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Horror adventure game "Devotion" (from Red Candle Games, dev of "Detention") releases today on Steam

Arthands

Arthands

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Oct 26, 2017
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Releasing in about 5 hours from now.





From the creators of the IndieCade Journey Award winner Detention, Red Candle Games brings you a story Inspired by East Asian folk culture. Devotion is a first-person atmospheric horror game depicting the life of a family shadowed by religious belief. Explore as a 1980s Taiwan apartment-complex lost in time gradually shift into a hellish nightmare. Delve into the vows each member of the family has made, and witness their devotion.
Story
You step into your apartment, 80s music drifts through the air, an idol show plays on the television; a nostalgic setting surely, but what is this feeling of unease? You question this place you used to call "home," noticing as it distorts with every shift of your eyes, anxious as your surroundings skirt the precipice of the extraordinary. As you push through each memory, uncovering the layers of each mystery, you may find buried in this home, the unsettling truth of those who lived here.

"Remember what you prayed for…"
Features
  • First-person atmospheric horror
  • Story-driven exploration and intrigue
  • Sound design applying the use of East Asian instruments and 80s Taiwanese music
  • Relive the 1980s Taiwanese lifestyle through visuals and setting
  • Unique Taiwanese/East Asian reference (folk culture, elements of taoism/buddhism)
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Zacmortar

Zacmortar

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YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I didnt realize it was so soon!!!!!! So fuckin hyped for more unique cultural horror
 
AppleMIX

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Holy Shit!

Detention was pretty great. I had no idea that this was coming so soon.
 

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Thanks for making this thread, Detention was one of my favorite games of 2017 and one of my all time top 10 horror games, yet I didn't know this was even releasing. Will buy and play through it later today.
 
Epilexia

Epilexia

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Jan 27, 2018
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'Detention' is my favorite narrative game, ever.

Not a great fan of the new 3D style, but I have confidence in Red Candle releasing other masterpiece defying the expectations of the players.
 
wafflebrain

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Gonna wait for some impressions and reviews before I grab this but hoping it maintains a similar atmosphere to Detention. In need of some good narrative horror.
 
Wanderer5

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Oooh, forgot this was coming. Will probably wait to see if a switch version will be made, but looking forward to impressions.
 
Dusk Golem

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Blade Wolf

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Taiwanese here, it's absolutely amazing. Storytelling is the focus here and honestly it's pretty good.

Also the game beat Fortnite on Twitch for a short period which is nice.

Dusk Golem said:
The game has received over 1000 Steam reviews since it released 6 hours ago, and currently holds a 92% positive rating, and skimming over the English reviews they are praising the game for the atmosphere, the setting, and its story, so it's probably very good.
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Hey man, I really hope you enjoy it : )
 
More_Badass

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Dusk Golem said:
The game has received almost 1000 Steam reviews since it released 6 hours ago, and has over a 90% positive rating, and skimming over the English one they have praise for the game, the atmosphere, the setting, and its story, so it's probably very good.
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Actually, I'm more interested in impressions of the gameplay. Is this more SOMA/Edith Finch (light puzzles and mostly exploration), more PT (a creepy but relatively straightforward experience), or more of a first person adventure game with puzzles, items, interactions, etc
 
Dusk Golem

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More_Badass said:
Actually, I'm more interested in impressions of the gameplay. Is this more SOMA/Edith Finch (light puzzles and mostly exploration), more PT (a creepy but relatively straightforward experience), or more of a first person adventure game with puzzles, items, interactions, etc
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Have you played Edith Finch? Closest comparision I can make, the game is story focused but uses gameplay as a narrative focus. Like there's a 2D storybook platforming section with a hand-drawn style, a part more akin to P.T., but each section of the game changes in style a bit for what fits the story, but it's first and foremost an "experience" game but with variety within it and using gameplay to tell a story.
 
