniversary.

Upper One made waves when the Cook Inlet Tribal Council of Alaska (a non-profit that supports the Native American and First Nations populations of Alaska) chose to fund a video game studio in June of 2013 instead of investing in more traditional sources of revenue. At the announcement of its founding, Upper One shared plans to release two titles in 2014, one of which is Never Alone. The other is Historia, a educational game for middle school students exploring history and social studies.

Never Alone is due sometime this fall as a download for Xbox One, PC and PlayStation 4, although Upper One has yet to announce an official date for its release.