Game explained (My theory): HOW IT ALL FELL APART. In some Asian countries mental illness is a shameful thing and very few people seek help as it might cause people to discriminate them. In older times, mental illness was also believed to be caused by the influence of a demon... So when the father finds out that his daughter isn't physically ill but mentally ill he has trouble accepting it. Blinded by denial he seeks help from a medium who gives him charms, chants and rituals that will make his daughter better, in exchange for money. The father who is already struggling with the households income, spends all of the family's assets on this medium and ends up with debt. The mother who is not as easily persuaded by the medium tries to get medical help for her daughter which eventually leads the father to think that she has been possessed and that the demon inside her is trying to kill their child. Fed up with the madness and the debt, the mother leaves her husband and daughter behind and goes back to her acting career. THE ENDING. The medium tells the father to put his daughter in a bathtub filled with rice wine (alcohol) and to lock the door for 7 days without opening it. In some Asian cultures a lit incense is placed where a loved one has died so the incense on the bathroom door is a strong indicator that the daughter died in that tub. Either from dehydration, starvation, lack of sleep, over exposure to alcohol or all of the above. Drowned in guilt and desperate to get his daughter back, he visits the medium again and he performs a ritual to revive the dead. The ritual fails and he finds out that the medium is a scam. The long cut scene where the father finds his daughter in a beautiful place where she can do all the things that she dreamed about doing, gives us a reason to believe that the father took his own life, and in the last scene, after the end credits, his death is confirmed. Seated lifelessly in front of a broken TV with 2 empty chairs. The last line of the song citing a daughter asking her father to be her father in the next life as well. THEORY. In some Asian countries it is believed that people who die by suicide or other traumatic events are bound to the place of their death, to endlessly re-live the moments of their life that led to their passing.
In the first video I saw a comment that said that the number 49 (that if I remember well it appeared in the game) means "death inside wine" in the Chinese culture. They also said something spirit related about 7 days, I don't remember well if it was that the spirit goes away or it comes back after 7 days or idk. Also, I saw all the talismans (I think that's how they're called) and it reminded me of a movie I saw where a mother used them and other rituals to cure her daughter from a mental illness (she thought that it was some kind of demon), so reading these cleared a lot of things in my mind. I also thought the father killed himself because in a moment of the game the father wakes up in a tub full of blood (or wine).
When the dad put her in the bathtub with the wine for 7 days, she basically died. probably by drowning since she would have Been too weak to keep herself above the fluid.. Also I'm pretty sure being left in that concoction, seeping in your skin, no water to drink,no food, the dehydration would have killed her alone.
I've seen Korean translation of this game, and the some of the steps on the mentor's note at the end says "pour kaoliang wine (strong liquor that has high alcohol content), put a live snake into the pot (reason why there was a reading related to snake), and put daughter into the pot". And he had to lock the door and wait for seven days. As it is highly dangerous for young child to bathe in strong alcohol with a snake, I highly doubt that the daughter survived all that without any food or drink. I've watched some Korean let's players playing this game and they assumed the daughter died as well. Personally I think it shows that the daughter didn't make it, hence at the end it shows you the father staring at TV alone, where your viewpoint is exactly in daughter's place in the painting behind the couch. And as hard as it was to look at all "devotion" he was making through the ritual, I think the scenes were necessary since it shows how he was imagining all these things in his head, making the ritual more convincing for him. And there are lots of symbolism during the ritual scenes such as: 1) After you go though all devotion steps, you can see the water level goes up and the figure of daughter goes down to the water. Some people says that it implies that daughter drowned. 2) The father makes a bow four times. You make a bow once to alive person, twice to dead person and three times to holy beings like god. 4 in some Asian countries is considered as bad/unlucky thing like 13 do in United states, since its pronunciation is same as death. Some people claims that the father making a bow four times could imply that Cigu Guanyin is actually a devil. 3) When the father is talking to himself, it shows how he knew in mind what was going on exactly. ("The little flower got crushed by all weight," I think is implying the daughter was feeling pressured of becoming a star) After he finishes talking to himself and open the door, there are two doors with one boarded up. If you try to go to the boarded door, the mentor says Cigu Guanyin boarded up to show you the right way so don't go that way. The father ends up going to the left door and chant a spell to the masks (assuming his daughter) to make them go away. And I think that implies that even if the father knew what's actually going on, he decided to stick with the myth and ritual rather than facing a reality. And some interesting things you missed: 1) I was actually expecting you to notice this since you said you learned how father is pronounced in Chinese, but remember one time the TV show teases you with the daughter's score? The score goes up to 88 and repeats few times (with the distortion in later repetition), 88(papa) pronounces same as father. I think it was implying the daughter in the bathroom desperately calling her father. 2) I didn't notice this but apparently during the game, there is a calendar crossed from day 1 to day 6, then circled on day 7. Showing that the father exercised ritual and waiting to get the daughter out at seventh day. 3) There are still some people who thinks psychiatric center is only for lunatics and some people are afraid of that. The father was this case, hence getting angry at the daughter's diagnosis paper and decide to go to the mentor to "fix" his daughter. Sorry for writing a long essay, but I think knowing these will make this game more interesting!
1. No apologies! This is a really insightful comment, thank you for posting it! 2. THE CALENDAR. ok now i feel dumb. Several play throughs called it out in the beginning but it's easy to get distracted by the end. Again, thank you for these insights!
The black and white snake 雨傘節 is also well known for its venom in Taiwan. So basically, she was bathed with a live deadly snake in the wine, without anything to eat or drink for 7 days. The dad wasn't allowed to open the door until the 7th day either. I don't think anyone can survive this.
Ending explanation from a legit Taiwanese guy (SPOILERS): So at the end when Mei Shing's illness deteriorated due to mounting pressure from her family, Mr. Du went to Mentor Hueh and asked her for guidance from the Cigu Guanyin (慈孤觀音). She then helped Du perform a religeous ritual common in Taiwanese and Southern Chinese Taoism faith called Guan Luo Yin (觀落陰), which was to let the performer connect with the underworld in seeking guidance and answers directly from various Taoist gods. Guan Luo Yin is quite frankly a psychological gimmick with no empirical or scientific basis, but it's still commonly practiced in Taiwanese society even today, and certainly even more popularly in the 80s. In Du's case, if you read the subtitles carefully, you would realize that mentor Hueh couldn't actually see Du's hallucinations, and was merely bullshitting in response to what Du was reporting. The segment was a bit drawn out, but was meant to represent how "devoted" Du was to his daughter, and his struggle with his inner demons. At the segment in mentor Hueh's apartment after Du performed Guan Luo Yin, we can see from Hueh's priscription to Mei Shing's condition, that she ordered Du to "soak the patient in wine". It's resonant to the Cigu Guanyin folklore, which adds to the priscription's believability, but was still complete bullshit. Du being a fervent devotee however, followed suit, hence the telephone call with mentor Hueh in the hallway. Du "soaked" Mei Shing in the bathtub with wine, and locked her in the bathroom for seven days. It's rather clear what happened to her after this. The game spared us from actually seeing Mei Shing's body though. It should have been a horrendous scene in the bathroom after we opened the door in the end, but it instead led us into a cutscene and a song, whose lyrics implied that Mei Shing still forgave her dad before she died, after all of this. It also made clear that the whole game was about Du's spiritual journey to his own horrible past and the subsequent resolution with his sin. And...that's about it. I realize that I might not have made everything clear, as English is not my mother tongue, so please do comment below if you have any questions :) EDIT: There were instead two songs in the ending segment (kinda obvious), the first one was a song done by Taiwanese indie rock band No Party for Cao Dong with the name "devotion", same as the game title, which more or less symbolised the dad's mindset after the journey, and was meant to resonate with his ultimate realization to his sinful deeds, and the subsequent salvation of oneself, hence the slightly over the top rock part. The second song was actually Li Fang's, but covered by Mei Shing, as was in the singing contests, and it was actually the first time players would hear the song completely presented. The final words in the song in Mei Shing's version was " I am still willing to", signifying that the daughter has forgiven the father and is still willing to be his daughter of there in another life.
iruleeIru lee this is a very good explanation thank you for the insight. One small nitpicking I have though is in the second paragraph you wrote, “locked her in the toilet” when it should be “locked her in the bathroom.” This just seems like a small translation error, but other than that I think your English is better than most Americans (including myself). 😂
Great explanation! It's really heartbreaking that her respiratory issues were just caused by anxiety and the one thing that actually helped was spending time with her dad folding tulips. She just wanted to spend time with him and in the end she died because he deliberately stayed away from her by locking her in the bathroom for a week.
Interesting (yet horrifically depressing) fact: Mei probably didn't live more than a few hours soaking in alcohol. She would have died due to the alcohol bring absorbed through the skin and almost directly to the bloodstream, bypassing the liver. This concentration would have been incredibly lethal. Mei would have become extremely intoxicated and likely didn't have the strength to get out of the tub when things started getting dangerous, however by that point she would have required immediate medical attention and probably couldn't have been saved. So she would have died very early in the "seven day ritual" and the alcohol might have acted as a preservative, keeping the father from smelling the horrendous smell of a rotting corpse.
Even beyond that, the wine would've been infused with parts from a snake, in keeping with the legend referenced in-game -- likely a krait of some kind, going by the geographical region and the appearance of the serpent guardian in the story. Krait venom is neurotoxic, with severe envenomation leading to respiratory failure... and this kid was soaking the stuff in for a week.
It’s sad that there are people who have nothing left but to turn to things like rituals for the sake of their loved ones, and more sad that people knowingly profit off of these hurting people.
@@r0achm3at tell me about it. I'm not the most kind person in the world but I'm so impressed with the cruelty and heartless of scam artist to gain easy money from desperate people. My dad used to believed to these kind of people and he practically fought with me just because of his "believe". It took a long long time for him to realize his mistake though.
The only real thing about it was that history proves that illnesses of all sorts were disgraceful and likely caused by demons, and that the only time Mei Shin was sawn anywhere, was on the TV show rather than in hospital records of such.
That's because it is real Devotion is based on a true story from 1980's about a man that is driven insane by a cult. He kills his daughter and then cut his tongue and eye out. In the game you find out from recordings the whole cult was a sham.
i know its an old video but damn the story is so gripping and real. At first I was wondering if the daughter was suffering from some sort of anxiety or mental issue because of her parents always arguing, and i guess it's something like that. A little girl struck by mental issues and her dad turning to religion in search for answers. Such a real and powerful game topic
I honestly thought it was a little shit. I was expecting a double message, while the story was developing I thought it was a story about the father fighting to keep his faith while his daughter is sick, which is harsh and takes a lot of bravery. It's easy to curse God when something bad happens and to praise him when something goes the way you want. The mother leaving, I thought, meant her basically gave up hope in the otherworldly (because of what was happening) and the father was still barely holding on. Then it just turned into "LOL HARD-HEADED RELIGIOUS FAMILY BAD, RELIGION IS A SCAM", a trope we have seen plenty of since what? the early 2000s? ngl kind had me bummed out. was expecting a more deep or philosophical message. then again it wouldn't be as appealing to young people so I guess it's what it sells.
@@Igelme ye bro I was expecting so much more than just a girl having a built up mental illness from her own life, like bruh this actually sucked. Sarcasm btw the story is telling how the dad and mother have caused the mental illness for the daughter and how the dad decided to turn to religion as he thought it was the only way to save his daughter (it was a scam tho). Also this story is based in China and tries to re create what some people who have these kinds of problems but in a more exotic way so that it attracts the players attention
It’s a shame that Sean missed the last phone call conversation where the mentor is telling him to leave Mei Shin in the wine for 7 days. That’s literally how she died. The game shows us this before as well, that giant snake in the wine where Mei Shin is pushed in. Shame he missed that.
I think it's a Let's Player's curse. They have to try to pay attention to the game and think about their recordings, sound, commentating, and countless other things that they cant pay attention to the plot well, and I notice with some of Sean's vidoes, it shows. I dont think he understood what the snake wine was. Even GTLive didnt comment on "snake wine" and if it wasnt for them being live and their chat telling them that Mei was in a snake wine bath for 7 days, they would have never known what happened. The ending feels a bit too open to interpretation too because you dont see a body and you see Mei running around.
I really like how they presented the two contrasting folklore stories. The monk one favored the father's point of view that something was wrong with his daughter, and she needed to be "cured". The Flowers and Love story which was the daughter's favorite implies that there was something wrong with the father all along.
Just some background info for people to understand this game's theme more, the stigma of mental illness in 80s Taiwan and people's refusal to just recognise mental illness are elements in this game that are important to consider. People who are deemed "lunatics" by society back in those days were usually locked up in their home by their family or sent to some place that's not even a true psychiatric hospital just to keep them away from people who are not "lunatics" because they were viewed as a disgrace. The father's love for his daughter (ironically enough) thus refusal to deem his daughter one of those people is what causes him to completely despair and blindly trust religion as the only thing to save Mei Shin (Medical information about mental illness was not widely known yet too). Personally I would say the closest comparison to Mei Shin's situation in western society would probably be close to Faith Healers in Christian practices or false exorcism that ended up killing the victim As a Taiwanese, I can tell you a lot of Taiwanese people in the 80s are really heavily HEAVILY religious, and some of the older generations still believes in these kinda methods. Worse thing is that, what happened to Mei Shin highly likely to really happen to someone in 80s Taiwan. Not just 80s Taiwan, but Modern Taiwan too. There was a more recent case of a boy dying because his mother chose to believe in the words of a cult and starved him to free him from drugs, accidentally killing him. Makes you kinda glad that people are more aware about mental illness nowadays, even though it's sad that the stigma of mental illness still exists in the world. Another sad thing is the part where the father is in hell, the mentor tells you to not listen to the "voices" cause they are demonic distractions that are affecting your devotion. If you take a close look at the scenes that are supposedly about the "voices", you will notice that the voices are: 1. The reflection of the dad talking to himself, telling him that he still can save his daughter 2. Multiple daughters talking to you about how dad did nothing wrong + lets go out and play + let me out These two things in reality are representing Mei Shin's plead to be let out from the bathroom when she was locked in and the dad's conscience telling himself that he can still save his daughter, not by doing the ritual, but by simply opening the bathroom door to let her out and save her, when he started to notice she has gone quiet and something is wrong. These are evidences that the dad is in fact aware that this is possibly wrong and what is actually going on, the voices in his head is telling him so. But because he have already gone this far, he chose to believe in his blind devotion and the words of this mentor, to not listen to the "voices", rather than face reality. But eventually he still got anxious and doubtful and called the mentor to confirm with her multiple times, because the mentor hasn't been returning his calls (she fled once she noticed the dad did indeed do the ritual), he had to go up stairs (the mentor was his neighbour btw) and found out about the truth of the mentor being a scam + the realization of how he had just killed his own daughter. Depending how you interpret it, the whole game is either about the dad coming to terms with what he had done, because he had a mental breakdown after finding his daughter dead, or possibly about him reliving his own personal purgatory after he killed himself (if you commit suicide you'll be stuck in a loop after death, a common belief in Asian countries), and finally accepting what you have done thus able pass on to afterlife to reunite with Mei Shin (similar to the protagonist of detention) I personally like to think it's the second one, and that Mei Shin herself is actually trying to help her dad in the game (the Mei Shin doll constantly directing you to follow her steps/Mei Shin's point of view can be seen because she's showing you her feelings and memories) and in the end it's a somewhat bittersweet ending, that you are reunited with her finally in afterlife
There's unfortunately still a stigma around mental illness everywhere. People treat it as though it's "not real" or not as "real as" a physical illness.
I agree on the second view. It definitely screamed purgatory to me. Given he killed his daughter, kinda sad and messed up that his daughter just immediately forgave him and he is allowed that. I dunno. What he did was awful and I cannot imagine how the wife would have responded. The entire thing is absolutely devastating. All that being said, the key here is about mental illness and to not have that stigma. That it is, in fact, real and turning to religion and cults instead of reaching out for legitimate help is wrong and harming.
@@HydraxSly202 I think the game is the husband's mental journey of regret, set a few days after discovering the daughter's death. The wife hasn't found out about this, then, since she's away filming a movie, and hasn't returned yet. But the suicide version would also work, since the husband would have been dead before the wife returned.
I think your point of him committing suicide, coming to grips and his daughter helping him is correct. If you listen til the end, she says "Let's go home" she was leading him to the afterlife most likely
She never had any phisical health issues. She had anixiety. Here's why I think that: The doctor reported that her tests came out to be normal and that she should be checked mentally. The dad then said "My daughter is not a lunatic" and killed his own daughter with the 7 day bath. She had extreme anxiety and that's what caused her breathing difficulties, but her dad wouldn't listen. Making the flowers helped her with her breathing because it calmed her anxiety attacks. The pressure of her succeding in her singing career, school, her parents fighting and the lack of support and love was the reason for her problems. (You can see another anxiety attack when she was at school) She knows that nothing is wrong with her body, that's why she always says something along the lines of "I don't need a cure. I only want daddy and mommy to love me and spend time with each other." Because that's what makes her anxiety worse. The fact that they stop touching her without cleaning themselves before and that they don't let her play outside proooobably doesn't help either. It's a very sad story. She only wanted to live happily with her parents. What an amazing game
Yeah cuz most Asian cultures dont believe in mental illness. Saying one has mental illness means he is crazy. Not wanting to face shame from having a family member who is "crazy", others turn to rituals and stuff like what Mr. Du did. Others just wave it off and label it as "being dramatic". It really saddens me...
You know, this isn't horror in the sense of jumpscary goodness, but it is terrifying in the sense that this accurately reflects real world shit. Even with cultural differences, there are so many themes that someone could relate to: the anxiety, the desperateness, the claustrophobia of standards you can't meet... it's all there. And the more we learned about Mei Shin, the more I honestly just wanted to cry, because I can't imagine how many children have struggled the way she had, and how many children may still be struggling. So yeah, good game. Thanks for the depression!
@Intelligence Injection With a name like that, I'd assume you would've given a reason why you think that "it's a shit game." But I'm going to trust your in depth game review. I trust your wisdom. I'll never like this game ever again. Thank you, my friend.
@Intelligence Injection Oh wise game critic, I swear I will never like another game again! Because you have taken the time to tell me how much you don't like it, truly your opinion is more valid. I don't like this game anymore! -10/ 10 Boooo bad game
I started watching this series for jump scares... But now I'm crying after the argument here in 22:29, the anxiety, the helplessness I felt from the scene and child. I'm abit sad Jack didn't understand the situation, this is something real, I hope I'm not too biased to say this is the what makes the game a true horror...
I think it's really sad that I kinda relate to that scene. Too many fights at home while I deal my own battles of depression and anxiety in my mind. It just felt a bit too real
I can agree, even though after watching that scene I didn't cry, but I sat shocked at what I had just listened to, I had already been struggling a little bit with loneliness and depression because of a recent breakup, but this just makes everything feel more surreal.
I related to it even more because my family is Chinese and they used to argue a lot. I never knew how to stop them and I was forced to hear them shouting at each other and my sister screaming for them to stop. People speaking aggressively in Mandarin still makes me nervous to this day and I genuinely felt pain in my throat after that scene
Damn. So Mei Shin was never sick; it sounds like she just had real bad anxiety. Her father, however, refused to accept this and instead decided to pray to a god and inevitably fall for a scam instead of getting her daughter actual help. Mei Shin always wanted to be a superstar like a mother, and having constantly been surrounded by these fights about not having money, she makes herself pursue that despite her anxiety because she feels like she has to. She did well, until she lost her title as best singer it seems. That, combined with the pressure from her family to be the best, her father not letting her be a kid in favor of making her a singer, and the invisible weight of having to carry the family, made her fall ill. She was of course denied treatment because her father decided to pray instead. This, combined with him refusing to let her work because working is a "man's job" and him being violent towards her, made Mei Shin's mother walk away from the family. She leaves Mei Shin because she was always closer to her father, but she always intended to come back. From there, it was just a downward spiral. It ends when her father decides to soak Mei Shin in snake wine under the guidance of his mentor, who was a scammmer. The mentor suggests she stay in there for 7 days after he calls claiming it didn't work, and Mei Shin ends up drowning either because the fumes knocked her out or because she got too dehydrated and passed out. It could've also been alcohol poisoning. There was a moment in the first episode where you walk towards the family photo, see Cigu's statue behind the father, and the area begins to fill up with wine, ending with you falling out of a wine-filled tub and the mother asking "Where's Mei Shin?" after you seem to drown. The answer is in the locked bathroom. She's in the tub. She's dead. This is most likely why that door is almost always locked up until the end. I think this game was the now dead father going through all of his mistakes and being forced to realize what he'd done. It ends with him finally finding Mei Shin after facing all his sins and them going 'home'.
