This is the first time, I’m making a negative comment / review on somebody else’s project, but I feel like I have to say something after watching this shit show transpire over this past week.
Before I elaborate, a little disclaimer: This is solely against the team leader and creator of this project: Jenny Vi Pham and not directed at any of the team members. For what they were given, the artists and composer did a great job.
This is solely directed at Jenny and I hope she takes to heart what I’m saying, at least tries to reflect and show some form of compassion and understanding.
1) Suicide & character death as a form to emotionally manipulate the player.
I’m starting with my most important and the heaviest topic from the beginning, since - frankly speaking - as a writer myself and someone affected by suicide (personally and through the loss of people close to me) I am disgusted.
The execution of the murder & suicide scenes were absolutely out of place and insensitive, suicide especially is such a sensitive topic and with how the narrative portrayed it, there was no build up to it or the cat “being the main villain”.
But what was worse was: After I reached the (DDLC copycat of a) suicide ending, the cat ending played.
In this ending the cat (loosely introduced in the beginning) reveals themselves as some supernatural / spiritual being - telling the player that they are “powerless in this world” but not “powerless in that world (reality)” and that they can bring him back to life by leaving 5.000 rates on the itchio page.
This (to me and with the hanging ending I got right before this played ) suggests “Oh you can save him from killing himself by leaving 5.000 ratings on the itch page” - which is undisputedly DISGUSTING.
And since the majority of the fans seem to be minors - proven by the people in the fanserver as well as the comments left on here - of course they would want him back!
2) No age restriction
Moving on right to the next topic: Minors - This (and I can’t believe I have to say this) IS NOT A GAME FOR MINORS. Despite this game being so graphic (especially visually, depicted by the hanging) there is NO age restriction either on this site, nor a disclaimer on the page or within the game. (At least when I played it.)
THIS IS NOT A GAME FOR MINORS.
This is actively going against itch’s terms of service.
3) Support and encouragement in the creation of alt accounts
Jenny has encouraged her fans multiple times over the course of the “full release” to make alt accounts and rating the game.
She has additionally been holding the death of Zilas over her fans’ heads, shown by clips from her VODs as well as the numerous tweets she made about it.
This just more and more feeds into the exploitation of her fans’ emotions and strong will to reach the good ending.
Some examples:
"[holding food into the camera] something Zilas will never ever be able to enjoy again unless it hits 5k"
"watch me make a video with me like 'How I killed my character and became popular out of it'
"If you guys actually make alt accounts, if you really love Zilas that much, I will give you Zilas"
"See, that's a possibility of him coming back to life; so, if you just work hard, you can bring him back to life"
She also tweeted a daily rate counter, showing how many “souls” have to be taken to revive Zilas.
4) Not the first time
This is not the first time Jenny being criticised for her lack of care when it comes to the insensitive dealings with topics such as suicide.
Within her Otome Jam 2023 entry “Innerlog” she carelessly dealt with the topic of suicide and carelessly mocked it throughout the narrative.
People tried to comment on it, trying to voice their concerns but she blocked any form of criticism.
5) No accountability
It’s clearly visible that Jenny has not learned from criticism and has been actively deflecting from criticism she got for her coverage on Going Live.
I feel sorry for the team who has to deal with all this now and I pity all the fans being emotionally manipulated like this and actively feeding into this desire for attention and popularity this creator clearly does not deserve.
Actually she should be glad that with these many ToS violations that this project wasn’t taken off of itch yet - or her entire account at that.
Is the 5k ratings requirement really necessary? Why should players be required to give this game that many ratings so they can get a happy ending that should have already been in the game to begin with? I should note that there's nothing wrong with asking for a review, but when it's done like this, it's incredibly dishonest especially when games on this platform rely heavily on reviews to get seen by players. This tactic is like a giant slap to the face to your fellow game devs, some of whom wait months in-between for a single review.
I strongly suggest you reconsider your approach to this matter, and release the ending that your players and Zilas rightfully deserved from the very beginning.
I totally agree. I get that the endings are like this for shock value, but doing this then asking for 5k reviews for an alternative/happy ending ? The dev should reconsider this because not only is that a crazy number (the game with the most ratings on itch barely reaches 5k), this comes as very insensitive. Fans are ready to do a reverse review bombing all to see their fav character alive and happy and that doesn't sit right with me, this feels manipulative. Maybe the dev didn't plan this, but something should be done to stop that.
idk maybe it’s just me talking or whatever,but the ending of the game by the creator was just…off.
