Please Play Devotion
Вставка
- Опубліковано 18 лис 2021
- Buy Devotion here: shop.redcandlegames.com/app/d...
When you're done playing the game read Red Candle's commentary here: www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...
Sources (in order of appearance):
#1. arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/1...
#2. www.rogerebert.com/answer-man...
#3. • Mom completely freaks ...
#4. www.usatoday.com/story/travel...
#5. vimeo.com/210873532
#6. www.theverge.com/2019/2/25/18...
#7. redcandlegames/st...
#8. GOGcom/status/133...
#9. venturebeat.com/2020/12/16/cd...
#10. www.pcgamer.com/after-2-years...
Like this channel? Support it on Patreon! / bobvids
#horror #devotion #redcandle - Розваги
"Roger Ebert was famously ratioed"
Starting this video off with a bang, I see
ha, 69th like
I tried to watch a stream of Devotion a few times but it was too scary for me, it wasn't until I found the video of you and Rachel playing that I was able to sit through the whole thing. She was so scared that I felt safe and seen somehow :') And now that I know where all the scary things are I can play with someone else and cover my eyes at the right moments, lol
rachel says "hell yeah"
Thats sincerely tpuching.
So wholesome dude
@@bobvids I am in the same boat with horror games sadly ;(
Did you share those videos by any chance?
Ebert seemed like the kinda guy you could have a beer with and talk for hours about what constituted certain movies and games to be art. I was also in the camp that had a kneejerk reaction to his quote before actually getting more context for what he was actually saying. He was just pondering if games could actually aspire to be better, because, even in 2005, the medium didn't a whole lot to show for itself in terms of having anything meaningful to say.
Anyhow, this is my roundabout way of saying that Devotion is basically my Game of the Year. Good video, Bob!
I'm glad Red Candle have managed to settle the dispute about Devotion's publishing rights, I can finally support a good game company.
The drummer for No Party for Cao Dong (the super famous Taiwanese band who performed Devotion's ending song) recently committed suicide... Rest in peace Fan Tsai. I don't think I'll be able to replay this any time soon unfortunately, or at least not that final scene.
i had no idea… i love no party for cao dong, im really sad to hear that. rip fan tsai
That is heartbreaking. I found No Party for Cao Dong because of this game, and listened to their music a lot when I visited Taiwan. Very sad to learn this.
I'm doing my part!! Devotion for GOTY 2021!
Why’d you take time to bash a UA-cam channel?
Devotion is what PT would’ve been, if it was an actual SH2 spiritual successor and a full modern Gen graphics imbued with authentic Asian folk culture. It’s tragic that its distribution on main platforms was short lived due to stupid politics, ironic that the story is about misplaced love, and what killed it was people blinded by misplaced hate on both sides.
Devotion has been described to me multiple times as one of the most emotionally raw and artistically pure creations of art in recent times, and hearing that *anything* achieves that sort of description usually is enough to excite me about it. However, given the fact that Devotion is a horror game and I have an extreme aversion to the horror genre of movies and games, it saddens me that I won't be able to play the game to experience its poignancy first-hand. My body just cannot uphold "The Contract" you mention early in the video; being scared isn't exhilarating or fun for me, it ignites a deep, systemic reaction within my body that just can't deal with the sudden burst of adrenaline caused by a jumpscare or even the basic tension caused by the threat of a jumpscare.
In fewer words, I'm saying I'm a fuckin wimp who can't play Devotion for herself because she's a chickenshit and she feels absolutely miserable that a truly incredible video game with - an unfortunate rarity in the gaming industry - something serious and personal to say, happens to express its message in a genre I can't engage with.
That all being said, I do appreciate you and others who talk about the game to unwrap its message for people like me who wish we could experience the message ourselves, but simply can't - either due to time constraints, personal gaming tastes or anxiety disorders. It allows people like me to hear Devotion's message without putting ourselves in a situation where the terror of the jumpscare is so great that the message is lost on us.
I'm usually too scared to play horror games myself, but I enjoy watching other people play them since for me it's less scary that way. Maybe you could try that? I watched CJU Games playthrough of Devotion, the commentary helps ease the tension without being obnoxious.