@@cerealdork2131 Still, she was left there without any food for 7 days. Who knows if she left the bathtub and drank some water, if she actually decided not to listen to her father. She must have been very weak anyway. She also might have had a panic attack while being in the tub, filled with cold wine (she must have been freezing), so while being weak, she could have drowned because of that. There are many ways she could have died. Poor girl.
@@cerealdork2131 notice that when the player is about to enter the massive snake filled tub room he comes across a picture drawn by his daughter in which she is tied up by the arm inside the tub and looks sad as can be explained by the frowning face of the drawing.
Yeeaahhh, I definitely yelled at my phone out of frustration when he was walking down that long hallway with the dad talking to the mentor. He started talking and looked away, and he stopped reading the subtitles of their conversation, so he literally missed the entire explanation of what happened with Mei Shin -_- I know subtitles are obnoxious, but you gotta expect them in a game from another country, and you miss out on a lot when you skip them. That scam artist straight out told him to fill the bathtub with that serpent wine and soak Mei Shin in the tub, and said it could take up to 7 days. So he literally left her in there until she died. He seemingly killed himself at the end too, so that's why he was with Mei Shin again and she says something about them going home. And Mei Shin wasn't physically ill at all. Remember that paper from the doctor? It said all her tests came back normal, and it referred her to psychiatric care. That's why the dad freaked out and said "My daughter isn't a lunatic!", and that's why he did everything that he did. The stigma against mental health issues over there was/is so bad that he was desperate to think that she had a physical ailment, when in reality she only had anxiety. Her breathing problems and whatnot were all from her having anxiety attacks, that's why she'd feel completely normal after making the origami tulips, it calmed her anxiety. And ironically enough, if they had just let her live like a normal kid, she probably wouldn't have the anxiety anymore anyways. But again, you just gotta read things, especially in a game like this
@@crookedbuns I'm not sure what you mean, that's exactly what I was saying? That making the origami was a coping mechanism that she developed on her own. She didn't know that that's what she was doing though - she mentioned a few times how she felt better after doing it, and thought that if she could make enough to fill her room then she'd be cured, but she didn't know anxiety was the problem. She only even had anxiety to begin with because of the lifestyle she was forced into. All the stress of the training and competing, combined with the stress of all the (pointless) medical tests, treatments and medications, and then the stress of her not being able to go to school, play outside, make friends, etc (since they thought she was too sick or because they wanted her to train more) - all of those things were the causes of her anxiety. So if her parents would've just let her be a normal kid without all the extra pressures, then she most likely wouldn't have had anxiety problems to begin with
My thought exactly! He missed the two lines or so where the mentor told him to leave her in there for a week and the light flooding into the bathroom when he finally stepped in, only to realize his daughter is dead.
@@n0kt0h45 It's all explained when the character was walking down that long hallway at the end of the video and Jack just bitched about the long walk instead of actually listening to the dialogue. They explained the entire story, the entire basis of the game, and he literally just talked over it cuz he wasn't paying attention. It's just frustrating because he missed the whole point of the game, and that ruins it for every single person that watched it. People would've been listening to him, assuming that he'd stop talking if the dialogue was important, and the comments are filled with people who have no clue WTF was going on because of it. That scene explained everything very clearly though
So the basic idea I got from Devotion was that the daughter didn't have a physical illness - she likely had a bad anxiety disorder, as we see the problem she suffers from is 'trouble breathing'. This is probably all from the stress her parents put on her, and it links into the stigma around mental health in Asian countries like China. And it seems like the daughter didn't make it out in the end. The father was so desperate to 'make her better' that he sacrificed everything. That's why we saw him cut out his eye, tongue, and stab himself in the hand. It's a metaphor for how much he gave up for Mei Shin - what he actually gave up was his marriage, money, etc. It seems like in the time his wife left, before she could come back for the daughter, the father was advised by the 'mentor' on what exactly to do to make Mei Shin better. From the dialogue, we can gather that the father had her bathe in wine for seven days and that he kept the bathroom door locked. In the end, what we see is Mei Shin finally being able to 'go outside' - A.K.A her death, as the father sees it anyway.
So, I agree that that's probably it but I do have a more optimistic interpretation, as well. It isn't explicitly said that it has been 7 days, the mentor just says it can take up to 7 days. Him opening the door and then going out to play with his daughter might be him finally opening his mind and leaving faith behind. The brightness in the bathroom could be representative of "Enlightment", as in using your mind instead of blindly believing in faith, instead of Heaven and the girl's death. Then again, the very last bit after the credits (and like, almost everything else about the game) of him being alone in front of the TV does not make me actually believe that that is the intended interpretation. Does make me feel a little better tho ; u ;
@@kathylennerds750 If you remember the point where you get the achievement "daughter's red" where she falls into the snake wine its implying she died in the tub.
The fact that she died because of putting her in the bath of wine for a week because he was trying to help is so heartbreaking, when all she needed was his company and help to cure her anxiety but instead he tried too hard and ended up killing her
he wasnt really trying to help he just wanted her to be normal because having mental health issues was so taboo in their time. He wasnt trying too hard he was choosing to believe the bs the medium was spewing out to him because he refused to accept that mental health actually matters and that having mental health issues doesnt make you a lunatic. His denial made his daughter suffer in the end. But yeah its kind of fucked up
@@miarose6691 To be fair, being misinformed and ignorant about mental health doesn't detract his actual intentions. I'm not trying to defend the harmful views of mental health that led him to his decisions, I just don't like seeing people who fall for these cults and scams being portrayed as irredeemable or plain stupid. They make these decisions because they're desperate people that either back themselves into a corner where the only option is to turn to this "great wise one with medicinal healing abilities" or the cult manages to corroborate with the biased beliefs they already have and try to double down on it since it apparently works so well on the other members. But, I agree that his denial was awful since it stemmed from that fear of seeing their child be diagnosed with something that may jeopardize the success that they so selfishly put their expectations and pressure on.
Although "Devotion" is not bad for the name of this game. But I still want to share the game name of origin language "還願" In fact "還願" is a pun, because the word "還" has two pronounce in Chinese. The "願" pronounce as "Yuan", it means "the wish" or "willing" When "還" pronounce as "Hwan", it means "something back" And when"還" pronounce as "Hai", it means "still" At first, we tend to pronounce "還願" as" Hwan Yuan", beacuse it is a word about a Chinese trandition custom. It means "when something you wish come true, you may doing something back for thanksgiving." But the song in the ending makes "還願" another pronounce meaning. The last sentence of lyrics said"If there's an afterlife, are you still willing?" In Chinese lyrics is "若有來世，你還願意嗎？" Yes, "還願" in lyrics is pronounced as "Hai Yuan" with "still willing" meaning. That's the question the little girl asks to her dad,and also the answer of herself. Although his dad had the big mistake, the daughter still love him. So if there's an afterlife, she still willing. Willing to be his daughter, willing to love him, willing to forgive what he did to her, willing... That is why I cried out when I heard the song. The love of little girl is such pure that I couldn't control my tears. The game is not only talking about a sad story lead by outdated social values, background and environment in that years' Taiwan. But also talking about the purest love of the child.
In its pre-release ARG, the devs got fans to search for a stalked girl on Instagram who went missing but it was revealed that the stalker was Mei Shin's cousin who went into hiding after trying to investigate the girl's religious cult and as fans uncovered more, he got into trouble for doing so. 还愿 (Title of this game) originally means the act of fulfilling a vow. In taoism/buddhism, you have to repay for whatever you get through prayer. Usually that means performing good deeds and more charitable acts, or simply going vegetarian. But in this game we study the goddess Cigu Guanyin that the characters here worship: Cigu doesn't actually exist in the religion but there is a Zigu Guanyin. It originates from ancient China where She, a known beauty as a mortal, was taken in as a concubine but was killed by the main wife due to jealousy. She died in the lavatory hence gaining the reputation as a Lavatory Deity. In the game, we find that Mei Shin ultimately died in the bathroom as well, and that Cigu Guanyin might not be the good deity we thought it was. The dad shows in his trip to the underworld that he is willing to sacrifice enough (His tongue, his eyes, his blood) to repay for his daughter's health. That's how devoted he is. But what about his own pride to send her for proper treatment? In the storybook that we read, we can water the tulips with blood but they won't last long; They can't handle their own weight unless we nurture it with love. It was implied that Mei Shin got well the first time after the father started spending time to fold tulips with her but he chose to believe it was his faith that cured her, neglecting her for his religion and letting her fall into sickness again. Towards the end in the last line of the song that Mei Shin sings, it shows it actually meant 还(hai)愿 which means still willing, in "Are you still willing (to be my father)?" The daughter forgave her father and is still willing to be her daughter again. One reason why this game resonates so strongly with the taiwanese public is because religious scams like this and people like mentor heuh still exist in modern day taiwan and in this religion. Societies that recruit blind followers on the basis of faith, often requiring monthly contributions that don't come in small amounts. They claim to heal without needing medical treatment, depriving believers of the treatment they really need, fix behavioural issues for children and fix broken relationships amongst other things. In the recording that the father finds in Mentor Heuh's house, all her previous clients talk about their treatment. One grandmother praying for her grandson after failing his exams for two years straight. An adulterous couple praying for the man's wife to divorce him. A man shouting at her for advising them to reject medical treatment for his father which ultimately led to his early departure despite the big contributions he provides to this Guanyin. It is worth noting that this Cigu Guanyin that mentor Heuh endorses is actually not a good deity, which could actually bring anyone more harm than good. The father bows four times instead of three times as it normally should be for gods. This number of times hints that he was praying to a ghost or something dark. Of course with the internet today, the society is more knowledgable now but back in the 1980s, people were largely dependent on religion. As a kid who was made to watch rituals growing up, this game really hit home for me. Everything is really realistic and meticulously done, from the designs (The last scene where Mei Shin is running is actually the scenery of Alishan which the father promised to bring her to) to the dates (Mei Shin's ritual ended on October 07 1987 which was on a solar eclipse so it was a very ominous date) (the dad couldn't bring meishin to Alishan because there really was a typhoon on that day), also the singing show that mei shin was in was a very real and largely popular show that existed from 1960-1990s. Lastly, it is worth mentioning that Red Candle's small team of 12-ish people were the ones who made this all possible. Props to taiwan for developing such a beautiful game! This is an amazing asian representation.
@bowser the kingdom koopa i don't think the game itself is a real story, though the phenomenon that happened in the game (and the ones explained in this comment) are real.
i think the main reason for the “other world” segment and removing his organs for the offering were to symbolise the lengths that the father would go to try and “fix” his daughter; to show how *devoted* he was.
I feel that the organs chosen (eyes, tongue and hand) signify seeing, saying and doing things the way the Mentor said to do them. He gave everything to this Mentor, in exchange for, quite literally, snake oil.
Also, I've heard rumors there's another ending and that whole sequence gives out clues that could prove it true. His reflection tells him there's a way to save his daughter and when you exit that sequence and see the bathroom door, there's another one barred off to the right. If you approach it, the mentor says something about it not being the right path. And she tells you before you see the reflection to not listen to it.
If I'm being honest, this is the 80s not some 6th century bullshit where shamans and quack doctors are everywhere and medical science had barely begun. Its the FKING 80s and this Dad is honestly stupid enough to think that locking his child in the bathroom with no food or water and filled with alcoholic fumes is a good idea. He has to be the most gullible and dumbest individual in China at the time tbh. It just infuriates me that ANYone ANYwhere at ANY point in ANY time would think something so full of bs would work.
When I first heard about the whole "tightness in chest, difficulty breathing" thing I thought it was some sort of chronic physical illness of sorts. But with the "calm self" sequence with the parents arguing, before the daughter blacked out, I kind of realized that. She's not physically ill. She's having panic attacks. That. Completely flipped how I saw the game - and especially the father character. I know SO many parents refuse to believe their child is mentally ill or has mental problems, because they want the "perfect child", which is exactly what I see in the game. I didn't expect the game to take that route, but it did, and it did it well.
It kind of makes me sad that so many youtubers simply doesn't understand/appreciate how important this game is. Don't get me wrong, I love this let's play, but too many people expect this to be just another horror game. It's so much more
Its actually aware us abt Taiwan those days. Taiwanese those days r really into cult and religious stuff instead of proper treatment, especially when it comes to mental. Many families lost their life, money and everything because of it. Many youtubers were hoping into like jumpscare and shit. They didnt really look into the main story and it background. If they did, they would find it dark and sad in reality.
Well he doesn't really know about Taiwanese culture like that so he is going into it blind and just looking at it with new eyes, someone who doesn't know anything about what's going on in the game/in the culture
Idk if you've probably heard of him, but a guy named Jay/Kubz Scouts actually understood what happened in the game. In the second episode he said that he'll focus more on the story rather than wait for a jumpscare because he got interested in the story. I'm probably late and you've already seen his playthrough, just wanna share in case someone saw this and wondered if there was any youtube who at least understood what wad happening. JAY IS THAT DUDE :>
How dare these dumb dumbs not pick up on the cultural significance of this game! I don’t care if it was branded as a horror game and they come from a different culture, they should appreciate it more!
I interpreted it as the daughter was sick at first, that's why she had all the needles in her at the beginning of the game. The dad removing the needles was him taking her to Mentor Heuh, and when she got better on her own, he saw it as his prayers curing her. With the father going to pray and donating money frequently, it began to take a toll his marriage. His fears of Mei Shin growing sick again also makes him stay away from the outside world, keeping her locked in the apartment at all times. Her singing talent gets her on TV, and the mother and father put a lot of pressure on Mei Shin to succeed. It's shown that the father cares more about Mei Shin's TV appearance than Mei Shin herself, as shown with him yelling at her when she no longer sings and him watching her sing on the TV than actually play with her when he reaches the "perfect present." This and the failing marriage causes Mei Shin to develop severe anxiety, and it only gets worse as she overhears the argument between her mom and dad, the father saying the reason he spends so much money is for Mei Shin. She sees this as her being the reason things are going so bad. The mom's bitterness with the dad causes him to see her as "possessed" and that is why she appears as a monster in the game. The mom eventually leaves to pursue her career to help support the family (she may be killed by dad since there's the scene with her crawling and being left behind in the elevator but I don't really see it as her being murdered). With her mother gone and performance lost, Mei Shin's panic attacks being more frequent. The father, learning that Mei Shin is not sick and recommended to see a psychiatrist, interprets the form as saying she is insane. After an intense session with Mentor Heuh, he is told that he must bathe Mei Shin in snake wine, and that she could be in for several days. Her being trapped in the bath is shown in 2 scenes: The first is when you first emerge from a bathtub, which at first seems to be filled with blood, but is actually the snake wine. The second more obvious scene is the one where Mei Shin pushed into the wine and snake mixture by the father. As learned by the tapes near the end of the game, Heuh is a scammer, and after the last call from the father about why Mei Shin is still in the bathroom, she refuses to make contact with him again. Upon finally opening the door, he finds Mei Shin has died (either drowned, alcohol poisoning from prolonged contact, or dehydration and starvation as there was no food and the alcohol was being absorbed into her skin). He most likely then commits suicide, and is then trapped in this cycle of torture. Mei Shin has escaped into her paradise, as she is shown playing outside, the wife is possibly still alive, while he is stuck still staring at the TV screen, where his ideal version of Mei Shin is no longer visible. WOW THIS IS LONG for a comment that will get at most 3 likes
Excellent analogy! I completely missed out the part where Li Fang literally explains being seen as processes on the radio. I would like to add that throughout the game, Mei Xin frequently hints Fung Yu about the truth, showing him her own perspective and memories(you see her holding his hand at one bit right after her panic attack scenes), so Fung Yu can forgive himself and move on. Another important thing to know is that the snake used in the game is 雨傘節, famously known for its venom and striped body. The mentor instructed Fung Yu to put a live serpent in the wine, and this is the one he used, beliving in its magical healing abilities from the serpent guardian story.
I read it all and I agree with everything. I think the fact he killed himself is open to interpretation. Maybe he's still alive, crazy after finding her dead daughter. He found her and then just sat in the living room, in shock. He's reliving everything in his mind, trying to get a grasp at what happened. Or maybe he's dead, repeating and exploring what happened to pay for what he did. Either way, what an impressive story.
"Your daughter needs a therapist." "My daughter is not a lunatic!" "We're not saying she's a lunatic, just that she might have an anxiety problem…" "NO! I'm going to find help from my spiritual counselor and do what she says because my daughter is sick, there's nothing wrong with her mental state! I'd rather drown her in wine than accept that she has anxiety attacks!" This game is too real, man… V_V
real thingsbro. This doesnt happen ly in Asia but in LatinAmerica as well. People just think that if someone goes to see their mental state is because theyare lunatics or cazy people like in movies.
That's also one thing that was left out to be explained. Multiple times in the game you'll find medical records of Mei Shin as normal and healthy, but the family kept on struggling from somewhat 'illness' of their daughter. As we all know it's not physical but mental and that she might have anxiety and depression (imagine being depressed at the age of 10). This game might also be referencing about the issue with mental health awareness
so from my understanding, he killed his daughter after locking her in the bathroom in a bath of wine for 7 days (or a week), but instead of showing her corpse, it showed what calmed her anxiety i suppose, and she forgave her father.
I don't think it's based on a true story, just based on a true type of phenomenon. Unless you have a source for it being a true story, in which I would like to know.
niranX _YT honestly, i forgot that i wrote this, haha. i pressume that it was collectively a urban legend in the end. if i were true, that would be very interesting. although i do not have any sources that prove it is as such a true story as said.
I don’t know about necessarily that, but I think the ending they showed’s definitely a lot better than showing a bloated child’s corpse. Without a definitive visual consequence to his actions. For a lot of people who read the story differently, it may seem like maybe the daughter survived. But a lot of signs indicate she died. Even if you’re not including the logic of keeping a 10 year old girl locked in a bathroom for seven days without food or water while being forced to soak in a tub of wine with a very high alcohol content.
*Spoilers* I watched MatPat and Steph play this first. Now going back I’m noticing a couple things. What we thought was a blood bath he woke up in is actually the wine. The beginning sequence is just the father’s dream of his wife loving him again, appreciating his “sacrifices” and they’re daughter is doing great... until the mom starts asking where she is. Also, we are hardly ever let into the bathroom because that’s where Mei Chin died.
The book for the ritual actually did call it blood from something (I dont remember what) even though it really was just "pure" wine (I have no idea what makes wine "pure")
@@amt_fleeked_out It's "snake wine", which is meant to be symbolic of the snake's blood that was sacrificed to save the life detailed in the Cigu Guanyin excerpts. This is similar to how Christians use wine to represent the blood of Christ.
@@itdobeawren Probably stopped breathing from the anxiety. Reading the rest of the comments, the Father decided to be "blind" to the literal world and began seeing, saying and doing things the way the Mentor said (thus the eyes, tongue and hand). The Mentor suggested putting Mei Shin in wine for 7 days, kinda like in the story of the god (can't remember the name, sorry) to "purge" the evil spirits out but she was a scared child being effectively betrayed by the one parent she still had after the mom left and/or died.
theory: The whole story was the father self reflecting. The last shot of him sitting alone in his chair is the real world, while this entire game is happening in his head. He still believes that the religious rituals would work, which is why all the pieces to unlocking his perfect family was all gained in religious rituals. This also explains why during most of the game the bathroom is locked, since he still believes the "seven day ritual". In the end, he had to come to realization that he was directed by a scam artist. He unlocks the bathroom to face the fact that his daughter is dead(because it's the place she died) and returns to the real world in the end, all alone.