It felt like some pull out from under the rug with a really ..icky ending
I mean using suicide (spoilers ,but whatever the character Zilas kills himself )
like that ..as just some sort of idk ..gimmick for a game when it’s not
it’s terrifying and terrible and exhausting. I lost a friend to suicide.I’ve had these thoughts a lot and to see a game just use that as a gimmick just feels…disgusting (like why did it even have to be there)
I’m all for like artistic expression and stuff ,but this …this just feels like it was there for shock value (and from the responses and reactions below,I can definitely see that it made an impression)
(idk care if I’m called sensitive for this or whatever 🙄but maybe(to me at least) it kinda feels wrong to use a topic as sensitive as suicide as a gimmick to get clicks and views on a game
it just feels wrong 😑
I doubt the creator will see this but if they do, I hope they actually have a second to think about this (and not just the sensational response the game’s received)
this just feels like another glamorization and it just feels gross
P.S y’all should play this game.it’s called I won’t finish this game and it’s here on itch .
It actually addresses the topic of suicide in a very nuanced way than this one
i agree with this comment completely actually, i wanted to say something about the way this game was handled as well but i wasn't really sure how to put it into words.
the way the suicide scene was handled (with very minimal warnings as well) really comes off the wrong way. especially with how it feels like the dev is trying to guilt the shocked players into giving more reviews for 'a good ending' really confirms the suicide ending was more shock value rather than just expressing themselves. there are so many better ways to handle suicide in a game, but the way this game does it is just... out of place really.
I honestly feel that wholeheartedly. When I first played, I didn't read the content warnings, so the ending was shocking. I'm not sure how to exactly explain it, but the entire mood just felt.. weird? Like, obviously, with such a depressing topic,it's going to feel different, but the vibes I got from it weren't what I expected; probably because I didn't expect it at all.
The message of the game is good, that streamers (and all content creators in general) are still human, and have feelings too; and that it's crazy how fast something can be taken out of context and spiraled into so much more. However, I do feel like the ending could've been executed better, and maybe not as extreme as suicide. Even with the second ending, you're just kinda left with that 'wtf just happened' feeling when you walk away from it.
I think the biggest problem is that the rest of the game is all happy and cheery, with barely any indication of what might happen in the endings, and you don't really know what you're getting yourself into until it happens.I've played several other psychological horror games, maybe not entirely like this one, but at least they led up to the endings and made sense. Even if they featured topics of suicide and death in them, it wasn't just a "oh this is a cute game" and then a sudden, seemingly random 'in-your-face' terrible ending. The plot actually led up to the endings and made them make sense. IDK though, that's just how I see it. 😅
Thanks for this comment, glad I scrolled down yesterday before giving the game a shot. I didn't even think to look at the content warnings with how cute the art and screenshots looked, but even then, you can never tell how well or poorly a writer is going to tackle sensitive subjects. As someone who's suffered from chronic depression and suicidal ideation for over a decade, playing this one to the end would've likely been like a kick to the teeth.
Plus, holding back a "good" ending in exchange for a ridiculous number of reviews from their player base seems extremely exploitative on the dev's part. Just to get their game to the top of the ratings lists, not on merit but through guilt-tripping their fans for Zilas' terrible ending(s). Absolutely disgusting.
(For reference, Our Life: Beginnings & Always currently has 4,908 reviews and is currently the most rated Otome game on Itchio. I don't think this dev wanting 5k reviews was a random number pull.)
The only thing I wish about this game is that it had a skip button so and or save button so that i can skip passed dialog that Ive heard or so I can go to certain points in the game I have saved besides that i really love this game and the voice acting its so good
I feel that. As amazing as the voice acting is and stuff, I really wish we could skip through some dialogue during the streams, and especially the dialogue in the first voice message we receive during the beginning of the game. It's becomes a sort of drag lol
There was a person who spent hours making a few hundred acc's to rate the game. Itch.io thought he was a bot and took them all down. It sucks, I know 🥲
ALSO HOW COULD U DO THIS TO CUTE BOY ZILAS JENNY HOW COULD YOU W IVE BEEN STAYING IN UPDATE WITH THE PROJECT ON INSTA BUT HOW COULD YOU D0 THJIS TO ZILAS AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
This is the most cringe game I've played simply due to the dialog, which is why this is probably the most accurate streamer experience.8/10, every ending is big chungas wholesome 100.poggers or some other cringe twitch slang.kek
I'm not hating tho? The dialog is just cringe which is about right for twitch streams. How is a 8/10 hate? That's GOOD, unless you're one of those people who view anything under 7 as bad in which case you're using the scoring system wrong. How about you get lost, you don't seem to be able to discern what's a obvious joke from someone not joking. Anyone with a mouse wheel could scroll once and see dozens of warnings about the ending. Anyways stay safe, have a nice day, and maybe see you again? Have a nice one.