I feel the exact same way, I would need a friend over to experience this. Maybe try what sariah said, watching a comedy letsplayer might take the edge off. I watched zachbeale play this (and he cried)
Thanks for highlighting this game and taking the time to compose this video and help to understand what made this game so cool. People tend to get very hung up on the controversy it embroiled with the meme or with being very preoccupied with the PT aspects of it. Because as cool as PT was, it was just a demo with the same sort of "self-imposed limbo" feel many other games have. Devotion hit differently, something echoed by many people from Taiwan or other place in Asia because of how realistic the scenery and situations were. It was as much a love letter to the culture and nostalgia as it was a critique, which is something universal, no matter one's race, gender, age, or nationality. We all feel that bitter sting of fully understanding when looking back after holding memories dear to our hearts, and the story takes it a step further with those issues you highlighted in the video. What's worse, it turns it into a Sisyphean slog through time and memories to renew that guilt, making its title of "Devotion" so apropos. It's the main character's devotion to a spiritual guide without question or scrutiny to help his child (that he is devoted to curing) that causes a natural cycle of pain and regret.
I played it when it came out (the first time) and remember being super bummed when it got taken down. Not just because people wouldn't get to play it, but also because I was worried about the devs, and whether they'd make anything else. They seemed really dejected and overwhelmed by the harassment they got, and thankfully after 2 years it finally got a proper re-release. After Devotion and Detention (which is also very good) I'm eager to see what else they come up with, especially since both games are nothing alike aside from both being horror.
Also, strangely enough, I was thinking about that Ebert quote a few hours ago and how annoying it was that nobody seemed to have read the full thing and just reacted to the headline version of it instead.
i really liked detention as well! i had no idea about the white terror in taiwan before detention, and it actually sparked a conversation with my dad who grew up in taiwan from the 50s to the 70s
I watched an incredibly constructed criticism (the latter CinemaSins video), liked the video and ready to close the tab. But then I saw the Radiohead lyrics and stopped for a second to check your channel out. I wasn't wrong, you are conveying your thoughts and criticisms as well as the general idea of your videos very nicely. Thank you Bob for being a meaningful lighthouse in the sea of shitposting, subscribed
you know, when that Roger Ebert quote came up i was currently on my 6.297th hour of playing csgo and i thought to myself, "yeah i think he has a good point".
I think i need to make some changes in my life.
I've been trying to study horror for my own personal projects, and Devotion is a big favorite of mine, so this video has perfect timing! :)
Wild that this game still hasn't come back to Steam. Granted, it might be because the devs haven't resubmitted it, but either way that hurts its visibility in a big way.
Well, it's impossible now with all the undue controversy surrounding it. Even when the game was slated on GOG it got cancelled by GOG themselves because of pressures, I assume from the Chinese government else it made no sense for it to be cancelled.
The game even got itself region locked in China. If your system's region is set to China the game will not play.
Was so grateful to finally get an opportunity to play this recently - a well-rendered and immensely scary entry in its subgenre, which elevates the P.T. tropes by actually fleshing out the family trauma at its core and resting it in a critically specific time and place.
Thanks for letting me know this was available on their website, I had given up hope! I can't wait to play it. Beautiful video.
Not only one of the best games I've ever played but genuinly one of the greatest media experiences I've ever had. Such great atmosphere, great horror and with an important story to tell that had me in tears by the end.
I recently played this game with my wife thanks to this video and I gotta say, this game hit me like a ton of bricks in so many different ways. I had never found a game that affected me emotionally as much as SH2, until now. This game had me tense from start to finish (a feeling I, maybe masochistically, really enjoy) and by the end I was balling on the floor. The story was so beautifully told, I was deeply involved with the characters by the end and the game sends a powerful message that made me rethink how I see the world and dangers I hadn't considered. I couldn't ask for anything more from a piece of media. Thank you for making this video, sincerely.
You know the project is overdue when Bobvids releases a video and tells me to do it..
Brb crying about Devotion again
this game changed the way i see video games and storytelling. i was so crushed when i saw it get taken down in 2019, and i'm still sad that even after it was able to be distributed again in 2021 nobody talks about or remembers it... red candle put so much love and care into this game, and for me personally as an asian person the cultural aspects and familiar, nostalgic 80s taiwan aesthetic made the everything hit so much harder... i don't think i've ever cried so much to a video game before, haha. it's a really important and beautiful piece of artwork, and i'm glad to have found this video of someone talking about it.
also, no party for cao dong did some music for this game. (the ending AND one of their tracks “情歌”/"love song" in the trailer!) immediate 10/10 game of the century tbh
So glad to see someone still talking about this game. Since I saw gameplay of it when it first came out, it really stuck with me
Devotion is a masterpiece and I think anyone who can stomach horror at all should experience it
Great to see you back. Amazing video as always
i really appreciate how much your videos respect my time
BOB this is so good. Love your essays! And this game rules! I'm hype about all of it!