One thing to mention, in Mandarin, the title can be pronounced as ‘Devotion’. But it can also be pronounced as ‘ I will’, which corresponds to the last song, the one mei sin sang, meaning that I am still willing to be your daughter next life. Heart breaking after went through the whole game video
The final phrase of Mei Shing's 碼頭姑娘 was 「你還願意嗎」, which means "are you still willing to?" If you dissect the second and the third word, you get 「還 願」, which is the same words with the Mandarin translation of "devotion", yet in the context of the lyrics, it's the word "still?" And half of the word "will", so it works more as a pun than a direct reference. If you can't understand anything I said, don't worry, it doesn't make sense even to a Mandarin speaker.
btw im studying japanese and im still beginner btw but how do you tell difference between chinese and japanese? since even alot of there characters look the same but means something different
The daughter suffered from panic attacks due to the stress and anxiety of having to perform and the amount of pressure put on her. The family always thought her 'illness' was physical, possibly a bad lung and could be cured, however all medical records show she is fine, implying the root of her problem was actually mental illness (folding the tulips was a way to calm her down and ease her anxiety.) To understand this story fully, you need to have a strong cultural context on religion and mental illness in Asia. Mental illness is almost seen as taboo and parents are often in denial and refuse to accept their child is a 'lunatic', instead turning to rituals, superstition and prayers as a solution and unfortunately there are those that will prey upon this.
I actually think the developers did a very good job at making this game understandable even to a foreign audience. My knowledge of East Asian culture is not very expansive and I still had a very good grasp on the story. Not lastly because the father's denial of his daughter's mental illness is not all that outlandish. Plenty of people like that out in the western world...
Only to the extent that every religion has a few greedy, manipulative assholes that take advantage of their system and make everybody else look bad with their schemes. Not every Christian is as hypocritical or overblown as, say, Jerry Falwell or Jimmy Swaggart.
I’m pretty sure Du Fengyu killed his wife too 1) Only the big ballerina on the cake had her neck cracked (represents the mom) 2) That scene of the umbrella and a red shoe in a pile of blood 3) GLF crawling on the floor in pain during the elevator scene. She was probably stabbed when trying to leave the house. 4) DFY trying to wash off the blood on his hands 5) The scene with the bloody garbage bags. Why so many bags? 6) GLF’s photos in her room were bleeding 7) Why would GLF’s ghost keeping haunting DFY if he never harmed her? Also when GLF asked where’s Meishin the clock said 5:00 🕰, but when DFY was washing his bloody hands his watch says 6:15 ⌚️. Enough time to bury a body, huh?
I kind of disagree with you, when the ghost was haunting him. Is more like the father's pov of her wife. He sees the wife as a burden that cannot be escaped? I don't know what is the word to this.
I think the ritual scene is mostly to show just how far the father is willing to go in order for his daughter to become"better", i.e. he would take out his eye and tongue for her. But in his prayer, he refers to himself as the "loving father", which might be how he feel about himself and all the sacrifice he is doing in the spirit world. At the same time he is blind (literally and figuratively) to what being a "good father" actually means. It is not the gorey sacrifices he is willing to make but actually spending time with his daughter and wife, not immersed in his own false sense of ego and love. This is why when he spent time with Mei Xin folding paper tulips, her breathing difficulties got better. Even when she was ill the first time, staying at home and being taken care of by her parents was what made her better, not prayers. The snake wine ritual also involved (it said in the instructions) the addition of a live, highly venomous snake, the spirit snake, which is a many-banded krait snake. In addition to being submerged in alcohol for 7 days, Mei Xin was also soaked with this venomous spirit snake and probably would have been bitten. The scene with the pots and that small room with snakes at the bottom implies despite her unwillingness, the father forced her to stay in there and complete the ritual. The dirtied walls outside the bathroom at the end can be seen as the father finally going in, realizing Mei Xin has been dead for 7 days and trying to get rid of her body in a panic, splashing corpse juice everywhere. Plus, the single incense is often used to mourn deceased relatives. Another prevailing theory is that the wife is also dead, perhaps killed by the father. In Taiwan fold religion, holding an open umbrella indoors and walking bare-footed (walking to the elevator she wasn't wearing shoes) is a sign of ghosts, hence implying she is dead. This also explains why she just left the father and daughter despite obviously loving Mei Xin very much.
ALSO CiGu Guanyin can be considered an improper, in other words, evil deity because it is made up by Mentor Hoeu. In Taiwan folklore, these deities are very bad and leads devoters into misfortune. The CiGu Guanyin story pieces collected throughout the game keeps mentioning "sacrifice" and the spirit snake. From the pattern and the obvious, characteristic black-and-white stripes on its body, one can tell this snake is a many-banded krait. This is why Du Feng Yu added such a venomous snake into the ritual bath, as instructed.
What a tragedy. Mei Shin had bad anxiety because of the expectations put on her and her parents arguing so much, and her father's blind devotion (roll credits) to Cigu Guanyin ended up killing her.
i think because jack was talking over that last phone call he really missed what happened LOL but basically she was never physically sick. the doc suggested a psychiatric ward because she was suffering from severe anxiety (which causes panic attacks, chest pains, difficulty breathing etc). dad refuses to believe it was a mental illness so he prayed and listened to the mentor who told him to leave her in a wine bath for seven days. to prove his devotion, he ignored her pleas and she eventually died. the ending may be up to interpretation but i think once the dad realized he was fooled, he killed himself to be with her.
This is definitely it. The pressure put on Mei Shin by her family to perform causes her crippling anxiety and her mental and physical state continued to deteriorate up to the end. Unfortunately, her father's response was to pray even harder and offer even more to the diety per the Medium's guidance. Her condition continues to worsen until she is likely either dead or dying by the time the father begins the "Snake Wine" ceremonial bath to restore her soul and he was unable to come to terms with the reality that she was gone forever until he opened the bathroom door. It's not clear what happened at this point except that Mei Shin was finally able to find peace and happiness, probably because she had died and passed on from this life to a place of peace. The symbolism of the scene at the end with her father staring at the TV with no signal probably indicates that he went insane upon realizing that he had lost everything including Mei Shin despite his undying sacrifice and devotion to the diety. However, it could also symbolize that he took his own life, but I choose to believe that he remained alone, descending deeper and deeper into insanity until he was left a shell of a man, reliving the years from 1980-1986 over and over in his mind. That ending would support the decision the developers made to have the player experience the story mostly through the eyes of the father.
In case you want some context, this is still happening sometimes in asian family. So basically, most asian people (Especially in the 80s) treats mental illness poorly. if someone told you to "go to a psychiatrist", they're basically telling you that you're crazy or lunatic. That's why the father refused to bring Mei Shin to a psychiatrist.
I think you hit the nail on the head bunny, alot of people don't think anxiety is a real thing so he didn't believe she had it because he wanted her to be a star.
Yes he looked at the camera and started blabbering RIGHT when the lady told him to leave his daughter in the wine for 7 days and not to interrupt her which obviously she wouldn’t have been able to survive that. And then he kept asking “so did she die?” which was really infuriating for me lol
holy shit after taking chinese class and rewatching this series, i realized at around 41:30, 88 in chinese is "ba ba" which is also pronounced as the same "ba ba" for the word Dad. it could be to represent the daughter yelling for her dad "BA BA BA BA BA BA", but it might be a coincidence at the same time but damn that is one fitting coincidence.
This was not a horror game for me, it was more of an emotional roller coaster of what life is. It was really good wth, made me strengthen myself in this world of ours. A very good game with a really good lesson.
I strongly suggest watching the first game Detention. BUT I suggest watching Cryaotic play it instead of jack. Jack got the really bad, brutally bleak ending. Cry got the real actual ending. The real ending is very important to the story.
Yeah, I completely agree - it's more than just the usual jumpscare fest we get from horror-media. It's super important - I've got so much respect for red candle now, even more than I did after Detention, and I loved that game too.
Any of you cried when the story was being read and it said in the end "the daughter is the most precious thing in the land"....I could feel my tears welling up a little bit, I dunno why
Because subconsciously you knew he was going to fail her as a father and his blind devotion was going to cause him to kill the most precious thing in his land.
@@lucerix6033 for me though it doesn’t trigger any daddy issues but I did feel fpr the father. He was misguided and was horrified of the idea of losing his daughter that he had to cling and believe into a remedy that was actually a scam and that added to his blind faith, he inevitably lost his daughter. He sacrificed his time in prayer to cure her daughter but forgot that he shouldve sacrificed his devotion and time to his little girl instead. A similar situation did happen to me when my cousin was on the verge of life and death. We gambled all our bets and money. Even went as far to do something ridiculous as performing a religious ritual and bargaining with a demonic entities to save her. But all she needed was the love and comfort and one thing she asked in her short life. We dont know when sh will die but its good as long as she spends her life happy in all the time she has .
Poor girl...she was never really sick. She had anxiety and because of it suffered from panic attacks which her parents thought was a breathing issue. The mother left to go back to work and while she was gone the father really got out of control with his religious rituals and prayers to "heal" her. The daughter died during the last ritual. He put her in a bathtub full of wine and left her in the bathroom for 7 days without letting her out. I think it was 7 days....either way she died. Very sad story. Her father's "Devotion" to the deity he worshiped ended up killing her in the end. Then when the mother returned and found out her daughter died she killed herself.
lol nobody killed no one, except for the husband killing the daughter. by the looks of it, the mother just left them because the dad has a god-complex and not taking care of things like a father would do. it made her give up and left both of them. with only him and the daughter he stayed with his ritual and killed the child, being left alone in the end, fucked in the head. dad was at fault, thats why he/you are getting haunted by your imagination and trauma.
This is probably about the third time I've rewatched this, and knowing the story, and that ending, I am reminded of the stigmas against mental health that are endemic even now, although, it has arguably gotten much better. I have a young cousin who is in primary school. One day, he started displaying some very outlandish paranoid behaviour. He would frequently work himself up into such a furor that he would be physically sick. Things like thinking someone was breaking in to kill his family, not wanting to eat his dinner because he thought there were bugs in it, and that he would get sick. It became such a problem that my auntie and uncle took him to the doctors. All tests were normal. As it turns out, he was being bullied in school, and it caused him a lot of strain mentally, to the point of paranoia and anxiety. My grandpa was worried sick. He called my mum, and spoke to her how worried he was that they were going to take his grandchild and lock him up "in the mad house", and that he would be branded a lunatic his entire life. The doctor had prescribed him half a tablet of anxiety medication, and my grandpa worried incessantly that it would turn him into an unfeeling, unmoving zombie. He was worried that his grandchild was crazy. Coincidentally, I had also been struggling massively with my own depression and anxiety, and my mum and dad had come a long way to accepting that I was just the way that I am because my brain was malfunctioning, and they learned that my medication was helping me be better. Thus, my mum was able to calm him down, and explain to him that it was ok, and that she had first hand anecdotal evidence in me. It also helped that my sister is a nurse, and so, my mum had her call to explain everything to our grandpa. I'm sorry for my long winded comment, but I wanted to shed some light into the thought process of people who were only 2 generations apart that still held this stigma. I can't blame my grandpa for thinking that, because in his generation, that was what they did to mentally ill people. He held that stigma because mental health was treated as such. We've come a long way, and still have so much more to learn, but I hope that it can help in understanding, and learning that people can change. My grandpa has now learnt to understand mental illness, and that it is ok.
@@shadowswithin702 Thanks dude, really appreciate it. Thankfully, my younger cousin is doing much better now, and as I recall, he's off the meds, and is doing much better. As for me, it's going, but you know, just gotta take it one day at a time.
When I was younger (i think i was 16?) i wanted to seek therapy because I've been feeling depression symptoms and have attempted suicide prior to that. My chinese father got mad at me for wanting to seek psyciatric help, my mother told me that prayer would work better than that. They apparently have too much pride and good image to lose if ever people and relatives finds out I'm going to a psychiatrist. I fucking hate the stigma with mental illness.
There’s a game called The Silent Age where you have to travel back and forth between time to solve puzzles and is set in a dystopian future. Like so he can see please.
^That sounds really cool! Semi-related: his description of the mechanic also reminded me of his Visage play-through! It's not time switching exactly but it was still pretty rad
When the “mentor” said to leave Mei Chen in the wine bath alone, for a full week, what I get is he left a young child in a full, or semi full, tub of liquid for seven days. In other words, she likely drowned. And this is not considering whether she was provided food or water during this time. In which could mean death by dehydration/starvation. She had anxiety - performance anxiety - and as she revealed, she adapted by making the tulips. But therapy was the next step to approach when her symptoms did not show as something to be treated medically; it was made an option after their assessment revealed medical doctors could not help. The dad took that as insinuating his daughter was crazy (remember therapy is stigmatized with alot of people and shunned in many cultures). Ergo he looked for other options, found/got sucked in to the scammer, and Mei Chen died. And it seems by the end he killed him self right after.
let's not forget alcohol poisoning is a thing, and leaving a child in a bathtub of wine for an extended period of time, likely isn't healthy - breathing in the fumes, soaking it into her skin - especially one with an anxiety disorder.
Specifically mental health and mental therapy are stigmatized in many countries, especially in Asian countries. Because their usual exposure to that is the extreme versions of it, they think that if there’s something wrong with you mentally, that you’re crazy and a lunatic and unable to function in society, which is already a stigma in and of itself not including any sort of mental illnesses. So he didn’t want to think that his “perfect daughter” could have some thing so look down upon, and would rather secret out spiritual guidance then give her a legitimate help purely because of his own personal beliefs as well as the social stigma surrounding such issues. A reoccurring thing in the game was the concern of what others thought, an example being of mei shin’s grandma trying to convince her mother to not leave the family just yet because of what “people would say and think”. And in a lot of Asian countries, they take what other people say significantly more seriously and more important than what’s actually important. And it can be a very strong deterrent, even if the person themselves doesn’t even have a very strong opinion about the matter. Just knowing that other people would would cause them to not go through with any necessary help.
Wow.... the dad locked his baby girl in a bathtub filled with wine for 7 days and killed the child he wanted so desperately to save..... very sad story, have to admit to shedding a tear as the little girl ran into heaven.
okay so i'm gonna do a jumpscare and trigger warning list for this cause theres a lot here: 16:37 to 16:53 is just a small creepy moment with black flashes. 20:25 to 20:30 is visual and audial jumpscare. 21:24 to 23:58 is a scene with the parents arguing in the background. there's several images of yelling mouths during this (that i got really uneasy about). tw in this part for verbal violence and implication of physical violence. jumpscare at 25:35 , followed by imagery in the background of bulging eyes until 26:55 . 27:17 to 27:26 is a jumpscare with audible screams and red and white brief flashes. 30:37 has a bright white flash for a second. 34:57 brief visual jumpscare. 38:47 to 39:49 has a big heckin snake on the ground so if you are really scared of them just be aware. starting at 41:50 in the parent's bedroom there are several images of bloody eyes. when jack goes back into the bedroom at 47:00 the bloody eyes are gone. from 49:28 to 51:30 is a chase scene. no tw it's just very rushed and panic inducing. 56:27 to 56:34 brief jumpscare with blood. 57:07 to 57:55 warped voices and disturbing imagery and sound. 1:08:27 to 1:09:09 warped voices. IMPORTANT: if you are sensitive to gore images and/or sound, i would suggest not watching from 1:09:56 to 1:15:17 because its very disturbing to some (it made me feel sick oops). this is the complete list. i don't usually have time to make the list but it really needed to be done for this video. this game is amazing though. i hope this will help anyone who needs it. please like this so maybe jack can pin it idk? just so people see it :)
Ugh that she plays "there's no place like home" on the piano got me. The hearing her parents fight and her anxiety from it got to me, experienced the same thing at that age
SPOILERS! My take on the story: 1) The daughter never had physical illnesses. The father kept her inside all the time so he wouldn't risk her becoming sick and not being able to train for singing. 2) Her "breathing problems" were part of a mental disorder she had. Possibly anxiety. When the father received her medical report, it stated "no physical ailments found. Refer the patient to a psychiatrist". The father then exclaims "My daughter isn't a lunatic!" so he obviously doesn't believe she has a mental illness. He prays to Cigu instead. 3) She dies. The mentor tells him to put her in a bathtub filled with wine (?) and keep her in there. He calls back saying he's not sure that it's working. She tells him it takes up to 7 days for it to work. She was locked in the bathroom for 7 days and died. 4) The father committed suicide. The ending seemed to show him going into the afterlife. His daughter says "lets go home", implying he joined her in death. Overall, I thought this was a brilliant game. Very well done, visuals were superb and very interesting story. As a half-taiwanese person, I'm really excited that Sean played this. Sean, please play more taiwanese games!
so not only was she there for 7 days without food, she suffered from an anxiety disorder that caused breathing issues, and she also most likely got alcohol poisoning from soaking in it for days.
Actually the last scene is that he is going to the afterlife to save her daughter from death, he goes into afterlife by some chinese ritual. most of the story is that he is too into chinese religion and make the whole family fell apart.
Not gonna lie, that transition at 44:10 was so perfectly done it took me by suprise. Either way, this game honestly just looks perfect and beautiful in every way. So much effort put into the little details
This made me cry because mental health in most asian households isn’t a thing even in Latin homes even talking about mental health is frowned upon :( this hit really hard with me
The dad planted a tulip when his wife became pregnant with Mei Shing at the beginning... The father really loved his daughter... He was just misguided by the mentor. He truly was... Devoted.
The daughter died in the bathtub filled with snake wine at the end. It is a traditional belief for Chinese medicine that it will heal many sickness so that's why at the end u have to open the bathroom door. And he wasn't head banging XD it's like normal kneel down praying but knocking ur head to show ur faithfulness, normally either in front of parents and mentor or during praying. Nice playthrough tho!
@34:23 While I don't think Jack's relationship advice is wrong I am pretty sure the letter had a different meaning. In Chinese and I think asian culture, in general, there is this concept called keeping face. Don't let anyone outside of your home know about any problems, even if everything is wrong you have to pretend it isn't, having people gossip is the worst thing that could happen. So Li Fang's mother is telling her to not leave home because that would cause a scene and she doesn't want her daughter to be the center of all the gossip. 'you don't have to clash with him on every little thing' 'bedroom quarrels stay in the bedroom' 'minor disputes being taken care of out of sight' that whole last paragraph is all about keeping this in the house and making sure no one knows you have problems. I think Li Fang and her husband's problems were a lot more than little disputes but the idea of her leaving her family or even going to stay with her mother for a little while is such a frowned upon idea that it is better for their family's image for her to stay with her husband even if she is miserable and they fight all the time. It is better for her to stay in that place and pretend everything is fine then do anything to change her situation because that might start gossip and bring shame upon her family.
This is absolutely true. Its a big thing where I live too. The first time I watched Devotion play through (CoryxKenshin) i thought "Damn, her own mother prioritizes keeping face over the well-being of her daughter and grand daughter? If that was my mom she would've gotten me and my children out of the house the minute she senses something was wrong and chop my dead beat husband apart with a bolo knife" But I also thought that Li Fang and her husband were still a new couple so her more experienced mother was giving her tough-love advice on how to handle future quarrels.
That's so true. I remember i went to my great grandmother's funeral when I was 10 and i asked my mum why no one was crying because in movies everyone always cries and my mum told me it's normal for Chinese people not to show emotions because they don't want to cause "a scene" or be the centre of gossip.
YESSS SO TRUE!! I HATE KEEPING FACE OR SHOWING FACE, IT DOESN'T MAKES THINGS BETTER IT MAKES IT WORST! LI FANG WAS ALSO TRYING TO KEEP FACE FOR HER HUSBAND BUT IT MADE THINGS SO MUCH WORST!
Does anyone else live alone and put Jack's latest video on while they're eating a sad, solitary dinner/tea/whatever the hell you want to call it? No? Just me...?
I do! I watch him since 2015 and when he used to upload two times a day the upload times actually matched my lunch and after nap snack times lmao. So I always had lunch and chilled before studying in the afternoon watching him hehe
The title of the game, 還原 (huan yuan) has two meanings related to the story. The first is when someone prays to a deity (like cigu guanyin) and has their wish fulfilled, they should perform 還原 as a form of gratitude. The other meaning is hai yuan, or "still willing," and the last line of the song as the credits roll is "if there's still an after life, are you still willing." I'm not sure if this is a stretch, but to me it seems like this meaning is about mei shin, asking her father if there could be another chance, would he still be her father.