Actually, (spoilers!) that is part of it! He does die in the cold, you have to get the other ending to find out. I won't spoil it too much incase you wanna play that ending for yourself, but all you have to do is make sure that he DOESN'T get to 1M subs, so just tell him to hide his goal from his followers and not sing the karaoke stream. Then you should be all set ^^
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This is the first time, I’m making a negative comment / review on somebody else’s project, but I feel like I have to say something after watching this shit show transpire over this past week.
Before I elaborate, a little disclaimer: This is solely against the team leader and creator of this project: Jenny Vi Pham and not directed at any of the team members. For what they were given, the artists and composer did a great job.
This is solely directed at Jenny and I hope she takes to heart what I’m saying, at least tries to reflect and show some form of compassion and understanding.
1) Suicide & character death as a form to emotionally manipulate the player.
I’m starting with my most important and the heaviest topic from the beginning, since - frankly speaking - as a writer myself and someone affected by suicide (personally and through the loss of people close to me) I am disgusted.
The execution of the murder & suicide scenes were absolutely out of place and insensitive, suicide especially is such a sensitive topic and with how the narrative portrayed it, there was no build up to it or the cat “being the main villain”.
But what was worse was: After I reached the (DDLC copycat of a) suicide ending, the cat ending played.
In this ending the cat (loosely introduced in the beginning) reveals themselves as some supernatural / spiritual being - telling the player that they are “powerless in this world” but not “powerless in that world (reality)” and that they can bring him back to life by leaving 5.000 rates on the itchio page.
This (to me and with the hanging ending I got right before this played ) suggests “Oh you can save him from killing himself by leaving 5.000 ratings on the itch page” - which is undisputedly DISGUSTING.
And since the majority of the fans seem to be minors - proven by the people in the fanserver as well as the comments left on here - of course they would want him back!
2) No age restriction
Moving on right to the next topic: Minors - This (and I can’t believe I have to say this) IS NOT A GAME FOR MINORS. Despite this game being so graphic (especially visually, depicted by the hanging) there is NO age restriction either on this site, nor a disclaimer on the page or within the game. (At least when I played it.)
THIS IS NOT A GAME FOR MINORS.
This is actively going against itch’s terms of service.
3) Support and encouragement in the creation of alt accounts
Jenny has encouraged her fans multiple times over the course of the “full release” to make alt accounts and rating the game.
She has additionally been holding the death of Zilas over her fans’ heads, shown by clips from her VODs as well as the numerous tweets she made about it.
This just more and more feeds into the exploitation of her fans’ emotions and strong will to reach the good ending.
Some examples:
"[holding food into the camera] something Zilas will never ever be able to enjoy again unless it hits 5k"
"watch me make a video with me like 'How I killed my character and became popular out of it'
"If you guys actually make alt accounts, if you really love Zilas that much, I will give you Zilas"
"See, that's a possibility of him coming back to life; so, if you just work hard, you can bring him back to life"
She also tweeted a daily rate counter, showing how many “souls” have to be taken to revive Zilas.
4) Not the first time
This is not the first time Jenny being criticised for her lack of care when it comes to the insensitive dealings with topics such as suicide.
Within her Otome Jam 2023 entry “Innerlog” she carelessly dealt with the topic of suicide and carelessly mocked it throughout the narrative.
People tried to comment on it, trying to voice their concerns but she blocked any form of criticism.
5) No accountability
It’s clearly visible that Jenny has not learned from criticism and has been actively deflecting from criticism she got for her coverage on Going Live.
I feel sorry for the team who has to deal with all this now and I pity all the fans being emotionally manipulated like this and actively feeding into this desire for attention and popularity this creator clearly does not deserve.
Actually she should be glad that with these many ToS violations that this project wasn’t taken off of itch yet - or her entire account at that.
What? Why am I an asshole?
asshole
Is the 5k ratings requirement really necessary? Why should players be required to give this game that many ratings so they can get a happy ending that should have already been in the game to begin with? I should note that there's nothing wrong with asking for a review, but when it's done like this, it's incredibly dishonest especially when games on this platform rely heavily on reviews to get seen by players. This tactic is like a giant slap to the face to your fellow game devs, some of whom wait months in-between for a single review.
I strongly suggest you reconsider your approach to this matter, and release the ending that your players and Zilas rightfully deserved from the very beginning.
Couldn't have worded it better tbh.