More_Badass

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Dusk Golem said:
Have you played Edith Finch? Closest comparision I can make, the game is story focused but uses gameplay as a narrative focus. Like there's a 2D storybook platforming section with a hand-drawn style, a part more akin to P.T., but each section of the game changes in style a bit for what fits the story, but it's first and foremost an "experience" game but with variety within it and using gameplay to tell a story.
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That sounds fantastic, and much more interesting than I was expecting (which was a PT-style game)

And yes, Edith Finch was one of my favorite games of that year
 

Andres

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Oct 25, 2017
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I really don't wanna say much about the game cause going in blind helps a lot but fuck, this game was sooooooo good.
 

Deleted member 1656

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The game is neat so far but it's one of those situations where the game persistently stutters just a little bit for me no matter what I do to it. Everything high, everything low, it performs pretty much the same. It was kind of hard to parse at first because the game has this intense intentional stuttering effect during cutscenes but I found a nice, well-lit little area seemingly without that effect where I could test things and yeah, it's running kinda eh. I'm just on a GTX 1060 w/a i5 7400.
 
wafflebrain

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Finished this last night and both me and the gf thoroughly enjoyed it, Red Candle can really do haunting tragedies well. Some of the visuals and spooks were a bit overdone but overall it felt like it said everything it set out to and was a complete story, didn't feel rushed or too short just the right length. Really liked the incorporation of the talent show segments, definitely added a layer of realism to the story.

Also ending spoilers...
the themes with the shaman and the father being tricked certainly reminded me of aspects of The Wailing. Not sure if there was intentional homage or influence there or not but it gave off very similar thematic vibes.

It'd probably be too intense but would love to see this get some VR support eventually.
 
deepFlaw

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Probably need to wait till I can play with friends, and I'm worried about successfully running it on my laptop so I may need to wait for a port, but... Detention ruled so I'm excited to see what this is about whenever I can actually play it.
 
More_Badass

More_Badass

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There's like almost no coverage of this game. I'm kind of baffled honestly. Detention was well received critically, and this game is doing pretty impressively on Steam. It has over 4,000 reviews already, Overwhelming Positive rating, #3 on Global Top Sellers, etc.
 

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More_Badass said:
There's like almost no coverage of this game. I'm kind of baffled honestly. Detention was well received critically, and this game is doing pretty impressively on Steam. It has over 4,000 reviews already, Overwhelming Positive rating, #3 on Global Top Sellers, etc.
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🤷 There's a lot out right now. It's close in proximity to RE2 too—another puzzle-y horror thing, and Metro came out right before which is also FPP horror. Those comparisons are obviously rather superficial, but that's how it goes, I guess...
 
Capra

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Just finished this. Definitely go into this one blind - it's fantastic.

I had to laugh when the mom spirit held me up exactly like Lisa though. The game certainly channels P.T. pretty hard at points.
 

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Oh there's two threads. That was confusing for a moment.

I'll just copy over my post from the other thread if anyone needs any more impressions before picking the game up, and if anyone wants a more detailed breakdown of where the jump scares are:

I just finished the game (it's 2.5-3ish hours for anyone wondering). Let me say this: Red Candle are one of the highlight storytellers in the industry when it comes to layered character work and meaningful storytelling using symbols, metaphors, allusions, and strong theming. Detention had those same strengths and Devotion continues them without skipping a beat. However, as has already been mentioned, the game is arguably more similar to Edith Finch than to the first Detention in terms of those themes. It's a much more intimate story that doesn't necessarily implicate the same broad issues that Detention did. I won't say any more since spoiling would be a disservice.

But that textured and carefully directed storytelling is really the star of the show here. Red Candle are not just very talented developers, but talented storytellers in general. They absolutely should be mentioned alongside Giant Sparrow.

I know many of you picking up this game will want to experience it for the atmosphere and the story and not necessarily for the "jump scares." I'm going to spoiler tag a description of the jump scares, how many there are, and when/where they occur, so that anyone who wants can be warned in advance so they're not shitting themselves the entire time. There are other scary moments obviously but these are the only ones where something happens quickly and there's a loud noise/scare chord to accompany it.