Reading this reminds me of the vine with the little kid who was going to pop the smoke bubble but it pops before he can & hes just sitting there in pure disappointment
the daughter died from alcohol poisoning. the wine that she was soaked in wasnt watered down, as you can see in the sheet that jack looked at after the spirit realm stuff, so the alcohol level was extremely high. the mentor told him not to open the door so he never check to make sure she was ok. if he had gone in and check on her then he could have saved her. also i had watch mat pat play this and they had said that some youtubers that played this before passed out at the eye gouging and tongue pulling out part and they didnt show those parts but had extreme reactions to it so i was super curios about it but when i saw jack doing it i was very underwhelmed. yeah it was unsettling but i cant imagine anyone that isnt super squeamish passing out. its an amazing game and i wish i could play it. too bad it got taken off steam for political reasons
Jumpscare timestamp - - - 20:29 25:35 (minor) 27:17 + [ 27:19 to 27:25 (bunch of flashing and screaming and girl at the middle) ] 34:56 (minor) 57:36 + 57:41 (girl/his daughter appear in front of the screen) 58:00 (dad on the mirror) (not really a jumpscare but creepy) P.S. I might have missed some of the jumpscare (but mostly I didn't miss)
This game really felt like we were peering into some true storytelling of another culture. It was refreshing to see, and very engaging. Maybe some of the style and way the plot unfolded would have been more familiar to Chinese viewers, as Guanyin is Buddhist figure for example. Knowing Red Candle is from Taiwan, is important to that. So, they likely have more familiarity which would have helped us realize the import of the entirety of the story. Using that as a source, worked though. There was a greater depth to what was going on. And there was a lot to take in. Yet, something Sean talked about, was how well the game structure was laid out. So many other games try this kind of multi time line approach, and it just gets messy or feels too gimmicky. The impact often can get muddled. Here, it was straightforward to navigate and understand what to do, and the effects. Instead of a complicated, interrupting mechanism, you simply walk to the next time zone. Such a simple idea to keep the concept from getting in the way. And the look, man so nice and detailed, just visually engaging. They cared about this game. The way the apartment kept changing appearances to match the story and what was going on seemed spot on. The use of the central hub, so much better than other games where a similar kind of hub is passive to the story. That story book section was so cute, moving and innovative. That gave you so much information and helped define the characters to let you become more attached and understanding. Without that, the final impact would have been far less. I will say, that ritual section was the most difficult thing to watch in any game I've seen in a long time. I really don't know the last time I had so much trouble actually watching without turning away and feeling every second. Yet, that effectiveness again shows how well this game was made. I do kinda agree that it felt like it was put in to punch up the impact of the overall story, which could have stood on it's own. That incredibly graphic kind of thing, could certainly be part of a game successfully. So, yeah, really nice game. I'm glad Sean played this. For the complexity of story, visuals, and just being a good time in its own unique way. Behind it all, is also some very pointed commentary about mental health and getting proper treatment versus superstition. When there is a strong driving principle guiding a story, that story will end up far better for it. I did get one really good scare too, always a plus. The one he was expecting. I yelled out. It was hilarious.
He soaked her in snake wine and waited 7 days for the ritual to heal her, and the alcohol poisoning killed her. She was never even sick. The pressure the parents put on her have her General Anxiety Disorder and panic attacks. When the doctor told him that he said his daughter wasn't crazy and devoted harder. She found ways to cope with her anxiety on her own while her parents spent more time with het and she was getting better. But the father continued his spending on the spiritual hoax, putting pressure on the tight budget family. Mom left because of him and the anxiety came back. The worse she got, the more fanatically devoted he became, the worse she got, because she could cope on her own if only her family could spend more time with her. Then he killed her. The mother crawling at the elevator showed that when she came back from her film to get her family and take them away to live simply... he had already taken her, and possibly himself (daddy lets go home).
I had forgotten about the elevator scene with the mother crawling towards him in the hallway. It makes sense when you put it that way because she doesn't make it to him in time, probably symbolizing her return to the family only to find her husband had descended into pure insanity and killed their daughter.
the whole topic of being pressured as a kid and your parents/relatives highly relying on religious faith is hitting too close to home. being an asian (Filipino), you really can't do too much for your self, especially if you're not from a rich family. going to school, graduating, and then getting a job is not about you anymore but more about repaying for your parents. I have nothing against it because its important that you repay them but it has gotten to the point where it becomes a task and instead of treating yourself and enjoying life, you're stuck with the responsibility of your parents being repaid
I'm Filipina (hi) and that's so true. It's important to respect and repay them, but it got to the point that in your entire life you're just working and stuff.
@Ezi Hunt It's like respect or a part of our tradisyon. And you _can't_ easily break something that's been done for one generation to the other. Edit: Oops realized tradition is spelled the filipino way. But I'm not going to change that.
MAAAAAN, I understand the importance of traditions and respecting your elders, but HERE IN MERICA, we are avid believers in self fulfilling career, hobbies, activities, etc. I'm not saying that means you gotta become disrespectful, but you also don't need to repaid anyone for your life and subsequent choices. It's your life. Your parents choose to have kids and that's on them. No adult should be living through their children because at the end of the day children are just adults going through childhood. They're bound to had their own thoughts and emotions and shouldn't be held to some high expectations "cAuSe It'S tRaDiTiOn"
@@BlueEyesWhiteDragonStan yeah it fucking sucks. i cant do too much rn since im still in college but i hope i wont have to live another one of my parents' lives after graduating
16:37 Did anyone else see Jack take up the entire screen for a solid millisecond? Plus the colors of his face go kind of wonky here like they're slightly oversaturated. Maybe it's just... a glitch.
That post credit scene tore me to pieces. The family was robbed of their happiness, and now the father is all alone, stuck in a pit of depression. All because of a horrible scammer and an unhealthy devotion.
Mokiiyu if you noticed at the post credit scene, the figure is too stiff for him to still be alive, implying rigor mortis is happening. I think the father comitted suicide due to extreme guilt
from what i read on the taiwanese article on this game, this story is inspired by this tragic event that happened in taiwan. Before the mentor moved into the building, many tragic events happened in the building, for example a husband murdered his wife and after going to jail his son jumped off a building and killed himself. That's why the building was never peaceful and was surrounded by angry spirits. After the mentor moved into the building, apparently it helped with the atmosphere in the building, that's why many people started contributing money , because they thought that the "god" could help with everything. Not sure if the article is 100% accurate, but many threads online have been talking about this game and the meaning behind the little details. I just thought it was pretty interesting and wanted to share what i read here:) edit || the article I read was just a more detailed explanation of the story, while also giving the game some background stories. So while the story is fictional, it is inspired by the very commonly seen religious scenes in Taiwan during the 1980s. sorry for not doing enough research!
MeetingSkylar I think you may have misunderstood the article. This game as far as I know is purely fictional (although based on very real religious practices in Taiwan). The events that you mentioned in your comment are part of an ARG in which the developers used to get people excited about the game prior to its release.
@@emlin803 assuming you understand Chinese, so is 杜家慘案 a fictional event? My friend told me it is based on a true event or should I say inspired maybe this is a better way to put it, bits and pieces of the games are inspired by supposedly a true event, but then again, I might've misunderstood what he said. if so I am sorry😅
@@emlin803 I just did some research and I suppose both my friend and I misunderstood the article, thank you for pointing my mistake out:) I'm also sorry for not doing enough research!
@@meetingskylar34 I do! I'm actually from Taiwan haha. 杜家慘案 translates to "The Du Family Tragedy", which simply refers to the main story we were told in this game. As far as I know, the story is completely fictional. I watched GTLive's playthrough and I recall a disclaimer in the game that states this. Your friend may have been mistaken because of the nature of ARGs though :)
Boohzer Bear not a lunatic. He just wanted his daughter to be better and this scam artist woman took advantage of him and he bought into it until it was too late
A bit of fun facts to top up the awe of this masterpiece... For those who are not aware, the selection of names for this game is totally ingenious (applaud to the game developers :D). First, the name of the whole game, which is Devotion 「還願」, in Mandarin it is pronounced as 'huan-yuan', which actually sounds like the other Chinese word 「孩願」 'hai-yuan', and this translates to 'the dream of a child'. This forecasts the context of the game which the child Du Meishin dreaming of getting healed from her sickness and have a happy family she deserved...... Secondly, just talking about Meshin(美心), the pronounciation for her name (mei-shin) is actually THE SAME to the other chinese word 「迷信」, which the word means 'superstitious'. This is probably another nice plot element with the father believing so blindly in god and spirits that he subconsciously (or intentionally...?) named his daughter with the same pronounciation to his own trait. Else it is just another easter egg pun left by the developers for us to discover its literal depth behind their work. Big hands for the game developers again. :)
There is a lot about this game that is ingenious and just a wonderful masterpiece. It was pulled from Steam because butthurt Chinese people didn't appreciate their "fearless leader" being called Winnie the Pooh and review bombed the game. Seriously, fuck the government of China and the government's little fragile political egos that cause massive amounts of censorship to taint and warp the experiences of their citizens for the worse. I genuinely feel bad for the people living in China who have to deal with this Pooh bear's insecurities drastically altering a truly free and happy life that is free from severe governmental manipulation and influence.
For short reader. . . Edit : yep, the wife is killed by husband also, it was hinted when she crawl into elevator trying to escape. . . Confirmed by taiwanese community Edit2 : well shit. . . The wife topic is still hot debate in taiwanese community. . . :v 1. He rethink of his life while realizing his daughter is dead 2. He realize so much mistake and regret everything he have done 3. "Baba, let's go home" at that sentence he is already committing suicide. To meet his daughter on the other side, but they never met each other. . . Its just emptiness kind of afterworld (according to the song) In shortest conclusion. . . the Husband kill all of his family, and regret it, rethink of his life from the starting of marriage to misery end, then committing suicide Opinion : as Thai who have chinese ancestry. . . This really reflect the problem of chinese belief. . . very accurately of what can go wrong, starting from "let your child choose the career since being newborn" to ridiculous tradition that harm child's mental health :v NOW LADIES AND GENTLEMEN WELCOME TO THE FEEL TRAIN, HOP ON AND NOW WE ARE HEADING TO FEELADELPHIA
I do not see how the wife is supposedly dead. I saw the whole chase sequence as an attempt for her to stop you from going to Cigu Guanyin. The elevator has Cigu Guanyin imagery in it, and she’s crawling almost sorrowfully and and desperately to get to YOU to stop you, and salvage the family. But you are too stubborn and you throw the marriage out for Cigu Guanyin and your pride/ego. She leave to live with her mother and for her career. Unless you mean the husband killed her after Mei Shin’s death, when she visits them and asks “where is mei shin” and etc. There is so far very little confirmation/evidence of anyone’s death other than Mei Shin’s.
Brother, as a Taiwanese myself, I heard no saying from our community that the wife was dead. We pretty much unanimously agreed that the segment was to represent Li Fang's effort in dragging Du away from the Cigu faith, thus was antagonized by Du in his memory. The final scene in the elevator chase when Li Fang's face turned from a monstrosity to an actual human was a great hint. It was also followed up by the radio interview played in the elevator, and the subsequent cutscene where Du sees Li Fang leaving the apartment dressing in her Qi Pao dress which signifies that she has left home for the film industry again.
I thought the father saw the wife as someone who was evil because she was against him , so thats why before the elevator scene she was chasing after him then when he finally got to the elevator you saw her face turn more not creepy asl and then a little later she just left him to continue his praying because she knew she couldnt control how he looks at her now
It's really strange watching the mom and dad fighting from the kid's perspective seeing how something very similar happened to me. My father couldn't keep a job and constantly harped on my mother for having her own job. He thought it was the man's job to handle finances and the woman's to take care of the kid. My father was also incredibly religious to the point that it was detrimental and spent carelessly. Heck he even tore up my mother's wedding dress, much like how the father in the game tore up the mother's stage outfit. I grew up suffering from serious anxiety to the point where I passed out constantly. Only difference is my parents got divorced and I stayed with my mother, I didn't die in a bathtub from alcohol poisoning at least.
Spoiler - - - - - - This is going to get lost in the comments but I attempted to take the missing words from the 09 script bit and retranslate them back to chinese and back to english to see if there was a hidden meaning. Of course I had to guess what the words were so it might not even be accurate. what I got was 聽丈夫給了我的是非常難以偉大母親精細足夠 (hear, husband, gave me was, very, hard to, greatness, fine, enough) it translated to "It’s very difficult to listen to what my husband has given me." that plays really well into the next scene in the elevator.
Hey Jack. Just want to let you know that the show on TV was filmed just for this game, but it is based on an actual Taiwanese show in the 80s, which is called "Five Lights Award".
as a person with anxiety, when i saw the child was in her deepest time, it made me uncomfortable because i can feel how is it in her place. that's how sometimes describe my anxiety. the point is right now, some asian countries are religious and the country i live in is pretty religious and yes i am asian myself too. some parents in this country usually think that depression or anxiety isn't real. they said that it's because "we dont pray much" or "we dont read bible enough" and they usually come up with religion most of the time and invalid the children's illness. some parents think that 'mentally ill' is something doesn't exist especially when the children are under the age 18. this is how the reality is. it's sad. parents seek to meet the preacher or something to heal their children when they need a therapy instead. not all illness will cure with religion. i hope that parents will be more understanding and took care of their children very well. why would you want kids when you dont even try to be understanding for your own kids? what's the whole point then? just to fulfill your needs? to show off? children aren't robots. it made me so sad. btw the game have such a deep meaning. there might be more of it. for me, what i can see the dad was being scammed. i'm not saying the religion is a scam but people should know what should be included in religion and what shouldn't. you can be religious and understanding about the whole situation of mental illness. it is real. everything can tear off family relationship so if anyone gonna say "religion will fix all your problem" i will say it's a fucking bullshit. even in this game, it's obviously ruins the family. i'm not saying you cant live a healthy life with being religious, ofc you can. ^,^ that's all i can say in here. i love all religion but being scammed like that is a bruh moment :/ i hope all the souls out there will be in peace. idk what to say anymore hahaha but the graphic is hella dope!! i love it!
Scripted I don’t think either of us were saying that the meds in the game necessarily were anxiety meds. I just meant that my anxiety is so bad that I need to takes meds for it as to show that I’ve dealt with some of this shit lol Sorry for the misunderstanding.
That Plumm Flower chant is a commom child's game in Taiwan. A group of kids forms a circle and decide on a month in which "the plum flower blooms". A kid will be in the center of the circle and guess which month while the other kids run around her. When the kid in the center called out the correct month, the other kids have to flee, and the guesser kid would have to try to catch one of them.
Just a fun fact: here in Malaysia, or at least in the area I live, we play a similar game called 'Hibiscus Flower/Big Red Flower'. Hibiscus in Chinese literally means big red flower, and another fun fact, it's our national flower.
I think the daughter had a panic or anxiety attack (I think the pressure of her parents depending on her to repay them for all the time and effort they put into the person *they* wanted her to be and it cause a lot of anxiety for her. So much so, that she would have panic/anxiety attacks daily. That's probably why the doctors wanted her to go to a mental hospital so that she could get the help she needed) in the tub full of wine her father put her in and drowned. The dad, as shown in the game, kept calling the mentor to ask when he could take her out of the tub and when she didn't answer he probably got worried and went in. He probably saw his daughter dead in the bath of wine he had put so much faith in, so much so that he barely spent any time with his daughter and she felt neglected. Anyway, I think he found her body and proceeded to kill himself bc of the guilt and shame that hit him when she died realising that he wasn't a good father and had denied her the help she needed and put too much faith in something that ultimately didn't work. In all honesty I think the whole game was the father going through all of the "monumental" decisions/moments that had shaped what happened after, basically his personal hell that he had to climb through and figure out where he went wrong and to see the perspectives of what he was doing through his daughter and wife's eyes. The ending could have been him forgiving himself for all the wrong he had done as a father and a husband and finally being able to move on and be with his daughter in his version of heaven. As for the part where the player is running away from the wife, I have a theory on that too. I think what that was supposed to represent was how the father viewed her for most of the game. He saw her as the villain trying to kill him. I think he saw her this way because of how they're marriage was going. According to the letter the wife's mother sent, they were always arguing about everything and was too much for the wife, and that's probably why she left. I think it was also how she wanted to provide again because of their financial issues and decided to leave when the father would let his pride get in the way and tell her to basically do what a woman is "supposed to do" which, at the time was stay home, take care of the children, and let the husband handle everything business related. Because of all of this, the father thought he had good reason for seeing her as the antagonist, but we saw different when the he was in the elevator. We saw a woman battling with herself in whether she should stay so that she could be a good mother and loving wife or leave and be free of the chains her husband binds her in. When she falls, she pauses and stays on the ground. When she looks up we see a more human face beaten with sadness and torment. She still loves her husband and dowsnt want to leave him but knows she has to. In those seconds the husband sees that and before we can see her defeated for any longer, the elevator moves and the game continues. Idk that's just what I think happens sorry if I ranted and if it doesn't make sense I am also sorry but I needed to get it out before I lost my train of thought.
I really like your theory about the wife, like I think this is 100% correct But as for the father killing himself I disagree with because in the ending cutscene he was alone without child or wife. So I think he was still alive but was realising that he had no family left anymore. I think the ending was actually the afterlife, where Mei shin remains a child and then when he dies, they can finally be together and play together, like she wanted all along. It also shows she forgave him for his actions because she played with him again
Alexa.Is.Not.Panicking I think she could’ve taken Mei Shin with her tho. I don’t understand why she left her with her husband when she was aware that he was doing rituals and not taking her to the doctor. The mother could’ve taken the daughter away from him and gotten her the care she needed.
+Inovoxv X He was sitting there unmoving in from of static though. He might have slit his wrists while watching those recordings of his daughters contests he loved so much.
@MsLilly200. Yeah no I get that I don’t disagree with the theory completely like omen of my own theories is that he wasn’t actually already dead, and was reliving our what had happened to lamented him kill himself. The idea of him sitting alone was that he is coming to terms with the fact that he has postbox his whole family, but in actuality he was stuck in purgatory, trying to decide whether to forgive himself or keep blaming himself. This is supported with the continual looking at his hands and the red flashes when completing an action. I think this symbolises him remembering he is in purgatory, but then getting lost in bish memories again. It’s also supported with the Mei shin doll guiding him throughout the game so he can once again be with somone he is so devoted to. This is the full extent of my theory, but The idea of him living with the guilt is also another possibility But yeah I like your ideas 😄 Don’t take any of this offensively either, I’m just voicing my thoughts
Watching him misinterpret the ending because he talked over a key piece of dialogue was one of the most unsatisfying experiences I’ve ever had on RUclips
I know right? He didn't read things through and skipped over subtitles, and he completely missed the entire point of the ending because of it. He started talking over it as soon as the important stuff popped up as well when he was walking through the hallway. Talk about bad timing :(
I stopped watching because of his unnecessary commentary and talking over the important details. He's just playing this game like a normal puzzle game and making fun of everything he finds different in Chinese culture. It's my first time watching this streamer and I expected more from someone with such a large following. There were so many details that he missed because he was just impatiently wanting to make progress. This has been one of the most unsatisfying playthroughs to watch because the devs put so much effort to make it real, and he's barging around like he's playing Amnesia.
@@yvriver_ you realize let's players like him make a living off of talking and making commentary over videos of the games they play, right? And he is not making fun of chinese culture. He's uncomfortable, and if you had ever watched his videos prior, you know he makes jokes when he's uncomfortable, like a lot of people do. If you cant handle it, dont bring it to the comments, just move on.
*Sees this was uploaded yesterday* There must be a jump scare list by now *Scrolls through comments* Zero jump scare time codes *Proceeds to watch with caution*
Just noticed that the title screen looking at the couch/living room is the daughters room. She's looking through the door into the living room kinda like at 55:33 in the video.