I totally agree. I get that the endings are like this for shock value, but doing this then asking for 5k reviews for an alternative/happy ending ? The dev should reconsider this because not only is that a crazy number (the game with the most ratings on itch barely reaches 5k), this comes as very insensitive. Fans are ready to do a reverse review bombing all to see their fav character alive and happy and that doesn't sit right with me, this feels manipulative. Maybe the dev didn't plan this, but something should be done to stop that.
B3CKSTER WHEN I CATCH YOU B3CKSTER.
Game doesn't load, do i need to unzip files or something
i love the game aesthetic
if there is a happy ending could somone tell me how to get it, what choices do I need to make ?..
we need 5k reviews before the happy ending is unlocked unfortunately D:!!!!!
Ohh thank you TT
i need my happy ending so bad
Is there even a happy ending to this game? i havent played it since it got released and i dont want to play If
[spoilers]
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
if he ends up dead one way or another
and honestly since there is no save button or a skip button it's makes it harder to be patient to get the ending you want.
But if there is a happy ending could somone tell me how to get it, what choices do I need to make ?
The ending i got make me soooo sad😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭i'm gonna cry, he got hanged!!!!1
Are there any happy endings
Not yet
i hate myself :<
oh no- don't hate yourself, none of the endings are your fault man 😭
Jenny, nos mataste muy rápido al Zilas T-T
idk maybe it’s just me talking or whatever,but the ending of the game by the creator was just…off.
It felt like some pull out from under the rug with a really ..icky ending
I mean using suicide (spoilers ,but whatever the character Zilas kills himself )
like that ..as just some sort of idk ..gimmick for a game when it’s not
it’s terrifying and terrible and exhausting. I lost a friend to suicide.I’ve had these thoughts a lot and to see a game just use that as a gimmick just feels…disgusting (like why did it even have to be there)
I’m all for like artistic expression and stuff ,but this …this just feels like it was there for shock value (and from the responses and reactions below,I can definitely see that it made an impression)
(idk care if I’m called sensitive for this or whatever 🙄but maybe(to me at least) it kinda feels wrong to use a topic as sensitive as suicide as a gimmick to get clicks and views on a game
it just feels wrong 😑
I doubt the creator will see this but if they do, I hope they actually have a second to think about this (and not just the sensational response the game’s received)
this just feels like another glamorization and it just feels gross
P.S y’all should play this game.it’s called I won’t finish this game and it’s here on itch .
It actually addresses the topic of suicide in a very nuanced way than this one
i agree with this comment completely actually, i wanted to say something about the way this game was handled as well but i wasn't really sure how to put it into words.
the way the suicide scene was handled (with very minimal warnings as well) really comes off the wrong way. especially with how it feels like the dev is trying to guilt the shocked players into giving more reviews for 'a good ending' really confirms the suicide ending was more shock value rather than just expressing themselves. there are so many better ways to handle suicide in a game, but the way this game does it is just... out of place really.
100%.
I honestly feel that wholeheartedly. When I first played, I didn't read the content warnings, so the ending was shocking. I'm not sure how to exactly explain it, but the entire mood just felt.. weird? Like, obviously, with such a depressing topic,it's going to feel different, but the vibes I got from it weren't what I expected; probably because I didn't expect it at all.
The message of the game is good, that streamers (and all content creators in general) are still human, and have feelings too; and that it's crazy how fast something can be taken out of context and spiraled into so much more. However, I do feel like the ending could've been executed better, and maybe not as extreme as suicide. Even with the second ending, you're just kinda left with that 'wtf just happened' feeling when you walk away from it.
I think the biggest problem is that the rest of the game is all happy and cheery, with barely any indication of what might happen in the endings, and you don't really know what you're getting yourself into until it happens.I've played several other psychological horror games, maybe not entirely like this one, but at least they led up to the endings and made sense. Even if they featured topics of suicide and death in them, it wasn't just a "oh this is a cute game" and then a sudden, seemingly random 'in-your-face' terrible ending. The plot actually led up to the endings and made them make sense. IDK though, that's just how I see it. 😅
I mean you’re definitely not wrong on this point
Thanks for this comment, glad I scrolled down yesterday before giving the game a shot. I didn't even think to look at the content warnings with how cute the art and screenshots looked, but even then, you can never tell how well or poorly a writer is going to tackle sensitive subjects. As someone who's suffered from chronic depression and suicidal ideation for over a decade, playing this one to the end would've likely been like a kick to the teeth.
Plus, holding back a "good" ending in exchange for a ridiculous number of reviews from their player base seems extremely exploitative on the dev's part. Just to get their game to the top of the ratings lists, not on merit but through guilt-tripping their fans for Zilas' terrible ending(s). Absolutely disgusting.
