This is an unusual game due to how cultural documentary is intertwined throughout it. It has live footage documentary pieces (which seem very similiar stylistically to a PBS or National Geographic documentary, just in piecemeal form) that can be picked up as the player progresses.
* Each of these pieces deals with some cultural aspect that is important to both the Alaskan Iñupiat people and to a particular part of the game. This created a very good sense of relevancy.
*They were also short and to the point, which kept them from overwhelming the game's presence while still succeeding in making me curious about these Alaskan natives.
*It's an interesting direction to take and honestly I hope to see it appear in more games. In my experience, the only other game that I know of that seems to have such a focus on culture and history is Year Walk, another beautiful title that happens to also take place in the snow.

Story wise, it felt refreshing to delve into an Iñupiat tale hands on.
*Good pacing and a good relationship between gameplay and the live footage documentary pieces.
*Enjoyable dialogue, read in the traditional language. The narrator's voice does wonders to further set the tone.
*The story was presented without any needless sappy moments or anything that risked being overly "cutesy", which is something I was initially worried about before purchase .

The art felt pretty solid overall.
*For main plot cut scenes, it combines half comic/realism 3D and digitally animated etchings, designed in the traditiona style of the Iñupiat.
*Then there's the 2D environments of the playing field, which hold some expected 3D animation qualities but comboed with painterly effects that yield very enjoyable results.
*My eye also appreciated the use of forshortening to add in some 3D elements during the Forest chapter.

As for music and sound, I thought the soundtrack was fitting and pleasant.
*It wasn't grabbing my attention constantly (probably a good thing). A few times I did start to notice it and thought that finding the OST files might be a good idea eventually.
*Sound effects are alright, the wind can get a bit repetitive sounding, but it does serve to give the player a heads up about the wind speed patterns that play a big role in movement mechanics.

And as for movement mechanics....these would be my only real gripe with the game.
*Sometimes they were annoyingly sluggish, or I would be moving Nuna one way and Fox would float too far away for some reason, which then would cause the spirit under my feet to vanish and my subsequent death. This is perhaps a downside to playing in singleplayer, without a second human partner.
*Object collisions seem a bit wonky at times as well with some instances of wall, rock, and ladder humping.
*But I'm not great at platformers - I tend to avoid them for the most part - and I managed to get through this game with only 2 short periods where I was beginning to pull at my hair a bit. So I think that most people will be able to bear with the controls without much issue.

Overall, a short but interesting and informative venture, with plenty of eye candy to boot.

This is an unusual game due to how cultural documentary is intertwined throughout it. It has live footage documentary pieces (which seem very similiar stylistically to a PBS or National Geographic documentary, just in piecemeal form) that can be picked up as the player progresses. * Each of these pieces deals with some cultural aspect that is important to both the Alaskan Iñupiat people and to a particular part of the game. This created a very good sense of relevancy. *They were also short and to the point, which kept them from overwhelming the game's presence while still succeeding in making me curious about these Alaskan natives. *It's an interesting direction to take and honestly I hope to see it appear in more games. In my experience, the only other game that I know of that seems to have such a focus on culture and history is Year Walk, another beautiful title that happens to also take place in the snow. Story wise, it felt refreshing to delve into an Iñupiat tale hands on. *Good pacing and a good relationship between gameplay and the live footage documentary pieces. *Enjoyable dialogue, read in the traditional language. The narrator's voice does wonders to further set the tone. *The story was presented without any needless sappy moments or anything that risked being overly "cutesy", which is something I was initially worried about before purchase . The art felt pretty solid overall. *For main plot cut scenes, it combines half comic/realism 3D and digitally animated etchings, designed in the traditiona style of the Iñupiat. *Then there's the 2D environments of the playing field, which hold some expected 3D animation qualities but comboed with painterly effects that yield very enjoyable results. *My eye also appreciated the use of forshortening to add in some 3D elements during the Forest chapter. As for music and sound, I thought the soundtrack was fitting and pleasant. *It wasn't grabbing my attention constantly (probably a good thing). A few times I did start to notice it and thought that finding the OST files might be a good idea eventually. *Sound effects are alright, the wind can get a bit repetitive sounding, but it does serve to give the player a heads up about the wind speed patterns that play a big role in movement mechanics. And as for movement mechanics....these would be my only real gripe with the game. *Sometimes they were annoyingly sluggish, or I would be moving Nuna one way and Fox would float too far away for some reason, which then would cause the spirit under my feet to vanish and my subsequent death. This is perhaps a downside to playing in singleplayer, without a second human partner. *Object collisions seem a bit wonky at times as well with some instances of wall, rock, and ladder humping. *But I'm not great at platformers - I tend to avoid them for the most part - and I managed to get through this game with only 2 short periods where I was beginning to pull at my hair a bit. So I think that most people will be able to bear with the controls without much issue. Overall, a short but interesting and informative venture, with plenty of eye candy to boot.