Faith healing is a thing that happens in the USA a lot my dude. There have been parents that have gone to jail for trying to pray over their children and letting them die rather than just take them to a hospital to get the help they actually need. People have tried to use prayer and faith healing for infections, cancer, and just about everything else under the sun, instead of getting the medical care they should actually seek out. Having faith is fine and all but you've got to temper it with science and rational thought.
Yeah, faith cannot heal medical conditions. I'd say I have a lot of faith in my religion but I still know that praying cannot heal physical conditions.
I can't handle those people. I consider myself quite religious, I even think prayer is a powerful tool, but like God gave us medicine too, ya'll. Use it.
I highly relate to the daughter, as a classical voice performer, and someone who was what people call a 'stage child' in my younger years. My mother was much like this dad, she wanted me to become a performer, and my childhood was simply a rinse and repeat of competitions. My mom still has a box full of my certificates, which by the time I was eighteen weighed nearly ten pounds, ten pounds of paper. I remember having the exact same experience of crippling anxiety as a child, the fear of failure, and simply wanting to be normal. When you can only relate to your parent through the lens of competition, it feels like you're competing with the world just for your parents attention, but all they care about is what you can do for them, not who you are. Thankfully, despite the nature of my childhood, I didn't end up like this girl. Though there was abuse, in the end I took a path much like this girl. I was willing to forgive my mother, and we're on much better terms now.
Game explained (My theory):
HOW IT ALL FELL APART.
In some Asian countries mental illness is a shameful thing and very few people seek help as it might cause people to discriminate them. In older times, mental illness was also believed to be caused by the influence of a demon...
So when the father finds out that his daughter isn't physically ill but mentally ill he has trouble accepting it. Blinded by denial he seeks help from a medium who gives him charms, chants and rituals that will make his daughter better, in exchange for money. The father who is already struggling with the households income, spends all of the family's assets on this medium and ends up with debt. The mother who is not as easily persuaded by the medium tries to get medical help for her daughter which eventually leads the father to think that she has been possessed and that the demon inside her is trying to kill their child. Fed up with the madness and the debt, the mother leaves her husband and daughter behind and goes back to her acting career.
THE ENDING.
The medium tells the father to put his daughter in a bathtub filled with rice wine (alcohol) and to lock the door for 7 days without opening it.
In some Asian cultures a lit incense is placed where a loved one has died so the incense on the bathroom door is a strong indicator that the daughter died in that tub. Either from dehydration, starvation, lack of sleep, over exposure to alcohol or all of the above. Drowned in guilt and desperate to get his daughter back, he visits the medium again and he performs a ritual to revive the dead. The ritual fails and he finds out that the medium is a scam.
The long cut scene where the father finds his daughter in a beautiful place where she can do all the things that she dreamed about doing, gives us a reason to believe that the father took his own life, and in the last scene, after the end credits, his death is confirmed. Seated lifelessly in front of a broken TV with 2 empty chairs. The last line of the song citing a daughter asking her father to be her father in the next life as well.
THEORY.
In some Asian countries it is believed that people who die by suicide or other traumatic events are bound to the place of their death, to endlessly re-live the moments of their life that led to their passing.
So in short, mei shin will be reincarnated, but due to her father sins, feng yu is bound to that appartment?
@@nyancat2221 so it seems 😊
That really broke my heart when the father actually believed the rituals and after figuring it out that it was some sort of scam😢
In the first video I saw a comment that said that the number 49 (that if I remember well it appeared in the game) means "death inside wine" in the Chinese culture. They also said something spirit related about 7 days, I don't remember well if it was that the spirit goes away or it comes back after 7 days or idk. Also, I saw all the talismans (I think that's how they're called) and it reminded me of a movie I saw where a mother used them and other rituals to cure her daughter from a mental illness (she thought that it was some kind of demon), so reading these cleared a lot of things in my mind. I also thought the father killed himself because in a moment of the game the father wakes up in a tub full of blood (or wine).
nice. thank you for the explanation
The book section was so cute that I forgot this was a horror game
man after that section i just desperately wanted this family to be happy. it was too pure for its own good
Kait M omg same
Same here
I know, right? Call me softhearted, but that was my favorite part.
Same
“Don’t open the bathroom door.”
That’s why it was locked the first few rooms/times.
ohh shit, really?
ohhhh ?
OOOOOOOOOH ……….
Also, you hear a contant banging throughout the game
Guess who...
holy shit
The ending brings you back to the beginning.
“Where’s Mei Shin?”
jack guessed it right at the beginning but he didn't pay attention at the end :/
In traditional Chinese folklore, committing suicide will put you into a cycle of suffering of your biggest regret. Same as the bad end of Detention.
@@daltonkhan8653 -SUPER necessary and on topic-
Hello Shinji 👋
When the dad put her in the bathtub with the wine for 7 days, she basically died. probably by drowning since she would have Been too weak to keep herself above the fluid.. Also I'm pretty sure being left in that concoction, seeping in your skin, no water to drink,no food, the dehydration would have killed her alone.
I've seen Korean translation of this game, and the some of the steps on the mentor's note at the end says "pour kaoliang wine (strong liquor that has high alcohol content), put a live snake into the pot (reason why there was a reading related to snake), and put daughter into the pot". And he had to lock the door and wait for seven days. As it is highly dangerous for young child to bathe in strong alcohol with a snake, I highly doubt that the daughter survived all that without any food or drink. I've watched some Korean let's players playing this game and they assumed the daughter died as well. Personally I think it shows that the daughter didn't make it, hence at the end it shows you the father staring at TV alone, where your viewpoint is exactly in daughter's place in the painting behind the couch.
And as hard as it was to look at all "devotion" he was making through the ritual, I think the scenes were necessary since it shows how he was imagining all these things in his head, making the ritual more convincing for him. And there are lots of symbolism during the ritual scenes such as:
1) After you go though all devotion steps, you can see the water level goes up and the figure of daughter goes down to the water. Some people says that it implies that daughter drowned.
2) The father makes a bow four times. You make a bow once to alive person, twice to dead person and three times to holy beings like god. 4 in some Asian countries is considered as bad/unlucky thing like 13 do in United states, since its pronunciation is same as death. Some people claims that the father making a bow four times could imply that Cigu Guanyin is actually a devil.
3) When the father is talking to himself, it shows how he knew in mind what was going on exactly. ("The little flower got crushed by all weight," I think is implying the daughter was feeling pressured of becoming a star) After he finishes talking to himself and open the door, there are two doors with one boarded up. If you try to go to the boarded door, the mentor says Cigu Guanyin boarded up to show you the right way so don't go that way. The father ends up going to the left door and chant a spell to the masks (assuming his daughter) to make them go away. And I think that implies that even if the father knew what's actually going on, he decided to stick with the myth and ritual rather than facing a reality.
And some interesting things you missed:
1) I was actually expecting you to notice this since you said you learned how father is pronounced in Chinese, but remember one time the TV show teases you with the daughter's score? The score goes up to 88 and repeats few times (with the distortion in later repetition), 88(papa) pronounces same as father. I think it was implying the daughter in the bathroom desperately calling her father.
2) I didn't notice this but apparently during the game, there is a calendar crossed from day 1 to day 6, then circled on day 7. Showing that the father exercised ritual and waiting to get the daughter out at seventh day.
3) There are still some people who thinks psychiatric center is only for lunatics and some people are afraid of that. The father was this case, hence getting angry at the daughter's diagnosis paper and decide to go to the mentor to "fix" his daughter.
Sorry for writing a long essay, but I think knowing these will make this game more interesting!
Thanks for writing this , I am sad and frightened and disgusted...seems like I lost a lot
I read it all until the end thank you
I figured the deity he was praying to wasn't a good guy, with all the snake imagery everywhere
1. No apologies! This is a really insightful comment, thank you for posting it!
2. THE CALENDAR. ok now i feel dumb. Several play throughs called it out in the beginning but it's easy to get distracted by the end. Again, thank you for these insights!
The black and white snake 雨傘節 is also well known for its venom in Taiwan.
So basically, she was bathed with a live deadly snake in the wine, without anything to eat or drink for 7 days. The dad wasn't allowed to open the door until the 7th day either. I don't think anyone can survive this.
Ending explanation from a legit Taiwanese guy (SPOILERS):
So at the end when Mei Shing's illness deteriorated due to mounting pressure from her family, Mr. Du went to Mentor Hueh and asked her for guidance from the Cigu Guanyin (慈孤觀音). She then helped Du perform a religeous ritual common in Taiwanese and Southern Chinese Taoism faith called Guan Luo Yin (觀落陰), which was to let the performer connect with the underworld in seeking guidance and answers directly from various Taoist gods. Guan Luo Yin is quite frankly a psychological gimmick with no empirical or scientific basis, but it's still commonly practiced in Taiwanese society even today, and certainly even more popularly in the 80s. In Du's case, if you read the subtitles carefully, you would realize that mentor Hueh couldn't actually see Du's hallucinations, and was merely bullshitting in response to what Du was reporting. The segment was a bit drawn out, but was meant to represent how "devoted" Du was to his daughter, and his struggle with his inner demons.
At the segment in mentor Hueh's apartment after Du performed Guan Luo Yin, we can see from Hueh's priscription to Mei Shing's condition, that she ordered Du to "soak the patient in wine". It's resonant to the Cigu Guanyin folklore, which adds to the priscription's believability, but was still complete bullshit. Du being a fervent devotee however, followed suit, hence the telephone call with mentor Hueh in the hallway. Du "soaked" Mei Shing in the bathtub with wine, and locked her in the bathroom for seven days. It's rather clear what happened to her after this.
The game spared us from actually seeing Mei Shing's body though. It should have been a horrendous scene in the bathroom after we opened the door in the end, but it instead led us into a cutscene and a song, whose lyrics implied that Mei Shing still forgave her dad before she died, after all of this. It also made clear that the whole game was about Du's spiritual journey to his own horrible past and the subsequent resolution with his sin.
And...that's about it. I realize that I might not have made everything clear, as English is not my mother tongue, so please do comment below if you have any questions :)
EDIT: There were instead two songs in the ending segment (kinda obvious), the first one was a song done by Taiwanese indie rock band No Party for Cao Dong with the name "devotion", same as the game title, which more or less symbolised the dad's mindset after the journey, and was meant to resonate with his ultimate realization to his sinful deeds, and the subsequent salvation of oneself, hence the slightly over the top rock part. The second song was actually Li Fang's, but covered by Mei Shing, as was in the singing contests, and it was actually the first time players would hear the song completely presented. The final words in the song in Mei Shing's version was " I am still willing to", signifying that the daughter has forgiven the father and is still willing to be his daughter of there in another life.
This makes me sad😥😟😢 Thanks for the insight of the story!
iruleeIru lee this is a very good explanation thank you for the insight. One small nitpicking I have though is in the second paragraph you wrote, “locked her in the toilet” when it should be “locked her in the bathroom.” This just seems like a small translation error, but other than that I think your English is better than most Americans (including myself). 😂
iruleeIru lee thank you for the explanation!
Great explanation!
It's really heartbreaking that her respiratory issues were just caused by anxiety and the one thing that actually helped was spending time with her dad folding tulips. She just wanted to spend time with him and in the end she died because he deliberately stayed away from her by locking her in the bathroom for a week.
Jack better read this!! I swear to God! Lol!
Interesting (yet horrifically depressing) fact:
Mei probably didn't live more than a few hours soaking in alcohol. She would have died due to the alcohol bring absorbed through the skin and almost directly to the bloodstream, bypassing the liver. This concentration would have been incredibly lethal. Mei would have become extremely intoxicated and likely didn't have the strength to get out of the tub when things started getting dangerous, however by that point she would have required immediate medical attention and probably couldn't have been saved. So she would have died very early in the "seven day ritual" and the alcohol might have acted as a preservative, keeping the father from smelling the horrendous smell of a rotting corpse.
After watching some taiwanese youtubers' explanation I'm pretty sure the mother was killed too
Even beyond that, the wine would've been infused with parts from a snake, in keeping with the legend referenced in-game -- likely a krait of some kind, going by the geographical region and the appearance of the serpent guardian in the story. Krait venom is neurotoxic, with severe envenomation leading to respiratory failure... and this kid was soaking the stuff in for a week.
yuck
It’s sad that there are people who have nothing left but to turn to things like rituals for the sake of their loved ones, and more sad that people knowingly profit off of these hurting people.
@@r0achm3at tell me about it. I'm not the most kind person in the world but I'm so impressed with the cruelty and heartless of scam artist to gain easy money from desperate people. My dad used to believed to these kind of people and he practically fought with me just because of his "believe". It took a long long time for him to realize his mistake though.
The true horror is that this whole thing felt so real..
Because most Taiwanese houses look almost identical to this game
The houses are very accurate in the 80s to 90s
The only real thing about it was that history proves that illnesses of all sorts were disgraceful and likely caused by demons, and that the only time Mei Shin was sawn anywhere, was on the TV show rather than in hospital records of such.
@Wyatt Zimmermman the background setting of this game's country is Taiwan,not China
That's because it is real Devotion is based on a true story from 1980's about a man that is driven insane by a cult. He kills his daughter and then cut his tongue and eye out. In the game you find out from recordings the whole cult was a sham.
i know its an old video but damn the story is so gripping and real. At first I was wondering if the daughter was suffering from some sort of anxiety or mental issue because of her parents always arguing, and i guess it's something like that. A little girl struck by mental issues and her dad turning to religion in search for answers. Such a real and powerful game topic
Ah hello. It's so weird to see comment this recent.
@@tediumlacie Yes
I honestly thought it was a little shit. I was expecting a double message, while the story was developing I thought it was a story about the father fighting to keep his faith while his daughter is sick, which is harsh and takes a lot of bravery. It's easy to curse God when something bad happens and to praise him when something goes the way you want. The mother leaving, I thought, meant her basically gave up hope in the otherworldly (because of what was happening) and the father was still barely holding on. Then it just turned into "LOL HARD-HEADED RELIGIOUS FAMILY BAD, RELIGION IS A SCAM", a trope we have seen plenty of since what? the early 2000s? ngl kind had me bummed out. was expecting a more deep or philosophical message. then again it wouldn't be as appealing to young people so I guess it's what it sells.
@@Igelme ye bro I was expecting so much more than just a girl having a built up mental illness from her own life, like bruh this actually sucked.
Sarcasm btw the story is telling how the dad and mother have caused the mental illness for the daughter and how the dad decided to turn to religion as he thought it was the only way to save his daughter (it was a scam tho).
Also this story is based in China and tries to re create what some people who have these kinds of problems but in a more exotic way so that it attracts the players attention
@@Igelme also ur basically calling this whole thing crap and u ain't really getting a good grasp of what it's actually there for
You missed the part where he locked his daughter in the bathroom for 7 days and she drowned. He killed his daughter. That's a big thing to miss
I think she actually died from alcohol poisoning cause she had to soak in alcohol
Lol, Jack just talking and not reading
When does it happen and when? What year?
@@Carbonboxes 7 Oct, 1987, supposedly the day Cigu Guanyin was killed in a toilet and became a god
Wait, then how did she drown?
It’s a shame that Sean missed the last phone call conversation where the mentor is telling him to leave Mei Shin in the wine for 7 days. That’s literally how she died. The game shows us this before as well, that giant snake in the wine where Mei Shin is pushed in. Shame he missed that.
I think it's a Let's Player's curse. They have to try to pay attention to the game and think about their recordings, sound, commentating, and countless other things that they cant pay attention to the plot well, and I notice with some of Sean's vidoes, it shows. I dont think he understood what the snake wine was. Even GTLive didnt comment on "snake wine" and if it wasnt for them being live and their chat telling them that Mei was in a snake wine bath for 7 days, they would have never known what happened. The ending feels a bit too open to interpretation too because you dont see a body and you see Mei running around.
I was so annoyed that he decided to look away and talk JUST when that happened 😅
I really like how they presented the two contrasting folklore stories. The monk one favored the father's point of view that something was wrong with his daughter, and she needed to be "cured". The Flowers and Love story which was the daughter's favorite implies that there was something wrong with the father all along.
oh shit, so true!
Just some background info for people to understand this game's theme more, the stigma of mental illness in 80s Taiwan and people's refusal to just recognise mental illness are elements in this game that are important to consider.
People who are deemed "lunatics" by society back in those days were usually locked up in their home by their family or sent to some place that's not even a true psychiatric hospital just to keep them away from people who are not "lunatics" because they were viewed as a disgrace.
The father's love for his daughter (ironically enough) thus refusal to deem his daughter one of those people is what causes him to completely despair and blindly trust religion as the only thing to save Mei Shin (Medical information about mental illness was not widely known yet too). Personally I would say the closest comparison to Mei Shin's situation in western society would probably be close to Faith Healers in Christian practices or false exorcism that ended up killing the victim
As a Taiwanese, I can tell you a lot of Taiwanese people in the 80s are really heavily HEAVILY religious, and some of the older generations still believes in these kinda methods. Worse thing is that, what happened to Mei Shin highly likely to really happen to someone in 80s Taiwan. Not just 80s Taiwan, but Modern Taiwan too. There was a more recent case of a boy dying because his mother chose to believe in the words of a cult and starved him to free him from drugs, accidentally killing him.
Makes you kinda glad that people are more aware about mental illness nowadays, even though it's sad that the stigma of mental illness still exists in the world.
Another sad thing is the part where the father is in hell, the mentor tells you to not listen to the "voices" cause they are demonic distractions that are affecting your devotion. If you take a close look at the scenes that are supposedly about the "voices", you will notice that the voices are:
1. The reflection of the dad talking to himself, telling him that he still can save his daughter
2. Multiple daughters talking to you about how dad did nothing wrong + lets go out and play + let me out
These two things in reality are representing Mei Shin's plead to be let out from the bathroom when she was locked in and the dad's conscience telling himself that he can still save his daughter, not by doing the ritual, but by simply opening the bathroom door to let her out and save her, when he started to notice she has gone quiet and something is wrong.
These are evidences that the dad is in fact aware that this is possibly wrong and what is actually going on, the voices in his head is telling him so. But because he have already gone this far, he chose to believe in his blind devotion and the words of this mentor, to not listen to the "voices", rather than face reality. But eventually he still got anxious and doubtful and called the mentor to confirm with her multiple times, because the mentor hasn't been returning his calls (she fled once she noticed the dad did indeed do the ritual), he had to go up stairs (the mentor was his neighbour btw) and found out about the truth of the mentor being a scam + the realization of how he had just killed his own daughter.
Depending how you interpret it, the whole game is either about the dad coming to terms with what he had done, because he had a mental breakdown after finding his daughter dead,
or possibly about him reliving his own personal purgatory after he killed himself (if you commit suicide you'll be stuck in a loop after death, a common belief in Asian countries), and finally accepting what you have done thus able pass on to afterlife to reunite with Mei Shin (similar to the protagonist of detention)
I personally like to think it's the second one, and that Mei Shin herself is actually trying to help her dad in the game (the Mei Shin doll constantly directing you to follow her steps/Mei Shin's point of view can be seen because she's showing you her feelings and memories) and in the end it's a somewhat bittersweet ending, that you are reunited with her finally in afterlife
須賀冬陽 Thank you so much for this!
There's unfortunately still a stigma around mental illness everywhere. People treat it as though it's "not real" or not as "real as" a physical illness.
I agree on the second view. It definitely screamed purgatory to me. Given he killed his daughter, kinda sad and messed up that his daughter just immediately forgave him and he is allowed that. I dunno. What he did was awful and I cannot imagine how the wife would have responded. The entire thing is absolutely devastating.
All that being said, the key here is about mental illness and to not have that stigma. That it is, in fact, real and turning to religion and cults instead of reaching out for legitimate help is wrong and harming.
@@HydraxSly202 I think the game is the husband's mental journey of regret, set a few days after discovering the daughter's death. The wife hasn't found out about this, then, since she's away filming a movie, and hasn't returned yet.
But the suicide version would also work, since the husband would have been dead before the wife returned.
I think your point of him committing suicide, coming to grips and his daughter helping him is correct. If you listen til the end, she says "Let's go home" she was leading him to the afterlife most likely
She never had any phisical health issues. She had anixiety.
