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Never Alone was developed by Upper One Games and E-Line Media and published by E-Line Media. It was released on November 18, 2014 for $14.99 on Xbox One. A copy was provided for review purposes.

Do you remember the arrival of the first tightly crafted indie Xbox sidescroller that disproved the notion that a Big Developer with a Big Budget was needed to create games of the highest quality? Neither do I, and that’s because it’s an event guilty of such unrestrained reproduction that it’s hard to recall its inaugural occurrence. Was it the release of Limbo? Mark of the Ninja? Braid? Something else? Regardless of what game kicked off this most welcome — even if now slightly clichéd — trend, it’s seemed apparent since its announcement that Never Alone would be the next game to continue the movement.

Its pretty graphics, intriguing setting and story aspiring to teach players something new caused many to think that Never Alone would be the next big little game. Maybe that’s an unfair burden to have placed on it. Maybe gamers should have instead anticipated only a game that would deftly introduce them to a culture that was heretofore both underrepresented and misrepresented in popular media. Certainly Never Alone does just that, offering a glimpse at the Iñupiat people’s ways that’s worth seeing. But while Upper One Games and E-Line Media have wonderfully succeeded in educating their audience, they’ve come up disappointingly short in entertaining it.

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Never Alone stands at a distinctive place for gaming. Built in partnership with the Alaska Native community, Never Alone attempts to introduce players to the unique culture of the Iñupiat …
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Pure Pool sneakily made onto the Xbox One over the weekend and is available now for $12.99. The beautiful-looking billiards game offers multiple game types and online live matches. …
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If these leaked screenshots are to be believed, we may very well have our first look at Telltale’s upcoming Game of Thrones series. The screens, first discovered by @lifelower, do have that certain Telltale style, so we’re inclined to believe they’re legit (or just really good fakes). While the game is going to focus on the little-known House Forrester, it appears that its members will cross paths with some familiar faces from the show.

Telltale recently revealed the first details of the series, which will span six episodes and follow five playable characters. Game of Thrones is coming later this year, but not before Telltale’s other upcoming series Tales from the Borderlands.

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Telltale Games has proven to be a master of storytelling with numerous successful adaptations of exciting intellectual properties, including two recently released on Xbox One: The Walking Dead Seasons 1 and 2 and The Wolf Among Us. Telltale now looks to expand upon the mythology behind Pandora, the setting for Gearbox Software’s highly successful Borderlands Series, with Tales from the Borderlands. The game will be released for multiple platforms including Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Episodes may be purchased for $4.99 each. After buying the first episode players will have the option of getting a season pass for an additional $14.99 (saving the price of one episode).

The first episode, Zer0 Sum, will be releasing soon. The series will feature some pretty recognizable voice actors: Troy Baker as Rhys, Laura Bailey as Fiona, Chris Hardwick as Vaughn, Erin Yvette as Sasha, Patrick Warburton as Vasquez and Dameon Clarke as Handsome Jack. The series will take place after Borderlands 2 with some plot tie-ins to the recently released Borderlands the Pre-sequel.

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Project Totem, the puzzle-platformer from Press Play, has been renamed Kalimba and is coming to Xbox One on December 17, the developer has announced. A new trailer showing the formerly titular totems platforming across various color-coded stages was released alongside the announcement.

Kalimba, which features both single-player and a co-op modes, has players controlling living totems that are stacked on top of each other to form poles. Creative Director Asger Strandby calls the co-op mode a “friendship tester.” XBLA Fans can speak to that point; our preview recounts some of the difficulties the team had in coordinating with each other to overcome the game’s obstacles. Shouting at your co-op partner is an inevitability.

Each totem pole piece is a different color, which is more of a design choice than it is an aesthetic one. Each stage in Kalimba‘s three worlds is filled with colored barriers that can only be passed through by a totem of the same hue. To progress through the game, players need to stack and align their totems so that each one is set to pass through barriers with their corresponding colors. Check the trailer after the jump to see this mechanic in action.

Players start with a limited number of totem pieces, but they’re given more to work with as they move deeper into the game and come closer to rescuing the island of Kalimba from an evil shaman.

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Terraria was originally developed by Re-Logic; 505 Games published the Xbox One port. It is scheduled for release on November 14, 2014 and will cost $19.99. A copy was provided for review purposes.

I’m not sure when or why I began to think more sceptically about re-released and high definition remasters of past-generation games. Perhaps it was only recently, when the Xbox One became awash with them. First there was Minecraft, then all three current Telltale Games productions and now, less than two weeks later, we have Terraria (and in the retail space, Halo: The Master Chief Collection.)

I’ve always enjoyed Terraria, as I described at length in my review of the original Xbox 360 release. Because this is essentially still the same game — albeit with the addition of a number of key updates — it should come as no surprise that the original critique still stands. There are, however, some important new bits that make the Xbox One release different. Let’s unearth them.

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Upload, Microsoft’s curated channel of community videos, can now be watched online at Xbox.com/upload and from the Upload 360 app for Xbox 360. Originally, Upload could be viewed only …
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We’re hiring. Come write (or stream) for us!
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A brand new system update for the Xbox One is rolling out now, packed with plenty of fan-requested features. This will be the last major update this year, following 10 consecutive updates that released throughout 2014. This may be the year’s final update, but more feature-rich updates are planned for 2015.

Customization is a big part of the new update. You’ll now be able to set your background image, using either unlocked achievement art or your own imported images. You’ll also be able to customize your profile, letting you edit and display your location and bio. The brand new showcase feature lets you pick your favorite achievements and game clips and attach them to your profile, letting you show off your accomplishments to the world. If game clips are your thing, you’ll now be able to share them through Twitter if you have an account linked to your Gamertag.

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