The fact is that what constitutes "art" is entirely subjective and always will be-- the "best" movie of all time is just whatever your favorite movie is. The issue with criticism of art is that it needs to be a form of entertainment (or art) in and of itself in order to mean anything in a subjective universe, but much criticism does not do that and instead tries to exist in a nonexistent objective universe where it's possible for there to be objective "best art" lists and criteria. And to what end i'm not sure, other than self-gratification and to facilitate the kinds of critics who make such lists.
That's the issue with Ebert's remarks, even the nuanced version-- he depends on an objective universe in order for his career to exist, so of course he doesn't recognize that all movies or all art forms are equal because to do so would mean his career of literally ranking movies would mean nothing. I don't think it did mean nothing, i think his study of film offered entertainment and enlightenment, but his thumbs up and star ratings and the idea of "best" or even "worst" movies all do mean nothing, and to even imply that what is or is not art is up to anyone other than the beholder means nothing as well. Nobody ranks "the 10 best foods of all time" because we for some reason allow for subjectivity in matters of literal taste, but of course all tastes are so subjective. Of course video games are art because anything is art that you find artistic. What proves is it is not critics or awards or top 10s-- it's your own reaction to something you found meaningful. You are enough.
We aren't often taught that our own reactions mean anything, and that art can and should be quantified, but what if the greatest song ever written was simply the one that you like the most? What if your own opinions mattered as much as anyone's? I think youtube helps with that and allows people who aren't Professional Tastemakers to make videos like this saying "this game affected me a lot, and it might do the same for you. " No paid star rating, just honest thoughts, and then someone will play this video game and it will be their own Game of the Year, in whatever year they play it in. And that too will be enough.
The context for the Ebert quote doesn't make it much better. It basically just: "Dumb kids always playing video games instead of reading a good book!" People who watch Reality TV all day also don't learn anything meaningful, does that invalidate the art form of cinema?
3:34, somehow I had never come across this particular clip before, so well articulated.
A few months late, but thank you for the video Bob! I'm on a binge watch and really appreciate the effort you pour into your content. Keep it up :)
Now, for the rest of this comment I want to share how Devotion made me fall in love with it. It'll be long, but I hope it's helpful if you're looking to see more reasons on why to love this game.
I couldn't play the game myself when it came out, so I watched the let's play. Multiple times, many different channels, all to completion (if they do complete it). Bigger channels had a better chance of someone knowing the culture intimately to explain all the intricate details that push Devotion to another level, but I still see a lot of misunderstandings surrounding the game. I remember someone rolling their eyes at the "oh it's another man goes insane and kills his family trope great", which is a perspective taken without context and history and cultures. I am not from the country the game was set in, but in a region where we understand each other enough for the emotions the game brought to reverberate deeply into us. And thus, we see the horror in a different angle.
The "misplaced love" theme is totally correct, but it may not be the whole picture. It is also about the horror of co-dependency in family, the terror of valuing superficial image above your own well being, the sexist reality of many Asian households, the superstitious practices that have claimed many lives. When I watched the game, I was not on the edge of my seat waiting for the next paranormal being or surreal terror to come out and haunt them. I was holding my breath in, praying it wouldn't end how I already know it would end. The horror, for me, was watching the descent of a fictional family going through non-fictional scenarios, disasters and tragedies. And watching it from this close hurts. When I said non-fictional, I mean it too. I still distinctively remember a story all over the news about a decade ago, where a grandmother choked her grandchild to death and hid the body (she was an infant) because the baby was born on a "bad" day and a seer told her she would bring misfortunes. Or the couples who tried to save their chronically ill kid by forcing him to drink ash and water as a "miracle powder", which later killed him. Or the people who rejects chemotherapy for cancer treatment and opted to do rituals and pray it away. I can go on and on, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
I have a lot more to say about the love and care Red Candle gave their creations, but it'll be a whole thesis then :P I hope this comment can entice someone to look further into their works as there might be a whole lot more you and I are missing out on. Alright, have a good day!