Here's why I think that:
The doctor reported that her tests came out to be normal and that she should be checked mentally. The dad then said "My daughter is not a lunatic" and killed his own daughter with the 7 day bath. She had extreme anxiety and that's what caused her breathing difficulties, but her dad wouldn't listen. Making the flowers helped her with her breathing because it calmed her anxiety attacks. The pressure of her succeding in her singing career, school, her parents fighting and the lack of support and love was the reason for her problems. (You can see another anxiety attack when she was at school)
She knows that nothing is wrong with her body, that's why she always says something along the lines of "I don't need a cure. I only want daddy and mommy to love me and spend time with each other." Because that's what makes her anxiety worse.
The fact that they stop touching her without cleaning themselves before and that they don't let her play outside proooobably doesn't help either.
It's a very sad story. She only wanted to live happily with her parents.
What an amazing game
Yeah... 😢😢😢😢😢😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
"they stop touching her without cleaning themselves before?" Like after the mother left, the father didn't clean?
@@annimal8996 no the opposite he didn't touch her without being clean
Yeah cuz most Asian cultures dont believe in mental illness. Saying one has mental illness means he is crazy. Not wanting to face shame from having a family member who is "crazy", others turn to rituals and stuff like what Mr. Du did. Others just wave it off and label it as "being dramatic". It really saddens me...
@@annimal8996 Remember in the first part of the let's play, jack saw a sign on mei's room that said "Wash hands before entering"
You know, this isn't horror in the sense of jumpscary goodness, but it is terrifying in the sense that this accurately reflects real world shit. Even with cultural differences, there are so many themes that someone could relate to: the anxiety, the desperateness, the claustrophobia of standards you can't meet... it's all there. And the more we learned about Mei Shin, the more I honestly just wanted to cry, because I can't imagine how many children have struggled the way she had, and how many children may still be struggling. So yeah, good game. Thanks for the depression!
@Intelligence Injection With a name like that, I'd assume you would've given a reason why you think that "it's a shit game." But I'm going to trust your in depth game review. I trust your wisdom. I'll never like this game ever again. Thank you, my friend.
@Intelligence Injection Oh wise game critic, I swear I will never like another game again! Because you have taken the time to tell me how much you don't like it, truly your opinion is more valid. I don't like this game anymore!
-10/ 10 Boooo bad game
asian parents am i right?
but yeah it was pretty dark game in a sense that thats reality in a game
1. Tiger-parenting.
I started watching this series for jump scares...
But now I'm crying after the argument here in 22:29, the anxiety, the helplessness I felt from the scene and child.
I'm abit sad Jack didn't understand the situation, this is something real, I hope I'm not too biased to say this is the what makes the game a true horror...
Yes I agree fully, it was a deep story and I think Jack could feel it on some level but often we fight against it.
I think it's really sad that I kinda relate to that scene. Too many fights at home while I deal my own battles of depression and anxiety in my mind. It just felt a bit too real
I can agree, even though after watching that scene I didn't cry, but I sat shocked at what I had just listened to, I had already been struggling a little bit with loneliness and depression because of a recent breakup, but this just makes everything feel more surreal.
I related to it even more because my family is Chinese and they used to argue a lot. I never knew how to stop them and I was forced to hear them shouting at each other and my sister screaming for them to stop. People speaking aggressively in Mandarin still makes me nervous to this day and I genuinely felt pain in my throat after that scene
Your right, I feel related. My parents fight all the time, listening to this part is extremely painful.
Damn. So Mei Shin was never sick; it sounds like she just had real bad anxiety. Her father, however, refused to accept this and instead decided to pray to a god and inevitably fall for a scam instead of getting her daughter actual help.
Mei Shin always wanted to be a superstar like a mother, and having constantly been surrounded by these fights about not having money, she makes herself pursue that despite her anxiety because she feels like she has to. She did well, until she lost her title as best singer it seems. That, combined with the pressure from her family to be the best, her father not letting her be a kid in favor of making her a singer, and the invisible weight of having to carry the family, made her fall ill. She was of course denied treatment because her father decided to pray instead. This, combined with him refusing to let her work because working is a "man's job" and him being violent towards her, made Mei Shin's mother walk away from the family. She leaves Mei Shin because she was always closer to her father, but she always intended to come back. From there, it was just a downward spiral. It ends when her father decides to soak Mei Shin in snake wine under the guidance of his mentor, who was a scammmer. The mentor suggests she stay in there for 7 days after he calls claiming it didn't work, and Mei Shin ends up drowning either because the fumes knocked her out or because she got too dehydrated and passed out. It could've also been alcohol poisoning.
There was a moment in the first episode where you walk towards the family photo, see Cigu's statue behind the father, and the area begins to fill up with wine, ending with you falling out of a wine-filled tub and the mother asking "Where's Mei Shin?" after you seem to drown. The answer is in the locked bathroom. She's in the tub. She's dead. This is most likely why that door is almost always locked up until the end. I think this game was the now dead father going through all of his mistakes and being forced to realize what he'd done. It ends with him finally finding Mei Shin after facing all his sins and them going 'home'.
Hits the feels so hard ;;
being in the bathroom, she would just get out of the bathtub, and drink the tap water
@@cerealdork2131 Still, she was left there without any food for 7 days. Who knows if she left the bathtub and drank some water, if she actually decided not to listen to her father. She must have been very weak anyway. She also might have had a panic attack while being in the tub, filled with cold wine (she must have been freezing), so while being weak, she could have drowned because of that. There are many ways she could have died. Poor girl.
@@cerealdork2131 notice that when the player is about to enter the massive snake filled tub room he comes across a picture drawn by his daughter in which she is tied up by the arm inside the tub and looks sad as can be explained by the frowning face of the drawing.
@@darkvader7491 Time stamp?
Yeeaahhh, I definitely yelled at my phone out of frustration when he was walking down that long hallway with the dad talking to the mentor. He started talking and looked away, and he stopped reading the subtitles of their conversation, so he literally missed the entire explanation of what happened with Mei Shin -_- I know subtitles are obnoxious, but you gotta expect them in a game from another country, and you miss out on a lot when you skip them.
That scam artist straight out told him to fill the bathtub with that serpent wine and soak Mei Shin in the tub, and said it could take up to 7 days. So he literally left her in there until she died. He seemingly killed himself at the end too, so that's why he was with Mei Shin again and she says something about them going home.
And Mei Shin wasn't physically ill at all. Remember that paper from the doctor? It said all her tests came back normal, and it referred her to psychiatric care. That's why the dad freaked out and said "My daughter isn't a lunatic!", and that's why he did everything that he did. The stigma against mental health issues over there was/is so bad that he was desperate to think that she had a physical ailment, when in reality she only had anxiety.
Her breathing problems and whatnot were all from her having anxiety attacks, that's why she'd feel completely normal after making the origami tulips, it calmed her anxiety. And ironically enough, if they had just let her live like a normal kid, she probably wouldn't have the anxiety anymore anyways.
But again, you just gotta read things, especially in a game like this
Well the anxiety might not just go away xD
It would just help to develop coping mechanisms as time went on.
@@crookedbuns I'm not sure what you mean, that's exactly what I was saying? That making the origami was a coping mechanism that she developed on her own. She didn't know that that's what she was doing though - she mentioned a few times how she felt better after doing it, and thought that if she could make enough to fill her room then she'd be cured, but she didn't know anxiety was the problem.
She only even had anxiety to begin with because of the lifestyle she was forced into. All the stress of the training and competing, combined with the stress of all the (pointless) medical tests, treatments and medications, and then the stress of her not being able to go to school, play outside, make friends, etc (since they thought she was too sick or because they wanted her to train more) - all of those things were the causes of her anxiety. So if her parents would've just let her be a normal kid without all the extra pressures, then she most likely wouldn't have had anxiety problems to begin with
When was that?
My thought exactly! He missed the two lines or so where the mentor told him to leave her in there for a week and the light flooding into the bathroom when he finally stepped in, only to realize his daughter is dead.
@@n0kt0h45 It's all explained when the character was walking down that long hallway at the end of the video and Jack just bitched about the long walk instead of actually listening to the dialogue. They explained the entire story, the entire basis of the game, and he literally just talked over it cuz he wasn't paying attention. It's just frustrating because he missed the whole point of the game, and that ruins it for every single person that watched it. People would've been listening to him, assuming that he'd stop talking if the dialogue was important, and the comments are filled with people who have no clue WTF was going on because of it. That scene explained everything very clearly though
So the basic idea I got from Devotion was that the daughter didn't have a physical illness - she likely had a bad anxiety disorder, as we see the problem she suffers from is 'trouble breathing'. This is probably all from the stress her parents put on her, and it links into the stigma around mental health in Asian countries like China.
And it seems like the daughter didn't make it out in the end. The father was so desperate to 'make her better' that he sacrificed everything. That's why we saw him cut out his eye, tongue, and stab himself in the hand. It's a metaphor for how much he gave up for Mei Shin - what he actually gave up was his marriage, money, etc. It seems like in the time his wife left, before she could come back for the daughter, the father was advised by the 'mentor' on what exactly to do to make Mei Shin better.
From the dialogue, we can gather that the father had her bathe in wine for seven days and that he kept the bathroom door locked. In the end, what we see is Mei Shin finally being able to 'go outside' - A.K.A her death, as the father sees it anyway.
I'm surprised some people don't catch that at all sense it's kinda laid out in subtle ways but if you pay attention the story is clear.
@@LazGato I agree, I thought it became more obvious as the game went on.
So, I agree that that's probably it but I do have a more optimistic interpretation, as well. It isn't explicitly said that it has been 7 days, the mentor just says it can take up to 7 days.
Him opening the door and then going out to play with his daughter might be him finally opening his mind and leaving faith behind.
The brightness in the bathroom could be representative of "Enlightment", as in using your mind instead of blindly believing in faith, instead of Heaven and the girl's death.
Then again, the very last bit after the credits (and like, almost everything else about the game) of him being alone in front of the TV does not make me actually believe that that is the intended interpretation.
Does make me feel a little better tho ; u ;
@@kathylennerds750 If you remember the point where you get the achievement "daughter's red" where she falls into the snake wine its implying she died in the tub.
@@kathylennerds750 ahhhh that would be such a nice ending. I agree that that's probably not it, but it's nice to think about.
The fact that she died because of putting her in the bath of wine for a week because he was trying to help is so heartbreaking, when all she needed was his company and help to cure her anxiety but instead he tried too hard and ended up killing her
he wasnt really trying to help he just wanted her to be normal because having mental health issues was so taboo in their time. He wasnt trying too hard he was choosing to believe the bs the medium was spewing out to him because he refused to accept that mental health actually matters and that having mental health issues doesnt make you a lunatic. His denial made his daughter suffer in the end. But yeah its kind of fucked up
@@miarose6691 I'm gonna take the more wholesome route, thank you.
@@miarose6691 To be fair, being misinformed and ignorant about mental health doesn't detract his actual intentions. I'm not trying to defend the harmful views of mental health that led him to his decisions, I just don't like seeing people who fall for these cults and scams being portrayed as irredeemable or plain stupid. They make these decisions because they're desperate people that either back themselves into a corner where the only option is to turn to this "great wise one with medicinal healing abilities" or the cult manages to corroborate with the biased beliefs they already have and try to double down on it since it apparently works so well on the other members. But, I agree that his denial was awful since it stemmed from that fear of seeing their child be diagnosed with something that may jeopardize the success that they so selfishly put their expectations and pressure on.
Although "Devotion" is not bad for the name of this game.
But I still want to share the game name of origin language "還願"
In fact "還願" is a pun, because the word "還" has two pronounce in Chinese.
The "願" pronounce as "Yuan", it means "the wish" or "willing"
When "還" pronounce as "Hwan", it means "something back"
And when"還" pronounce as "Hai", it means "still"
At first, we tend to pronounce "還願" as" Hwan Yuan", beacuse it is a word about a Chinese trandition custom.
It means "when something you wish come true, you may doing something back for thanksgiving."
But the song in the ending makes "還願" another pronounce meaning.
The last sentence of lyrics said"If there's an afterlife, are you still willing?"
In Chinese lyrics is "若有來世，你還願意嗎？"
Yes, "還願" in lyrics is pronounced as "Hai Yuan" with "still willing" meaning.
That's the question the little girl asks to her dad,and also the answer of herself.
Although his dad had the big mistake, the daughter still love him.
So if there's an afterlife, she still willing.
Willing to be his daughter, willing to love him, willing to forgive what he did to her, willing...
That is why I cried out when I heard the song.
The love of little girl is such pure that I couldn't control my tears.
The game is not only talking about a sad story lead by outdated social values, background and environment in that years' Taiwan.
But also talking about the purest love of the child.
Thanks for the insight.
Not afterlife. Reincarnation. If there's a next life***
good job explaining to the ones that doesnt understand chinese
Ok, this is even more epic...... Asians man, they never let go of those bad customs and religious BS
Thanks am part chinese now
In its pre-release ARG, the devs got fans to search for a stalked girl on Instagram who went missing but it was revealed that the stalker was Mei Shin's cousin who went into hiding after trying to investigate the girl's religious cult and as fans uncovered more, he got into trouble for doing so.
还愿 (Title of this game) originally means the act of fulfilling a vow. In taoism/buddhism, you have to repay for whatever you get through prayer. Usually that means performing good deeds and more charitable acts, or simply going vegetarian. But in this game we study the goddess Cigu Guanyin that the characters here worship: Cigu doesn't actually exist in the religion but there is a Zigu Guanyin. It originates from ancient China where She, a known beauty as a mortal, was taken in as a concubine but was killed by the main wife due to jealousy. She died in the lavatory hence gaining the reputation as a Lavatory Deity. In the game, we find that Mei Shin ultimately died in the bathroom as well, and that Cigu Guanyin might not be the good deity we thought it was. The dad shows in his trip to the underworld that he is willing to sacrifice enough (His tongue, his eyes, his blood) to repay for his daughter's health. That's how devoted he is. But what about his own pride to send her for proper treatment? In the storybook that we read, we can water the tulips with blood but they won't last long; They can't handle their own weight unless we nurture it with love. It was implied that Mei Shin got well the first time after the father started spending time to fold tulips with her but he chose to believe it was his faith that cured her, neglecting her for his religion and letting her fall into sickness again.
Towards the end in the last line of the song that Mei Shin sings, it shows it actually meant 还(hai)愿 which means still willing, in "Are you still willing (to be my father)?" The daughter forgave her father and is still willing to be her daughter again.
One reason why this game resonates so strongly with the taiwanese public is because religious scams like this and people like mentor heuh still exist in modern day taiwan and in this religion. Societies that recruit blind followers on the basis of faith, often requiring monthly contributions that don't come in small amounts. They claim to heal without needing medical treatment, depriving believers of the treatment they really need, fix behavioural issues for children and fix broken relationships amongst other things. In the recording that the father finds in Mentor Heuh's house, all her previous clients talk about their treatment. One grandmother praying for her grandson after failing his exams for two years straight. An adulterous couple praying for the man's wife to divorce him. A man shouting at her for advising them to reject medical treatment for his father which ultimately led to his early departure despite the big contributions he provides to this Guanyin. It is worth noting that this Cigu Guanyin that mentor Heuh endorses is actually not a good deity, which could actually bring anyone more harm than good. The father bows four times instead of three times as it normally should be for gods. This number of times hints that he was praying to a ghost or something dark. Of course with the internet today, the society is more knowledgable now but back in the 1980s, people were largely dependent on religion.
As a kid who was made to watch rituals growing up, this game really hit home for me. Everything is really realistic and meticulously done, from the designs (The last scene where Mei Shin is running is actually the scenery of Alishan which the father promised to bring her to) to the dates (Mei Shin's ritual ended on October 07 1987 which was on a solar eclipse so it was a very ominous date) (the dad couldn't bring meishin to Alishan because there really was a typhoon on that day), also the singing show that mei shin was in was a very real and largely popular show that existed from 1960-1990s.
Lastly, it is worth mentioning that Red Candle's small team of 12-ish people were the ones who made this all possible. Props to taiwan for developing such a beautiful game! This is an amazing asian representation.
还(hai)愿 can also be treated as 孩愿, which symbolises mei shin's only wish as a child for her family to be complete and everything to be normal again
Claire Valdez it is! Another reason why Taiwan is so hung on this game. Meishin was too pure for this
@bowser the kingdom koopa i don't think the game itself is a real story, though the phenomenon that happened in the game (and the ones explained in this comment) are real.
Only 12 people made this masterpiece!? 😮😱 I'm blown away!
Wait. So this based off a REAL person?
i think the main reason for the “other world” segment and removing his organs for the offering were to symbolise the lengths that the father would go to try and “fix” his daughter; to show how *devoted* he was.
puggy well the note explained what “actually was going on”
exactly! That's what I felt aswell.
I feel that the organs chosen (eyes, tongue and hand) signify seeing, saying and doing things the way the Mentor said to do them. He gave everything to this Mentor, in exchange for, quite literally, snake oil.
Also, I've heard rumors there's another ending and that whole sequence gives out clues that could prove it true. His reflection tells him there's a way to save his daughter and when you exit that sequence and see the bathroom door, there's another one barred off to the right. If you approach it, the mentor says something about it not being the right path. And she tells you before you see the reflection to not listen to it.
If I'm being honest, this is the 80s not some 6th century bullshit where shamans and quack doctors are everywhere and medical science had barely begun. Its the FKING 80s and this Dad is honestly stupid enough to think that locking his child in the bathroom with no food or water and filled with alcoholic fumes is a good idea. He has to be the most gullible and dumbest individual in China at the time tbh. It just infuriates me that ANYone ANYwhere at ANY point in ANY time would think something so full of bs would work.
When I first heard about the whole "tightness in chest, difficulty breathing" thing I thought it was some sort of chronic physical illness of sorts. But with the "calm self" sequence with the parents arguing, before the daughter blacked out, I kind of realized that. She's not physically ill.
She's having panic attacks.
That. Completely flipped how I saw the game - and especially the father character. I know SO many parents refuse to believe their child is mentally ill or has mental problems, because they want the "perfect child", which is exactly what I see in the game. I didn't expect the game to take that route, but it did, and it did it well.
It kind of makes me sad that so many youtubers simply doesn't understand/appreciate how important this game is. Don't get me wrong, I love this let's play, but too many people expect this to be just another horror game. It's so much more
Its actually aware us abt Taiwan those days. Taiwanese those days r really into cult and religious stuff instead of proper treatment, especially when it comes to mental. Many families lost their life, money and everything because of it.
Many youtubers were hoping into like jumpscare and shit. They didnt really look into the main story and it background. If they did, they would find it dark and sad in reality.
Yeah, this is definitely one of those little games that will stick with you for a long time.
Well he doesn't really know about Taiwanese culture like that so he is going into it blind and just looking at it with new eyes, someone who doesn't know anything about what's going on in the game/in the culture
Idk if you've probably heard of him, but a guy named Jay/Kubz Scouts actually understood what happened in the game. In the second episode he said that he'll focus more on the story rather than wait for a jumpscare because he got interested in the story.
I'm probably late and you've already seen his playthrough, just wanna share in case someone saw this and wondered if there was any youtube who at least understood what wad happening. JAY IS THAT DUDE :>
How dare these dumb dumbs not pick up on the cultural significance of this game! I don’t care if it was branded as a horror game and they come from a different culture, they should appreciate it more!