There are two jump scares.

#1. When you first leave the apartment at the very beginning of the game. There is a corridor outside the apartment. There is a jump scare here, something flies toward you quickly and there's a loud noise.

#2. There's a section of the game later where you can visit three different areas. In the second of those three areas (you'll know when you get there how to determine which is the second of the three), there is a room with a doll on a bed. When you interact with that doll, when you go back out into the hallway, there is immediately a jump scare. It's the same type, something flies toward you and there's a loud noise.

EDIT: There is some disagreement about how many jumpscares are in the game, look at Disgraced's post two posts down for a few more moments that could be considered jump scares.

I hope you all enjoy this remarkable game from an exceptionally talented studio. Right after this post I'm going to mention it as a counterpoint in the "February 2019 was a bad month for video games" thread.

EDIT: Game has 1,000+ reviews on Steam and the Twitch numbers were crazy. I really hope that's a sign of great sales.
 
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deepFlaw

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Very vaguely glanced at those and I appreciate having that knowledge, thanks!

especially as I can be vaguely prepared to see friends react, if they don't want to be warned
 

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deepFlaw said:
Very vaguely glanced at those and I appreciate having that knowledge, thanks!

especially as I can be vaguely prepared to see friends react, if they don't want to be warned
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FiveSide said:
There are two jump scares.

#1. When you first leave the apartment at the very beginning of the game. There is a corridor outside the apartment. There is a jump scare here, something flies toward you quickly and there's a loud noise.

#2. There's a section of the game later where you can visit three different areas. In the second of those three areas (you'll know when you get there how to determine which is the second of the three), there is a room with a doll on a bed. When you interact with that doll, when you go back out into the hallway, there is immediately a jump scare. It's the same type, something flies toward you and there's a loud noise.
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OK, I finished the game today as well (it took me 3.5 hours), and there are more jumpscares than a handful and definitely more than two. I lost count, but I would estimate around 10. *I define a jumpscare as a loud, sudden noise inserted to startle you, often accompanied by spooky imagery. Here are some jumpscares you missed:
#3. In the living room, as you sit over a birthday cake a shadowy Mei Shin appears and spooks you.
#4. Before you drown in the bathroom flooding with blood, Li Fang appears on the ceiling and shrieks at you.
#5. Mei Shin appears behind you sitting and crying on the bed. When you approach her, her face misshapes and she shrieks at you.
#6. As you investigate something else in the master bedroom, suddenly there is Lisa from PT-esque croaking behind you and when you turn around Li Fang is in the doorway once again, gives ya another shrieking.

And the game has a significant number more of tinier jumpscares littered here and there. Random bangs from the other room, spectral figures flashing in front of you—that kind of thing.
I wouldn't say the game relies on its jumpscares and a lot of them were duds for me but know that they're around for sure. I would honestly hesitate to recommend this one to those adverse to jumpscares.

*On second thought, my definition is bad. Wikipedia's is better:
A jump scare is a technique often used in horror films and video games, intended to scare the audience by surprising them with an abrupt change in image or event, usually co-occurring with a loud, frightening sound.
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Disgraced said:
OK, I finished the game today as well (it took me 3.5 hours), and there are more jumpscares than a handful and definitely more than two. I lost count, but I would estimate around 10. I define a jumpscare as a loud, sudden noise inserted to startle you, often accompanied by spooky imagery. Here are some jumpscares you missed:
#3. In the living room, as you sit over a birthday cake a shadowy Mei Shin appears and spooks you
#4. Before you drown in the bathroom flooding with blood, Li Fang appears on the ceiling and shrieks at you
#5. Mei Shin appears behind you sitting and crying on the bed. When you approach her, her face misshapes and she shrieks at you.
#6. As you investigate something else in the master bedroom, suddenly there is Lisa from PT-esque croaking behind you and when you turn around Li Fang is in the doorway once again, gives ya another shrieking.

