Devotion

Devotion is an adventure game kept in the surrealistic horror convention, in which most of the gameplay is presented from the first person perspective (FPP). The game also features elements of a third-person perspective platform game. It was released by Winking Entertainment and developed by Red Candle Games, an independent Taiwanese studio that already has produced other acclaimed horror game, Detention, which was released in 2017 and won an IndieCade Award. While working on Devotion, the developers were inspired by both historical events and Far Eastern beliefs. The events depicted in the game take place in Taiwan in the 1980s, with most of the action set in an apartment complex in Taipei.

Plot

1980s . One of the Taiwanese flats. The main character is watching television while listening to his partner preparing a meal in the kitchen. The woman reports on her day, but the subject quickly turns to their daughter, Mei Shin. The man does not engage in a dialogue, but listens while looking around the flat. The room he is in is old and shabby - the walls have cracks, the paint is faded and soaked with dirt. On a table lined with newspapers there are already prepared dishes, bowls and chopsticks. On the left is a cluttered desk surrounded by piles of books, and an aquarium looks out at a fish that barely fits in it.

After a while the image in front of the protagonist's eyes starts to blur. The man looks down at his shaking hands. The woman does not stop talking. Without leaving the kitchen, she starts asking about her daughter, notoriously asking the same question, "Where is Mei Shin?" The man feels worse and worse, and eventually loses touch with reality. When the picture sharpens again, the flat is no longer the same. The television is noisy, there is a drawing on the coffee table instead of dinner, and the rest of the room is shrouded in darkness. He begins to look around the flat, trying to understand what has really happened.

Gameplay

Devotion is a psychological horror, bringing to mind such games as Layers of Fear or Silent Hills P.T., so exploration of a number of repetitive, though each time taking on a different form, locations, as well as collecting clues, gradually exposing the plot, play a large role here. The protagonist wanders through narrow corridors, sometimes encountering various types of ghosts. Most of them function as jump scares, which are supposed to frighten the player, but some of them can actually kill the hero.

The game is characterised by rapid transitions and changes in the layout of rooms; one moment the player is wandering through the corridors of a flat, the next moment he's in a stairwell or a basement. Just doing seemingly insignificant things, like washing your hands, answering the phone or watching a TV show, has an impact on the environment while pushing the action forward. One moment the protagonist may be in a guest room, and after looking at a particular picture, find themselves in a small bathroom with no doors or windows.

At certain moments, the player has the option to use an additional light source, the lighter. This feature activates at times when there is more limited visibility.

Further parts of the story are also unlocked by solving specific puzzles, completing arcade challenges or using specific items in the right place. The player can explore interactive objects and take some of the more important ones, such as a doll or ballerina figurine, with them. Using them also changes the environment. In addition, the player collects notes that help him gradually learn about the family history.

A plot-relevant mini-game has also been cleverly integrated into the game. The player plays it after interacting with a booklet hidden in the suitcase, titled Flowers and Love. After a while from starting to read the book, the player takes on the role of the main character and together with her sets off to find a valuable artefact. The introduced mini-game is a platform game, the action of which takes place on the pages of the booklet. The character can move right or left, jump, climb and collect objects, useful in further parts of the story.

Technical aspects

The game uses primarily 3D graphics, kept in the photorealistic convention, but the mini-game introduced to it consists of 2D drawings, prepared with painting technique. The developers took care of the general attractiveness of the rich in details visual setting. Locations prepared in 3D technique are mostly dark and gloomy, their special atmosphere is further enhanced by a good lighting system. The mini-game is a bit different from the rest, with a warmer and more relaxing colour scheme.

The soundtrack, created using traditional Taiwanese instruments, also draws attention. The indie rock band No Party for Cao Dong, winner of the Golden Melody Award, is responsible for composing the theme.

Controversy and accessibility

The game initially received positive reviews, but shortly after its release in February 2019, it was bombarded with negative reviews on Steam. The attack was primarily launched by users from China, who expressed their outrage with one of the posters hanging on the wall, which is supposed to refer to a meme according to which Chinese leader Xi Jinping resembles Winnie the Pooh. The studio acknowledged that the joke appeared in the game by mistake and was removed during an update, and an official statement of apology was issued. Despite this, the game was removed from sale worldwide. In 2020, it reappeared as a boxed collector's edition, but so far only in Taiwan. In December 2020, the GOG.com platform announced that Devotion would soon be available again, but quickly backed off, explaining this by pressure from unhappy players.

Last updated on February 29, 2020