I interpreted it as the daughter was sick at first, that's why she had all the needles in her at the beginning of the game. The dad removing the needles was him taking her to Mentor Heuh, and when she got better on her own, he saw it as his prayers curing her. With the father going to pray and donating money frequently, it began to take a toll his marriage. His fears of Mei Shin growing sick again also makes him stay away from the outside world, keeping her locked in the apartment at all times. Her singing talent gets her on TV, and the mother and father put a lot of pressure on Mei Shin to succeed. It's shown that the father cares more about Mei Shin's TV appearance than Mei Shin herself, as shown with him yelling at her when she no longer sings and him watching her sing on the TV than actually play with her when he reaches the "perfect present." This and the failing marriage causes Mei Shin to develop severe anxiety, and it only gets worse as she overhears the argument between her mom and dad, the father saying the reason he spends so much money is for Mei Shin. She sees this as her being the reason things are going so bad. The mom's bitterness with the dad causes him to see her as "possessed" and that is why she appears as a monster in the game. The mom eventually leaves to pursue her career to help support the family (she may be killed by dad since there's the scene with her crawling and being left behind in the elevator but I don't really see it as her being murdered). With her mother gone and performance lost, Mei Shin's panic attacks being more frequent. The father, learning that Mei Shin is not sick and recommended to see a psychiatrist, interprets the form as saying she is insane. After an intense session with Mentor Heuh, he is told that he must bathe Mei Shin in snake wine, and that she could be in for several days. Her being trapped in the bath is shown in 2 scenes: The first is when you first emerge from a bathtub, which at first seems to be filled with blood, but is actually the snake wine. The second more obvious scene is the one where Mei Shin pushed into the wine and snake mixture by the father. As learned by the tapes near the end of the game, Heuh is a scammer, and after the last call from the father about why Mei Shin is still in the bathroom, she refuses to make contact with him again. Upon finally opening the door, he finds Mei Shin has died (either drowned, alcohol poisoning from prolonged contact, or dehydration and starvation as there was no food and the alcohol was being absorbed into her skin). He most likely then commits suicide, and is then trapped in this cycle of torture. Mei Shin has escaped into her paradise, as she is shown playing outside, the wife is possibly still alive, while he is stuck still staring at the TV screen, where his ideal version of Mei Shin is no longer visible. WOW THIS IS LONG for a comment that will get at most 3 likes
Excellent analogy! I completely missed out the part where Li Fang literally explains being seen as processes on the radio.
I would like to add that throughout the game, Mei Xin frequently hints Fung Yu about the truth, showing him her own perspective and memories(you see her holding his hand at one bit right after her panic attack scenes), so Fung Yu can forgive himself and move on.
Another important thing to know is that the snake used in the game is 雨傘節, famously known for its venom and striped body. The mentor instructed Fung Yu to put a live serpent in the wine, and this is the one he used, beliving in its magical healing abilities from the serpent guardian story.
It's so helpful ! I missed some of the details ... Thank you !
I read it all and I agree with everything. I think the fact he killed himself is open to interpretation. Maybe he's still alive, crazy after finding her dead daughter. He found her and then just sat in the living room, in shock. He's reliving everything in his mind, trying to get a grasp at what happened. Or maybe he's dead, repeating and exploring what happened to pay for what he did. Either way, what an impressive story.
Very well put! Definitely how I interpreted it as well. A sad tale of "devotion" indeed.
Samuel Manoucheri good interpretation dude, I think you got a better grasp on the game than most of us and I think you’re right 😂🤷🏼♂️
"Your daughter needs a therapist." "My daughter is not a lunatic!" "We're not saying she's a lunatic, just that she might have an anxiety problem…" "NO! I'm going to find help from my spiritual counselor and do what she says because my daughter is sick, there's nothing wrong with her mental state! I'd rather drown her in wine than accept that she has anxiety attacks!" This game is too real, man… V_V
real thingsbro. This doesnt happen ly in Asia but in LatinAmerica as well. People just think that if someone goes to see their mental state is because theyare lunatics or cazy people like in movies.
That's also one thing that was left out to be explained. Multiple times in the game you'll find medical records of Mei Shin as normal and healthy, but the family kept on struggling from somewhat 'illness' of their daughter. As we all know it's not physical but mental and that she might have anxiety and depression (imagine being depressed at the age of 10). This game might also be referencing about the issue with mental health awareness
Detective Ben10 Man, this game is pulling out all the stops. Religion, mental illness, family, broken homes, what’s next?
@@robertcortez4956 ultimate death of a child, apparently
"I'm gonna drown my daughter to death in wine because a "mentor" told me to"
so from my understanding, he killed his daughter after locking her in the bathroom in a bath of wine for 7 days (or a week), but instead of showing her corpse, it showed what calmed her anxiety i suppose, and she forgave her father.
I don't think it's based on a true story, just based on a true type of phenomenon. Unless you have a source for it being a true story, in which I would like to know.
masked. nqva it’s not lol
These are just scenarios
niranX _YT honestly, i forgot that i wrote this, haha. i pressume that it was collectively a urban legend in the end. if i were true, that would be very interesting. although i do not have any sources that prove it is as such a true story as said.
And the fact they put a snake in the bathroom too
I don’t know about necessarily that, but I think the ending they showed’s definitely a lot better than showing a bloated child’s corpse. Without a definitive visual consequence to his actions.
For a lot of people who read the story differently, it may seem like maybe the daughter survived. But a lot of signs indicate she died. Even if you’re not including the logic of keeping a 10 year old girl locked in a bathroom for seven days without food or water while being forced to soak in a tub of wine with a very high alcohol content.
Fun fact: The main menu screen is the view from the daughter's room
how is that fun?
@@S20171 It's symbolic... remember the scene of the daughter watching the father from her room?
thats cool
that's really coooolllllll
yeah I get it it's cool and all but how the hellijell is it fun?
*Spoilers*
I watched MatPat and Steph play this first. Now going back I’m noticing a couple things. What we thought was a blood bath he woke up in is actually the wine. The beginning sequence is just the father’s dream of his wife loving him again, appreciating his “sacrifices” and they’re daughter is doing great... until the mom starts asking where she is. Also, we are hardly ever let into the bathroom because that’s where Mei Chin died.
The book for the ritual actually did call it blood from something (I dont remember what) even though it really was just "pure" wine (I have no idea what makes wine "pure")
@@amt_fleeked_out It's "snake wine", which is meant to be symbolic of the snake's blood that was sacrificed to save the life detailed in the Cigu Guanyin excerpts. This is similar to how Christians use wine to represent the blood of Christ.
What did Mei Chin exactly die from?
@@itdobeawren alcohol intoxication is what I assume her cause of death
@@itdobeawren Probably stopped breathing from the anxiety. Reading the rest of the comments, the Father decided to be "blind" to the literal world and began seeing, saying and doing things the way the Mentor said (thus the eyes, tongue and hand). The Mentor suggested putting Mei Shin in wine for 7 days, kinda like in the story of the god (can't remember the name, sorry) to "purge" the evil spirits out but she was a scared child being effectively betrayed by the one parent she still had after the mom left and/or died.
Jack: "I mean I'm not scared of this game"
Also Jack: THIS GAME REALLY SCARED ME
U mum gay and u know it boi
😁😁😁😁😁😘😇😇😇😇
Not gonna lie, I totally flailed my arms like a little girl when Angry Ghost Wife flew at the camera.
Fact: Mei Shin name in Chinese is “美心” and it’s mean beautiful heart or have a good personality.
Dude love ur pfp
😢
Yeah i know
could have sworn that's mei xin
@@thearmyofiron it is mei Xin
Source: am chinese
theory: The whole story was the father self reflecting. The last shot of him sitting alone in his chair is the real world, while this entire game is happening in his head. He still believes that the religious rituals would work, which is why all the pieces to unlocking his perfect family was all gained in religious rituals. This also explains why during most of the game the bathroom is locked, since he still believes the "seven day ritual". In the end, he had to come to realization that he was directed by a scam artist. He unlocks the bathroom to face the fact that his daughter is dead(because it's the place she died) and returns to the real world in the end, all alone.
Andy Liang Oh my heart. Damn. I like this theory.
Oooo that actually makes sense! Nice theory you got there!
Yeah it all makes sense
thats cool man, it makes much sense
hello there, as a taiwanese, i think i can say you got it right :)
One thing to mention, in Mandarin, the title can be pronounced as ‘Devotion’. But it can also be pronounced as ‘ I will’, which corresponds to the last song, the one mei sin sang, meaning that I am still willing to be your daughter next life. Heart breaking after went through the whole game video
no, 還願 either means "devotion" or "still wishing".
In the lyric it says "if there's an afterlife, do you still wish(to be together)
Bruh 😫😭😭😭
My mother language is mandarin.
Actually, Emilia is right that 還願’s
second meaning is “still willing to”
The final phrase of Mei Shing's 碼頭姑娘 was 「你還願意嗎」, which means "are you still willing to?" If you dissect the second and the third word, you get 「還 願」, which is the same words with the Mandarin translation of "devotion", yet in the context of the lyrics, it's the word "still?" And half of the word "will", so it works more as a pun than a direct reference.
If you can't understand anything I said, don't worry, it doesn't make sense even to a Mandarin speaker.
btw im studying japanese and im still beginner btw but how do you tell difference between chinese and japanese? since even alot of there characters look the same but means something different
The daughter suffered from panic attacks due to the stress and anxiety of having to perform and the amount of pressure put on her. The family always thought her 'illness' was physical, possibly a bad lung and could be cured, however all medical records show she is fine, implying the root of her problem was actually mental illness (folding the tulips was a way to calm her down and ease her anxiety.)
To understand this story fully, you need to have a strong cultural context on religion and mental illness in Asia. Mental illness is almost seen as taboo and parents are often in denial and refuse to accept their child is a 'lunatic', instead turning to rituals, superstition and prayers as a solution and unfortunately there are those that will prey upon this.
I actually think the developers did a very good job at making this game understandable even to a foreign audience.
My knowledge of East Asian culture is not very expansive and I still had a very good grasp on the story.
Not lastly because the father's denial of his daughter's mental illness is not all that outlandish. Plenty of people like that out in the western world...
👏👏👏👏👏
Its not just Asian religions. All religions are notorious for shit like this
Only to the extent that every religion has a few greedy, manipulative assholes that take advantage of their system and make everybody else look bad with their schemes. Not every Christian is as hypocritical or overblown as, say, Jerry Falwell or Jimmy Swaggart.
I actually didnt know this, thank you for the cultural context
I’m pretty sure Du Fengyu killed his wife too
1) Only the big ballerina on the cake had her neck cracked (represents the mom)
2) That scene of the umbrella and a red shoe in a pile of blood
3) GLF crawling on the floor in pain during the elevator scene. She was probably stabbed when trying to leave the house.
4) DFY trying to wash off the blood on his hands
5) The scene with the bloody garbage bags. Why so many bags?
6) GLF’s photos in her room were bleeding
7) Why would GLF’s ghost keeping haunting DFY if he never harmed her?
Also when GLF asked where’s Meishin the clock said 5:00 🕰, but when DFY was washing his bloody hands his watch says 6:15 ⌚️. Enough time to bury a body, huh?
I assumed he killed the mentor woman and that's who we see
I kind of disagree with you, when the ghost was haunting him. Is more like the father's pov of her wife. He sees the wife as a burden that cannot be escaped? I don't know what is the word to this.
Because dfy thought his wife is being possessed. That’s why his wife always looking like a ghost. And glf left him anyway
I think the ritual scene is mostly to show just how far the father is willing to go in order for his daughter to become"better", i.e. he would take out his eye and tongue for her. But in his prayer, he refers to himself as the "loving father", which might be how he feel about himself and all the sacrifice he is doing in the spirit world. At the same time he is blind (literally and figuratively) to what being a "good father" actually means. It is not the gorey sacrifices he is willing to make but actually spending time with his daughter and wife, not immersed in his own false sense of ego and love. This is why when he spent time with Mei Xin folding paper tulips, her breathing difficulties got better. Even when she was ill the first time, staying at home and being taken care of by her parents was what made her better, not prayers.
The snake wine ritual also involved (it said in the instructions) the addition of a live, highly venomous snake, the spirit snake, which is a many-banded krait snake. In addition to being submerged in alcohol for 7 days, Mei Xin was also soaked with this venomous spirit snake and probably would have been bitten. The scene with the pots and that small room with snakes at the bottom implies despite her unwillingness, the father forced her to stay in there and complete the ritual. The dirtied walls outside the bathroom at the end can be seen as the father finally going in, realizing Mei Xin has been dead for 7 days and trying to get rid of her body in a panic, splashing corpse juice everywhere. Plus, the single incense is often used to mourn deceased relatives.
Another prevailing theory is that the wife is also dead, perhaps killed by the father. In Taiwan fold religion, holding an open umbrella indoors and walking bare-footed (walking to the elevator she wasn't wearing shoes) is a sign of ghosts, hence implying she is dead. This also explains why she just left the father and daughter despite obviously loving Mei Xin very much.
ALSO CiGu Guanyin can be considered an improper, in other words, evil deity because it is made up by Mentor Hoeu. In Taiwan folklore, these deities are very bad and leads devoters into misfortune. The CiGu Guanyin story pieces collected throughout the game keeps mentioning "sacrifice" and the spirit snake. From the pattern and the obvious, characteristic black-and-white stripes on its body, one can tell this snake is a many-banded krait. This is why Du Feng Yu added such a venomous snake into the ritual bath, as instructed.
This is a great analysis!!
What a tragedy. Mei Shin had bad anxiety because of the expectations put on her and her parents arguing so much, and her father's blind devotion (roll credits) to Cigu Guanyin ended up killing her.
i think because jack was talking over that last phone call he really missed what happened LOL but basically she was never physically sick. the doc suggested a psychiatric ward because she was suffering from severe anxiety (which causes panic attacks, chest pains, difficulty breathing etc). dad refuses to believe it was a mental illness so he prayed and listened to the mentor who told him to leave her in a wine bath for seven days. to prove his devotion, he ignored her pleas and she eventually died. the ending may be up to interpretation but i think once the dad realized he was fooled, he killed himself to be with her.
This is definitely it. The pressure put on Mei Shin by her family to perform causes her crippling anxiety and her mental and physical state continued to deteriorate up to the end. Unfortunately, her father's response was to pray even harder and offer even more to the diety per the Medium's guidance. Her condition continues to worsen until she is likely either dead or dying by the time the father begins the "Snake Wine" ceremonial bath to restore her soul and he was unable to come to terms with the reality that she was gone forever until he opened the bathroom door. It's not clear what happened at this point except that Mei Shin was finally able to find peace and happiness, probably because she had died and passed on from this life to a place of peace. The symbolism of the scene at the end with her father staring at the TV with no signal probably indicates that he went insane upon realizing that he had lost everything including Mei Shin despite his undying sacrifice and devotion to the diety. However, it could also symbolize that he took his own life, but I choose to believe that he remained alone, descending deeper and deeper into insanity until he was left a shell of a man, reliving the years from 1980-1986 over and over in his mind. That ending would support the decision the developers made to have the player experience the story mostly through the eyes of the father.
In case you want some context, this is still happening sometimes in asian family. So basically, most asian people (Especially in the 80s) treats mental illness poorly. if someone told you to "go to a psychiatrist", they're basically telling you that you're crazy or lunatic. That's why the father refused to bring Mei Shin to a psychiatrist.
I think you hit the nail on the head bunny, alot of people don't think anxiety is a real thing so he didn't believe she had it because he wanted her to be a star.
I watched MatPat first so I was yelling at Jack to be quiet and listen to the call lol
Yes he looked at the camera and started blabbering RIGHT when the lady told him to leave his daughter in the wine for 7 days and not to interrupt her which obviously she wouldn’t have been able to survive that. And then he kept asking “so did she die?” which was really infuriating for me lol
holy shit after taking chinese class and rewatching this series, i realized at around 41:30, 88 in chinese is "ba ba" which is also pronounced as the same "ba ba" for the word Dad. it could be to represent the daughter yelling for her dad "BA BA BA BA BA BA", but it might be a coincidence at the same time but damn that is one fitting coincidence.
That makes it so much creepier honestly 😭
the world 'father' also pronounce as 'baba' in turkish ( and written as it pronounce ). wow.
Not really,88 is more like Ba Si Ba
@@majoka4853 You can just read it as 2 8s 八八
@@majoka4853It is one way to explain why the TV replete 88 tho......
This was not a horror game for me, it was more of an emotional roller coaster of what life is. It was really good wth, made me strengthen myself in this world of ours. A very good game with a really good lesson.
With horror elements
I strongly suggest watching the first game Detention. BUT I suggest watching Cryaotic play it instead of jack. Jack got the really bad, brutally bleak ending. Cry got the real actual ending. The real ending is very important to the story.
Yeah, I completely agree - it's more than just the usual jumpscare fest we get from horror-media. It's super important - I've got so much respect for red candle now, even more than I did after Detention, and I loved that game too.
same
Sadly this was based on a true event...that's why I was really heartbroken.
Any of you cried when the story was being read and it said in the end "the daughter is the most precious thing in the land"....I could feel my tears welling up a little bit, I dunno why
Because subconsciously you knew he was going to fail her as a father and his blind devotion was going to cause him to kill the most precious thing in his land.
my daddy issues really jumped out for that one
@@lucerix6033 for me though it doesn’t trigger any daddy issues but I did feel fpr the father. He was misguided and was horrified of the idea of losing his daughter that he had to cling and believe into a remedy that was actually a scam and that added to his blind faith, he inevitably lost his daughter.
He sacrificed his time in prayer to cure her daughter but forgot that he shouldve sacrificed his devotion and time to his little girl instead.
A similar situation did happen to me when my cousin was on the verge of life and death.
We gambled all our bets and money. Even went as far to do something ridiculous as performing a religious ritual and bargaining with a demonic entities to save her. But all she needed was the love and comfort and one thing she asked in her short life. We dont know when sh will die but its good as long as she spends her life happy in all the time she has .
Poor girl...she was never really sick. She had anxiety and because of it suffered from panic attacks which her parents thought was a breathing issue. The mother left to go back to work and while she was gone the father really got out of control with his religious rituals and prayers to "heal" her. The daughter died during the last ritual. He put her in a bathtub full of wine and left her in the bathroom for 7 days without letting her out. I think it was 7 days....either way she died. Very sad story. Her father's "Devotion" to the deity he worshiped ended up killing her in the end. Then when the mother returned and found out her daughter died she killed herself.
Yeah, wait.
Did she give up on her life? Was she killed herself by giving up life? 😲😲😦😦
When does it say the mother killed herself?
@Jerry Hee They were saying that the mom killed herself when she discovered that her husband killed her daughter.
some people said wife killed husband and some people said he killed his wife
lol nobody killed no one, except for the husband killing the daughter. by the looks of it, the mother just left them because the dad has a god-complex and not taking care of things like a father would do. it made her give up and left both of them. with only him and the daughter he stayed with his ritual and killed the child, being left alone in the end, fucked in the head. dad was at fault, thats why he/you are getting haunted by your imagination and trauma.
This is probably about the third time I've rewatched this, and knowing the story, and that ending, I am reminded of the stigmas against mental health that are endemic even now, although, it has arguably gotten much better.
I have a young cousin who is in primary school. One day, he started displaying some very outlandish paranoid behaviour. He would frequently work himself up into such a furor that he would be physically sick. Things like thinking someone was breaking in to kill his family, not wanting to eat his dinner because he thought there were bugs in it, and that he would get sick. It became such a problem that my auntie and uncle took him to the doctors. All tests were normal.
As it turns out, he was being bullied in school, and it caused him a lot of strain mentally, to the point of paranoia and anxiety. My grandpa was worried sick. He called my mum, and spoke to her how worried he was that they were going to take his grandchild and lock him up "in the mad house", and that he would be branded a lunatic his entire life. The doctor had prescribed him half a tablet of anxiety medication, and my grandpa worried incessantly that it would turn him into an unfeeling, unmoving zombie. He was worried that his grandchild was crazy.
Coincidentally, I had also been struggling massively with my own depression and anxiety, and my mum and dad had come a long way to accepting that I was just the way that I am because my brain was malfunctioning, and they learned that my medication was helping me be better. Thus, my mum was able to calm him down, and explain to him that it was ok, and that she had first hand anecdotal evidence in me. It also helped that my sister is a nurse, and so, my mum had her call to explain everything to our grandpa.
I'm sorry for my long winded comment, but I wanted to shed some light into the thought process of people who were only 2 generations apart that still held this stigma. I can't blame my grandpa for thinking that, because in his generation, that was what they did to mentally ill people. He held that stigma because mental health was treated as such.
We've come a long way, and still have so much more to learn, but I hope that it can help in understanding, and learning that people can change. My grandpa has now learnt to understand mental illness, and that it is ok.