And the game has a significant number more of tinier jumpscares littered here and there. Random bangs from the other room, spectral figures flashing in front of you—that kind of thing.
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I know the moments you're referring to and I don't consider those jumpscares, they were scary imagery yes but it wasn't a sudden loud scare chord accompanied by fast sudden movement. In a few of those instances there isn't any sound effect at all, let alone a loud one.

That being said I'll make an edit in my post to look at your post in addition since I'm not sure what other people's standards may be with this.

As for the general other scary things that happen, well yea it's a horror game. It's tense and there are moments where something unexpected happens. But the "jumpscare" for me is really just that moment where the massive noise comes in suddenly and it's almost the sound effect alone that blindsides you causing the "scare."
 

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FiveSide said:
I know the moments you're referring to and I don't consider those jumpscares, they were scary imagery yes but it wasn't a sudden loud scare chord accompanied by fast sudden movement. In a few of those instances there isn't any sound effect at all, let alone a loud one.

That being said I'll make an edit in my post to look at your post in addition since I'm not sure what other people's standards may be with this.

As for the general other scary things that happen, well yea it's a horror game. It's tense and there are moments where something unexpected happens. But the "jumpscare" for me is really just that moment where the massive noise comes in suddenly and it's almost the sound effect alone that blindsides you causing the "scare."
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There most definitely are sound effects and/or fast movements in the moments I listed. It seems like what your standards are or how you're defining jumpscare is that it worked for you. I was only blindsided by the Li Fang one in the bedroom and a random noise early in the game; only those two worked for me but... I recognize a lot of other moments in the game where the hope was that I jumped. That's all I have to say on this; I see this argument only going dumb places. I don't want to be like "the fact is there are this many jumpscares!" (like I kind of am being) because that's not actually how I like discussing media.
 

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Disgraced said:
There most definitely are sound effects and/or fast movements in the moments I listed. It seems like what your standards are or how you're defining jumpscare is that it worked for you. I was only blindsided by the Li Fang one in the bedroom and a random noise early in the game; only those two worked for me but... I recognize a lot of other moments in the game where the hope was that I jumped. That's all I have to say on this; I see this argument only going dumb places. I don't want to be like "the fact is there are this many jumpscares!" (like I kind of am being) because that's not actually how I like discussing media.
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Yea I just went ahead and edited my post to say look at yours as well. Regardless I'd consider the game very jumpscare-lite compared to other notable recent horror games and they aren't really a big part of the game compared to the generally oppressive atmosphere and the fantastic story.

Also it appears this thread hasn't had the amazing ending song posted yet so I'll pull it over from the other one:

 
Pyro

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Looks cool! I still need to play Detention though and I think Errant Signal will be doing a video on it based on him tweeting out some screenshots lately.
 

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FiveSide said:
Regardless I'd consider the game very jumpscare-lite compared to other notable recent horror games and they aren't really a big part of the game compared to the generally oppressive atmosphere and the fantastic story.
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I don't know if I'd call the story fantastic, I'd like meditate on it and find out some things that I might've missed through the lingual and cultural barrier, but I can agree on the atmosphere and your general point 100%. Like I said, I don't think it relies on jumpscares.

Something else I'd like to say about the game is that it's pretty laid-back despite the spooks. I only found one fail state and I died because I wanted to see if it would actually kill me. There are only a few other scenes where I suspect there's a fail state if I hadn't acted accordingly, but I didn't bother checking. All in all, I'd say the game is fairly accessible and easy if that's what one is looking for.

Oh and this game has best of a certain type of a scene since Heavy Rain. It's not nearly as protracted, but I think it's just as if not more effective.
 
Revolsin

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Looks like the 15000th FP horror on Steam, can't really determine what about it is better. Someone know what's distinctly great about it?
 
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