(For reference, Our Life: Beginnings & Always currently has 4,908 reviews and is currently the most rated Otome game on Itchio. I don't think this dev wanting 5k reviews was a random number pull.)
My pookie :c
This is the biggest shock I have ever experienced
WTF is happening!!
Guess what?
🤜🔵🔴🤛 🤌 🫴 🟣
Throughout Heaven and Earth, I alone, am the chosen one.
MY BOYFRIEND 😭
WHAT THE FUCK.
DUDE GIVE MY BOYFRIEND BACK
WHAT WTF THAT ENDING CAUGHT ME OFF GUARD- IM BAWLING
IM LOSING MY MIND
CMON GUYS 1,203, WE’RE 1/5TH THERE!!
TELL YOUR FRIENDS, TELL YOUR MOM, TELL YOUR DOG
The only thing I wish about this game is that it had a skip button so and or save button so that i can skip passed dialog that Ive heard or so I can go to certain points in the game I have saved besides that i really love this game and the voice acting its so good
I actually kind of want one too. I get why they do it tho, but the immersion fades out too fast after two playthroughs.
I feel that. As amazing as the voice acting is and stuff, I really wish we could skip through some dialogue during the streams, and especially the dialogue in the first voice message we receive during the beginning of the game. It's becomes a sort of drag lol
yeah. Maybe a first playthrough skip bonus?
I think that'd be good if she implemented it, yeah 😅
Agreed. It would help for replays tenfold
Make mobile
OMFG GOD THE CAT SAW EVERYTHING ;-;
that cat is a demon responsible of all of this 😭😭 just play the second ending you'll see
bawling my eyes out
how do you see how many ratings?
click more information
my baby... WE GOT MARRIED IDC
what just happened.
WHAT HAPPENED WHY DID YHE RATINGS GO DOWN OR AM I JUST LAGGING
There was a person who spent hours making a few hundred acc's to rate the game. Itch.io thought he was a bot and took them all down. It sucks, I know 🥲
ITS A REALLY GOOD GAME!
[spoilers]
My jaw dropped so hard when I got one of the endings, Made a bad mistake and now I regret it so badly TT
the error143 refs lol
ALSO HOW COULD U DO THIS TO CUTE BOY ZILAS JENNY HOW COULD YOU W IVE BEEN STAYING IN UPDATE WITH THE PROJECT ON INSTA BUT HOW COULD YOU D0 THJIS TO ZILAS AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
This is the most cringe game I've played simply due to the dialog, which is why this is probably the most accurate streamer experience.8/10, every ending is big chungas wholesome 100.poggers or some other cringe twitch slang.kek
I'm not hating tho? The dialog is just cringe which is about right for twitch streams. How is a 8/10 hate? That's GOOD, unless you're one of those people who view anything under 7 as bad in which case you're using the scoring system wrong. How about you get lost, you don't seem to be able to discern what's a obvious joke from someone not joking. Anyone with a mouse wheel could scroll once and see dozens of warnings about the ending. Anyways stay safe, have a nice day, and maybe see you again? Have a nice one.
AINT NO WAY THATS WHAT HES DONE , ueueue i got too attached
[SPOILER]
i thought the twist was actually that he died out on the cold I DONT EVEN KNOW IF THIS IS WORSE THAN ACTUALLY KILLING HIMSELF
Actually, (spoilers!) that is part of it! He does die in the cold, you have to get the other ending to find out. I won't spoil it too much incase you wanna play that ending for yourself, but all you have to do is make sure that he DOESN'T get to 1M subs, so just tell him to hide his goal from his followers and not sing the karaoke stream. Then you should be all set ^^
I DID THIS TWICE BUT I JUST KEEP GETTING THE SUICIDE ENDING
Really? That's so weird, that's what I did and it all turned out fine- Umm, maybe try watching a tutorial then? I'm really not sure, I'm sorry!
AHHH I RLLY WANNA PLAY IT BUT IT WONT LET ME TYPE A NAME OR USERNAME ETC SOBSSS
It depends on what device you're using. Right now, it's really only for PC and doesn't really work for mobile 🙃
Awh man.. Thanks though!
No problem; sorry you couldn't play though!
also can someone tell me how to rate 👉👈
there should be a button on the right along with the add to collection and follow jenny buttons.
TYSSMMMMMMMM<333333 (Have a wonderful dayyyyy :3333)
YW & YOU TOO
Anywaysssd good game👍👍 (Sobs)
HE WASSSSS SOOO SWEET TO BE DONE BY THIS💔💔
HE WAS SOOOO SWEETTTTT