A bit of Google searching told me that Devotion is a game made by Red Candle Games, a company based in Taiwan.
This game was apparently taken down from Steam after some China players noticed insults about their government inside the game.
Well, I managed to get the game, and I played it twice. First on a blind run just to see if I can get through the game, and a second time 30 minutes later to record the no commentary playthrough. If you're interested, you can view the playthroughs here: Part 1 - Part 2
So, review of the game, right?
If You Have a Copy of Devotion by Red Candle Games, Play It
My ratings - 5/5
Gameplay Difficulty: Easy, Beginner level
Game Genre: Atmospheric Horror, Adventure, Exploration
If you are categorized as a noob game player like me - I can't survive survival games, FPS games or anything that requires me not to panic and have control over which buttons I'm pressing - then this game is for you.
Devotion is more like an exploration game that you can get through without even searching for 'Devotion Game Walkthrough' on Google. I managed to get past it in the first run just fine, and it's the first time in a few months that I have actually completed a game - much less in just a couple of hours.
If you like horror games that gives you the creeps - good atmosphere, good sound effects, barely relying on jumpscares, then once more, Devotion is a game that you NEED to try. I loved the music choices, the atmospheric horror of the entire game scenes and everything else. Even the credits. Everything.
There could be game spoilers from this point onwards.
I won't classify this game as a survival game, simply because there's no way that you can die in this game. Even if you do at ONE single point of the game, you get to try again immediately because the game auto-saves at each door entrance and some cutscenes.
As a Chinese person playing this game, it's super refreshing to play an atmospheric horror game that has Chinese audio. It feels like home.
I suppose that is the entire point of this game. It feels just like home if you are from this cultural background. From the moment you open the game, the traditional Chinese music vibe brings you back to the 80's or so.
Kudos to the game developers who paid so much detail to the surroundings of the game. There isn't that many rooms or scenarios to create - most of the game occurs inside an apartment unit with 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom (ah, the goddamn bathroom), a living room and a kitchen area.
However, the living room was so... forgive the bare descriptions, but it was so Chinese.
Devotion Stuck Close to the Chinese Cultural Background
So I said it was super 'Chinese' because I look at every single furnishing pieces and I think of my grandparents' place. The glass coffee table, that specific wooden clock, the TV program they aired on the TV, how they furnished Mei Shin's study table... Everything felt like home.
Hey, I'm Chinese okay, spare me the ridicule.
Even the apartment entrances are like... I look at it and I go, "Yep that's how some of my more religious relatives decorate their home entrances. You enter the house and the praying altar is right there, its red light glowing luminously even in the dark.
I remember being scared of that same glowing red light when I had to go downstairs and pee in the middle of the night when I was still a little kid.
And look, there's a tank with an Arowana in it. Absolutely Chinese.
The Chinese Religion Cult Obsessions
Buddhist, Taoist, whatever religion some of these Chinese people might be, you can be sure that there are some people who would rather visit their sifu (in this game, Mentor Hu) than to visit the doctor.
You can present them with any sorts of problems - baby crying too much in the middle of the night, child being very mischievous, teenager getting too rebellious, someone keeps getting sick in the family or suddenly appear tired all the time etc. The list is endless. These religious people will ask you to go to the temple and pray.
I even remember going to one of those temples myself. They had amulets, prayers and blessings for everything. I didn't believe in it then, and now I'm still filled with disbelief about how some people can take it too far like how the main character in the game did.
The mention of afterlife was also realistic. If you have been to the Chin Swee Temple near Genting Highlands, you might have seen the representations of various levels of Chinese hell. You can take a look at Luna's blog post here to see what the display is all about.
In one of these levels, the sinners are punished to support heavy rocks and pillars for their sins. That refers to the Chamber of Rocks. The sinners that you are looking at in the game are supposedly those who kill or abandon their babies.
Traditional Chinese Families' Taboo of Mental Illnesses
Oh, this game definitely hit this point just right. Many parents would rather think that their children is just lazy or have been possessed by demons rather than the simple, medical fact that there are some messed up brain chemicals in their child's minds.
When Mei Shin explained about her shortness of breath, thinking that she was going to die in her sleep, or expect the worst to happen when she's out with her friends, it was clear that she was suffering from anxiety and panic attacks.
The main character's reaction to seeing the medical report suggesting him to refer Mei Shin to a psychiatrist could seem exaggerated, but even in the modern Chinese family now, this report will still wield almost no power in front of conservative parents.
Lady of the Pier
Mei Shin's song at the credits only made the game sadder. The game endings revealed that in pursue of his obsession with the Cigu Guanyin cult, he actually ended up with his wife leaving him, having been accused of being possessed by a demon.
Sadder still, although LiFang was supposed to come back after her movie to bring her daughter with her, she did not do it in time. When Mei Shin's conditions worsened due to her mother's sudden absence, the main character resorted to bring her to Mentor Hu - for the last time.
Mei Shin had drowned in the bath tub, soaked in snake wine.
Hearing Mei Shin's singing the very song that brought her to her fame - but not to the finals - knowing that she passed on due to her father's obsession left a sad feeling to say the least.
At the end of the game, Mei Shin turned around from a sandbox area in the playground and said, "Let's go home, dad."
Perhaps the father already came to realization about what truly happened, since the final cutscene showed him sitting in the living room in the dark, TV static buzzing on. This is further supported by him finding the recorded audio clips of other clients' complaints when he 'woke up' from the ritual to save his daughter.
Extra: Lady of The Pier Chinese & English Lyrics
大海滿是波浪 不見船入港
Ocean full of waves, no ships in sight at port
她站在碼頭 遙望著北方
Standing on the pier, she gazes far north
青絲飛上白霜 心還惦著他
Hair dyed by time, the heart still missing him
信裡沒說的 那句回答
The answer owed in my letter to you
傻傻的姑娘戴一朵花 等著他回來啊
A flower in her hair, waiting for his return
小小的嘴兒藏不住話 都唱成情歌啊
Her voice overflowing with words, she sings a love song
青山依舊 歲月如常 也不見她悲傷
Mountains last, years pass, yet her sadness remains hidden
有情的人 別問她 你還願意嗎？
For the one who's full of love, don't ask if she's still willing
(repeat)
若有來世 你還願意嗎？
If there's an afterlife, are you still willing?