“Upcoming video” I hear 👂🏾! Thank goodness bobvids has returned to UA-cam 🙌🏾
Everything about this video I love thank you. 🙏
gosh im gonna have to go and rewatch your vods now ;-; this game is so good
Every piece of fiction ever made is a tool to understand other people, either through a meta context or by directly engaging with its content. Nothing is empty, and sometimes we have the most to learn from the harmful pieces of media specifically because of the harm they inspire and why. The need to talk down other art to separate the art you like as superior... that's what strikes me as so disgusting about the way we discuss media. It isn't enough to say you like something more, but instead that it means more. That it's of more value. That other people are foolish in spending time on other creations. It's egotistical, and arrogant, and often places too much weight on optics over substance
I always respected what Ebert said on the matter. I only came to what he said AFTER the outrage had already happened so maybe that's why. I got the feeling that he felt videogames to be so vastly different from other forms of art that it was difficult to classify them as such. Another generation.
Also, let's be fair about it - at the time of that controversy, there weren't THAT many videogames you could reasonably claim to be art, or at least traditionally "art-like" (SH2 was one of the few). Can't imagine a man of his age knew of many either.
Great video, and I'll check out Devotion.
It depends on how you interpret "art." Even something like you might not consider "artistic," can be to someone else who interprets it differently. Something like DMC 3, which came out around and is seen as a pinnacle of action gameplay, have individuals who posted videos about its artistic qualities, which is in a story that is not only told in its cutscenes but also the encounters. It takes a different kind of analysis than what is done in a more passive medium.
I also heard about the Roger Ebert statement but had no clue that it was being misrepresented by people lol. Also, awesome video that I took quite a bit from. Like how some media aren't just good time sinks, but something more than that. That was a really cool insight that made me think about what separated a game/movie that you'd forget after you're done with it, and something that'll stay with you after you're done.
After watching video a couple of years ago I watched an LP of Devotion, because I'm a scaredy cat who cant play horror games. I tried Red Candle's Detention demo and it was too much for me. But watching an LP of it and I cam see it's so good. Thanks for uplifting this game
what a beautiful analysis! Such a shame Devotion didn’t get the attention and acclaim it deserves simply because of censorship. I’m way too wimpy to play horror games (i would NEVER get into The Contract you mention lol) but I hope more people get into it.
That said, if you still play, maybe you could try The Cat Lady? It’s a game that means a lot to me though I’ve never played it myself; I’ve only watched walkthroughs - multiple, though, because I make it a point to watch one gameplay video every year just to relive the story and its message. I think you’d like it too!
This is a great, concise video about about a fantastic narrative game.
I heard about red candles new game Nine Sol and thats when i found that they had devotion on their website
Great video 🔥
Great vid if I wasn’t such a wimp I would definitely play it
"Sees title"
You talk like I didn't get it the second I got the news.
I love Devotion, I should go back and play Detention tho
detention is also extremely good
I'm so late to the video, but I still want to say thank you. Personally, I can't play this game. I don't do well with horror genre. However, I still got the physical copy of the game, mainly because I want to support them especially after the fuss. (I'm Taiwanese. Red Candle held a limited physical release here not long after it got taken down from Steam.) Everything in the game is so authentically Taiwanese, from the social aspect to home decor. I have the exact same bathroom door and bathtub in my house.
Thank you. Thanks for recommending this game that represents my culture so well. And it's nice to see people from other culture enjoying the story.
Love u Bob! Kisses from Brasil :)
You got me at Winnie The Pooh meme, I'll buy two.
The virgin Bloober Team vs The chad Red Candle Games
It's so sad to see thay every store refused to have this game.
What is the music in the second half of the video?
bob i know but i have so many games to play please
Convinced me.
There's one thing that preventing me from getting the game
And that is the fact that my gaming laptop is on the low-end of the spectrum (i7 8750H, 1050Ti) and there's no version on PS4/5. You think this game will run on a laptop 1050Ti, or should I wait until I get myself a better system?
wonder if ul cover omori
oh i thought this was bbno$
similar name and profile pic lmao
i was very confused
I read the Ebert article back in the day, and from what I remember of it he seemed to see video games the same way as board games and sports, which I think is still fairly reductive no matter if he was right about gamers being morons sometimes. Also, Ebert wrote a horror movie where a trans woman is the villain, and he and Siskel launched a harassment campaign against a woman they didn't like for being in a movie they thought was low brow, so I don't think their opinions are worth much when it comes to questions of empathy.
All that said, Devotion looks great. Is there any good guides on how bad the jumpscares in it are? I really can't handle the P.T. "face pops up and screams at you" jumpscares because of my PTSD without a warning beforehand
I clicked the link to buy it and it brought me to an error page
fixed, sorry about that!
@@bobvids TY
It's wild to me that a horror game subgenre was created by a glorified demo. It's one thing for devs to iterate on (or copy) a full game, but PT _wasn't_ a full game, yet it had enough stuff to be worth copying/iterating on.
lol
WAIT, YOU CAN BUY DEVOTION NOW?! I loved Detention and was upset when Red Candle's second project got de-platformed twice, first off of steam than GoG before I could grab it. I lost actual hope when their twitter went dark for months. I feel foolish for only finding out about this now. BRB, playing the video game, I guess.
Friendly reminder that West Taiwan can go pound sand.
Nothing says big and powerful nation than trying to erase a small indie video horror game because they made a joke about pooh bear. Truly big dick energy.
Israel banned Devotion game as well. What gives 🎮💕
No one else cares about my opinion but Devotion is definitely GOTY.
I wish I could give this video two thumbs way up! I hope one like will do.
The suppression of art is such a terrible thing, the devs didn’t deserve any of what happened to them.
Sadly, I have a crippling inability to enjoy serious horror media. Even just watching a youtube video _about_ horror media is likely to make me lose sleep. Watching someone else play can make things tolerable, so I'll have to keep an eye out for a thoughtful playthrough that seriously engages with its themes and characters. If anyone wants to recommend a specific creator's playthrough, please share.
I believe Suoereyepatchwolf's video about the game is right up your alley then. It's what got me into it myself, highly recommended.
@@brendanjoke Thanks. Just watched it, and it seems like a pretty good summary. Sanitized enough that I won't have nightmares, but still had some pretty creepy visuals that did a good job conveying how unsettling the experience would be. The lack of game sound was especially palatable.
The only shame about devotion is that it's kinda inaccessible to people who live in countries whose currency is very weak against the dollar
Goddamn, is Devotion a great game. Is it long? No. Is the gameplay complex? Certainly not. But will it wind you up like a guitar string ready to snap only to release the tension with a haymaker to your soul? Abso-fucking-lutely.
I really REALLY wanted to like Devotion. But I flat out hated it.
Their game Detention is much much better at literally everything that Devotion wants to do
I just now finished streaming Devotion for a group of like 6 friends. The game was phenomenal and had everyone hooked, i don't know how one COULD hate it. I dont think its a perfect game, but i think it's very well done for sure if even with a loud ass group of people, i could still get scared (which I never do), and it could keep everyone entertained just following the story.
Why did you hate it?
@@Daniela_Unda i have a video on my channel about it if you want to give it a watch. ua-cam.com/video/vnYM-K1s2Hs/v-deo.html
TLDR; didn't like the storytelling, thought the story was bad, didnt think the game was scary, mechanics were bland
Devotion was great! My only quibble is about the ending. They pulled their punch when that was the exact point to land the horror of what the father did home.
Nah, when people brought up examples of artistic games that left an impact on them Ebert was really dismissive, questioning the point of the experience and saying that they were a waste of time.
he was wrong about a bunch of things, particularly how he couldn't apply the "empathy machine" logic to games
Old brain
I'll stick with bloober team, they make the scariest games
good vid btw
-999,999,999 social credit score
Being gay, I find it incredibly disappointing when otherwise decent people defend gaming.
The culture is appalling and I absolutely can't countenance people involved with games even remotely.
I deeply enjoyed other content you have made, so I find this very sad.
Care to elaborate on what you mean?
First let me say this game is not for me, I play games for different things than this provides. I just want to pose a question as an outsider looking in. "Does the controversy and drama around this game influence your opinion on it?" While the company makes good games and detention got above average scores no one was saying its 10 out of 10, is this game so much better or does the fact people wanted to deny it from you and in so doing you were made more aware of its message influence your judgement of the game?
Not bob, but yeah, the fact that someone saw it and wanted to hide it, for a perceived slight or for the social commentary, only convinced me more of the worth of seeing it. You don't hide stones when you're in a quarry, you hide gold when you find it. What is hidden is generally worth looking at,even if only to know that it is there.