Hugs brother, I hope your doing better.
@@shadowswithin702 Thanks dude, really appreciate it. Thankfully, my younger cousin is doing much better now, and as I recall, he's off the meds, and is doing much better.
As for me, it's going, but you know, just gotta take it one day at a time.
@@ThinlyCut90 One foot in front of the other, it's all we can do. Keep fighting and send me an Email if you need to talk.
When I was younger (i think i was 16?) i wanted to seek therapy because I've been feeling depression symptoms and have attempted suicide prior to that. My chinese father got mad at me for wanting to seek psyciatric help, my mother told me that prayer would work better than that. They apparently have too much pride and good image to lose if ever people and relatives finds out I'm going to a psychiatrist. I fucking hate the stigma with mental illness.
@@tinaffable I'm very sorry that you had to go through that, and I hope that things are much better for you now.
The book artwork looks great in this game.
Nostalgia Sucks ass
@@danieldeleon8111 good for you
Daniel De Leon you must hate my pic then
Totally
Can we just have that artwork as its own separate game? I'd LOVE to see that.
There’s a game called The Silent Age where you have to travel back and forth between time to solve puzzles and is set in a dystopian future. Like so he can see please.
oh i loved that game! very short but sweet.
YES! When he mentioned pressing a button to go between times I totally freaked out because I loved that game! Awesome - Keep liking this guys!
Jack Please!
^That sounds really cool! Semi-related: his description of the mechanic also reminded me of his Visage play-through! It's not time switching exactly but it was still pretty rad
I loved that game
When the “mentor” said to leave Mei Chen in the wine bath alone, for a full week, what I get is he left a young child in a full, or semi full, tub of liquid for seven days. In other words, she likely drowned. And this is not considering whether she was provided food or water during this time. In which could mean death by dehydration/starvation.
She had anxiety - performance anxiety - and as she revealed, she adapted by making the tulips. But therapy was the next step to approach when her symptoms did not show as something to be treated medically; it was made an option after their assessment revealed medical doctors could not help. The dad took that as insinuating his daughter was crazy (remember therapy is stigmatized with alot of people and shunned in many cultures). Ergo he looked for other options, found/got sucked in to the scammer, and Mei Chen died. And it seems by the end he killed him self right after.
let's not forget alcohol poisoning is a thing, and leaving a child in a bathtub of wine for an extended period of time, likely isn't healthy - breathing in the fumes, soaking it into her skin - especially one with an anxiety disorder.
Specifically mental health and mental therapy are stigmatized in many countries, especially in Asian countries. Because their usual exposure to that is the extreme versions of it, they think that if there’s something wrong with you mentally, that you’re crazy and a lunatic and unable to function in society, which is already a stigma in and of itself not including any sort of mental illnesses. So he didn’t want to think that his “perfect daughter” could have some thing so look down upon, and would rather secret out spiritual guidance then give her a legitimate help purely because of his own personal beliefs as well as the social stigma surrounding such issues. A reoccurring thing in the game was the concern of what others thought, an example being of mei shin’s grandma trying to convince her mother to not leave the family just yet because of what “people would say and think”. And in a lot of Asian countries, they take what other people say significantly more seriously and more important than what’s actually important. And it can be a very strong deterrent, even if the person themselves doesn’t even have a very strong opinion about the matter. Just knowing that other people would would cause them to not go through with any necessary help.
Wow.... the dad locked his baby girl in a bathtub filled with wine for 7 days and killed the child he wanted so desperately to save..... very sad story, have to admit to shedding a tear as the little girl ran into heaven.
He put a deadly snake in the bath too 🥶
okay so i'm gonna do a jumpscare and trigger warning list for this cause theres a lot here:
16:37 to 16:53 is just a small creepy moment with black flashes.
20:25 to 20:30 is visual and audial jumpscare.
21:24 to 23:58 is a scene with the parents arguing in the background. there's several images of yelling mouths during this (that i got really uneasy about). tw in this part for verbal violence and implication of physical violence.
jumpscare at 25:35 , followed by imagery in the background of bulging eyes until 26:55 .
27:17 to 27:26 is a jumpscare with audible screams and red and white brief flashes.
30:37 has a bright white flash for a second.
34:57 brief visual jumpscare.
38:47 to 39:49 has a big heckin snake on the ground so if you are really scared of them just be aware.
starting at 41:50 in the parent's bedroom there are several images of bloody eyes.
when jack goes back into the bedroom at 47:00 the bloody eyes are gone.
from 49:28 to 51:30 is a chase scene. no tw it's just very rushed and panic inducing.
56:27 to 56:34 brief jumpscare with blood.
57:07 to 57:55 warped voices and disturbing imagery and sound.
1:08:27 to 1:09:09 warped voices.
IMPORTANT: if you are sensitive to gore images and/or sound, i would suggest not watching from 1:09:56 to 1:15:17 because its very disturbing to some (it made me feel sick oops).
this is the complete list. i don't usually have time to make the list but it really needed to be done for this video. this game is amazing though. i hope this will help anyone who needs it. please like this so maybe jack can pin it idk? just so people see it :)
Bit late but so am I so, thank you kind sir
Youre amaaaazing❤️❤️ thank you!
Thank you so much, you saved me from having to see the part everyone described as the worst. Seriously, thanks a bunch
You are the best!! Thank you so much!
you are such a blesSING 💕💓💖💞💕💓
Ugh that she plays "there's no place like home" on the piano got me. The hearing her parents fight and her anxiety from it got to me, experienced the same thing at that age
SPOILERS! My take on the story:
1) The daughter never had physical illnesses. The father kept her inside all the time so he wouldn't risk her becoming sick and not being able to train for singing.
2) Her "breathing problems" were part of a mental disorder she had. Possibly anxiety. When the father received her medical report, it stated "no physical ailments found. Refer the patient to a psychiatrist". The father then exclaims "My daughter isn't a lunatic!" so he obviously doesn't believe she has a mental illness. He prays to Cigu instead.
3) She dies. The mentor tells him to put her in a bathtub filled with wine (?) and keep her in there. He calls back saying he's not sure that it's working. She tells him it takes up to 7 days for it to work. She was locked in the bathroom for 7 days and died.
4) The father committed suicide. The ending seemed to show him going into the afterlife. His daughter says "lets go home", implying he joined her in death.
Overall, I thought this was a brilliant game. Very well done, visuals were superb and very interesting story. As a half-taiwanese person, I'm really excited that Sean played this. Sean, please play more taiwanese games!
Yeah, it's snake wine.
so not only was she there for 7 days without food, she suffered from an anxiety disorder that caused breathing issues, and she also most likely got alcohol poisoning from soaking in it for days.
Actually the last scene is that he is going to the afterlife to save her daughter from death, he goes into afterlife by some chinese ritual. most of the story is that he is too into chinese religion and make the whole family fell apart.
Not gonna lie, that transition at 44:10 was so perfectly done it took me by suprise.
Either way, this game honestly just looks perfect and beautiful in every way. So much effort put into the little details
*Weird creepy noises...*
Jack: "Oh I hate that kind of stuff…"
*Looks around the corner…*
Jack: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
TV: *Clap Clap Clap Clap Clap!*
they clapped because they made him jumpscared 😂
It wasn't creepy it was crying
Yo dislike my vid to vote jack for best RUclipsr over Logan Paul
@@jamielishbrook2384 r/wooooooooooooosh
Had my volume all the way up in the beginning....
*im still crying man*
YEET SAME
Same!
,,SAME''? This is the name of a Romanian youtuber
Me 2
INR SO SAD
Can we have more beautiful story books like Sha-Sha's?
I loved the effects of it!
Am I the only one who actually cried from that story?
@@saddest.noodle i cried too!
This made me cry because mental health in most asian households isn’t a thing even in Latin homes even talking about mental health is frowned upon :( this hit really hard with me
1:21:11 he just missed the most important dialogue of the game
The dad planted a tulip when his wife became pregnant with Mei Shing at the beginning...
The father really loved his daughter... He was just misguided by the mentor. He truly was... Devoted.
The daughter died in the bathtub filled with snake wine at the end. It is a traditional belief for Chinese medicine that it will heal many sickness so that's why at the end u have to open the bathroom door. And he wasn't head banging XD it's like normal kneel down praying but knocking ur head to show ur faithfulness, normally either in front of parents and mentor or during praying. Nice playthrough tho!
Jack: *Explains the concept he wants to see about the game switching between two different states*
Me: Hon that's Fran Bow
My girl Fran still out here blowing minds
**Jumpscares**
At About:
16:26
20:28
25:35
27:17
34:53
49:26
Thx m8
Cryot0n ah, you too understand that jump scares aren’t real horror!
THANKYOU I'M SCROLLING FOR THIS!
You're fantastic!
this deserves more likes lol
@34:23 While I don't think Jack's relationship advice is wrong I am pretty sure the letter had a different meaning. In Chinese and I think asian culture, in general, there is this concept called keeping face. Don't let anyone outside of your home know about any problems, even if everything is wrong you have to pretend it isn't, having people gossip is the worst thing that could happen. So Li Fang's mother is telling her to not leave home because that would cause a scene and she doesn't want her daughter to be the center of all the gossip. 'you don't have to clash with him on every little thing' 'bedroom quarrels stay in the bedroom' 'minor disputes being taken care of out of sight' that whole last paragraph is all about keeping this in the house and making sure no one knows you have problems. I think Li Fang and her husband's problems were a lot more than little disputes but the idea of her leaving her family or even going to stay with her mother for a little while is such a frowned upon idea that it is better for their family's image for her to stay with her husband even if she is miserable and they fight all the time. It is better for her to stay in that place and pretend everything is fine then do anything to change her situation because that might start gossip and bring shame upon her family.
This is absolutely true. Its a big thing where I live too.
The first time I watched Devotion play through (CoryxKenshin) i thought "Damn, her own mother prioritizes keeping face over the well-being of her daughter and grand daughter? If that was my mom she would've gotten me and my children out of the house the minute she senses something was wrong and chop my dead beat husband apart with a bolo knife"
But I also thought that Li Fang and her husband were still a new couple so her more experienced mother was giving her tough-love advice on how to handle future quarrels.
That's so true. I remember i went to my great grandmother's funeral when I was 10 and i asked my mum why no one was crying because in movies everyone always cries and my mum told me it's normal for Chinese people not to show emotions because they don't want to cause "a scene" or be the centre of gossip.
Here's a super relatable cringe inducing line e.e
"stop making a scene, what would the neighbors say??!"
Yeah, that's true. Not to mention she was a former actress so it'd be worse.
YESSS SO TRUE!! I HATE KEEPING FACE OR SHOWING FACE, IT DOESN'T MAKES THINGS BETTER IT MAKES IT WORST! LI FANG WAS ALSO TRYING TO KEEP FACE FOR HER HUSBAND BUT IT MADE THINGS SO MUCH WORST!
Does anyone else live alone and put Jack's latest video on while they're eating a sad, solitary dinner/tea/whatever the hell you want to call it? No? Just me...?
Jack's my breakfast buddy!
I do! I watch him since 2015 and when he used to upload two times a day the upload times actually matched my lunch and after nap snack times lmao. So I always had lunch and chilled before studying in the afternoon watching him hehe
I do the same ❤ and if there's no jacksepticeye while eating I put on some other favorite RUclipsrs 😍❤
Same, I used to watch him for lunch and dinner. Now I just watch him for lunch when I'm alone in school.
No I do the same!
The title of the game, 還原 (huan yuan) has two meanings related to the story. The first is when someone prays to a deity (like cigu guanyin) and has their wish fulfilled, they should perform 還原 as a form of gratitude. The other meaning is hai yuan, or "still willing," and the last line of the song as the credits roll is "if there's still an after life, are you still willing." I'm not sure if this is a stretch, but to me it seems like this meaning is about mei shin, asking her father if there could be another chance, would he still be her father.
*video loading*
Nobody:
Hotel Trivago:HOTEL TRIVAGO HELPS YOU FIND THE PRICE ON HOTELS
Y E S
"Trivago helps you find the ideal hotel, for the best price."
Jacks: this is reeeeeaaaally beautiful.
*5 min later*
Jacks: wait... am i in hell?!
Time to run away form the beauty-
bottyful?? ✝️
1:03:50
Not to brag but I'm the 666th like lol 👀
@@supersaraqxz548 hello satan
The only scary thing is that there is no top of the morning
R.I.P.
And the ironic thing is that he tries to scare us by shouting at the start
I KNOW WE ALL NEED TO TWEET AND SPAM HIM TELLING HIM TO DO THE INTRO
He didn't scare me, he blew my ears, cuz I had my volume too loud xD
@@Najemniczkas Rookie mistake. Didnt you learn from the *whapoosh* TOP OF MORING part?
Man, I look forward to what Red Candle makes in the future. I’m relieved they didn’t just vanish after everything that happened.
i hope they bring out something like this again, it's sick affff
Me: *clicks video*
Me: TOP OF THE M-
Jack: WELCOME BACK
Me: ...how could you do this to me?
Reading this reminds me of the vine with the little kid who was going to pop the smoke bubble but it pops before he can & hes just sitting there in pure disappointment
_I can't believe you done this._
honestly same, wtf jack? whats wrong with u?
You right
How could this happen to me I made my mistakes
44:58 Oh, I think Sean is the first youtuber that I saw that realizes this is the "birthday grab" thing described at the beginning of the game
the daughter died from alcohol poisoning. the wine that she was soaked in wasnt watered down, as you can see in the sheet that jack looked at after the spirit realm stuff, so the alcohol level was extremely high. the mentor told him not to open the door so he never check to make sure she was ok. if he had gone in and check on her then he could have saved her. also i had watch mat pat play this and they had said that some youtubers that played this before passed out at the eye gouging and tongue pulling out part and they didnt show those parts but had extreme reactions to it so i was super curios about it but when i saw jack doing it i was very underwhelmed. yeah it was unsettling but i cant imagine anyone that isnt super squeamish passing out. its an amazing game and i wish i could play it. too bad it got taken off steam for political reasons
Me: that was a cute story... -book closes* oh... back to the scary
Jumpscare timestamp
-
-
-
20:29
25:35 (minor)
27:17 + [ 27:19 to 27:25 (bunch of flashing and screaming and girl at the middle) ]
34:56 (minor)
57:36 + 57:41 (girl/his daughter appear in front of the screen)
58:00 (dad on the mirror) (not really a jumpscare but creepy)
P.S. I might have missed some of the jumpscare (but mostly I didn't miss)
Bless u
You are a God send
I believe the gore part is more important to be in the list ;)
Yay now I can watch jack shit his pants thanks
thankyou
This game really felt like we were peering into some true storytelling of another culture. It was refreshing to see, and very engaging. Maybe some of the style and way the plot unfolded would have been more familiar to Chinese viewers, as Guanyin is Buddhist figure for example. Knowing Red Candle is from Taiwan, is important to that. So, they likely have more familiarity which would have helped us realize the import of the entirety of the story. Using that as a source, worked though. There was a greater depth to what was going on. And there was a lot to take in. Yet, something Sean talked about, was how well the game structure was laid out.
So many other games try this kind of multi time line approach, and it just gets messy or feels too gimmicky. The impact often can get muddled. Here, it was straightforward to navigate and understand what to do, and the effects. Instead of a complicated, interrupting mechanism, you simply walk to the next time zone. Such a simple idea to keep the concept from getting in the way.
And the look, man so nice and detailed, just visually engaging. They cared about this game. The way the apartment kept changing appearances to match the story and what was going on seemed spot on. The use of the central hub, so much better than other games where a similar kind of hub is passive to the story. That story book section was so cute, moving and innovative. That gave you so much information and helped define the characters to let you become more attached and understanding. Without that, the final impact would have been far less.
I will say, that ritual section was the most difficult thing to watch in any game I've seen in a long time. I really don't know the last time I had so much trouble actually watching without turning away and feeling every second. Yet, that effectiveness again shows how well this game was made. I do kinda agree that it felt like it was put in to punch up the impact of the overall story, which could have stood on it's own. That incredibly graphic kind of thing, could certainly be part of a game successfully.
So, yeah, really nice game. I'm glad Sean played this. For the complexity of story, visuals, and just being a good time in its own unique way. Behind it all, is also some very pointed commentary about mental health and getting proper treatment versus superstition. When there is a strong driving principle guiding a story, that story will end up far better for it.
I did get one really good scare too, always a plus. The one he was expecting. I yelled out. It was hilarious.
Timestamp? I'm not sure exactly when your talking about
Jack: *tries to scare us at the start of the video*
Me: you-you’re kidding, right?
*I literally didn't know he was tryna scare us until he mentioned it...*
You just wanna pinch his cheeks :')
Oh I shit my pants
My volume was up loud
I find it funny that sometimes his video managed to jumpscared me with the usual "Top of the morning" intro with high volume rather than this intro..
As a Taiwanese, I’m very grateful to you for playing this game so hard, makes me proud of the game in my country
He soaked her in snake wine and waited 7 days for the ritual to heal her, and the alcohol poisoning killed her. She was never even sick. The pressure the parents put on her have her General Anxiety Disorder and panic attacks. When the doctor told him that he said his daughter wasn't crazy and devoted harder.
She found ways to cope with her anxiety on her own while her parents spent more time with het and she was getting better. But the father continued his spending on the spiritual hoax, putting pressure on the tight budget family. Mom left because of him and the anxiety came back. The worse she got, the more fanatically devoted he became, the worse she got, because she could cope on her own if only her family could spend more time with her. Then he killed her. The mother crawling at the elevator showed that when she came back from her film to get her family and take them away to live simply... he had already taken her, and possibly himself (daddy lets go home).
I had forgotten about the elevator scene with the mother crawling towards him in the hallway. It makes sense when you put it that way because she doesn't make it to him in time, probably symbolizing her return to the family only to find her husband had descended into pure insanity and killed their daughter.
the whole topic of being pressured as a kid and your parents/relatives highly relying on religious faith is hitting too close to home. being an asian (Filipino), you really can't do too much for your self, especially if you're not from a rich family. going to school, graduating, and then getting a job is not about you anymore but more about repaying for your parents. I have nothing against it because its important that you repay them but it has gotten to the point where it becomes a task and instead of treating yourself and enjoying life, you're stuck with the responsibility of your parents being repaid
I'm Filipina (hi) and that's so true. It's important to respect and repay them, but it got to the point that in your entire life you're just working and stuff.
@Ezi Hunt It's like respect or a part of our tradisyon. And you _can't_ easily break something that's been done for one generation to the other.
Edit: Oops realized tradition is spelled the filipino way.
But I'm not going to change that.
MAAAAAN, I understand the importance of traditions and respecting your elders, but HERE IN MERICA, we are avid believers in self fulfilling career, hobbies, activities, etc.
I'm not saying that means you gotta become disrespectful, but you also don't need to repaid anyone for your life and subsequent choices. It's your life. Your parents choose to have kids and that's on them. No adult should be living through their children because at the end of the day children are just adults going through childhood. They're bound to had their own thoughts and emotions and shouldn't be held to some high expectations "cAuSe It'S tRaDiTiOn"
@@BlueEyesWhiteDragonStan yeah it fucking sucks. i cant do too much rn since im still in college but i hope i wont have to live another one of my parents' lives after graduating
@@theresagalvosXD Gotcha. I hope you live your life the way you see fit, because you deserve that.
16:37 Did anyone else see Jack take up the entire screen for a solid millisecond? Plus the colors of his face go kind of wonky here like they're slightly oversaturated. Maybe it's just... a glitch.
Yeah I actually noticed it too, I'm not sure what it's about though
ANTIIIIIIII
Highkey thought Anti was gonna show up after than. Like I was 100% convinced that beautiful pycho was gonna appear.
Glitch? It's just anti saying hi
Uh oh antiboi is back maybe......
That post credit scene tore me to pieces. The family was robbed of their happiness, and now the father is all alone, stuck in a pit of depression. All because of a horrible scammer and an unhealthy devotion.
Mokiiyu if you noticed at the post credit scene, the figure is too stiff for him to still be alive, implying rigor mortis is happening. I think the father comitted suicide due to extreme guilt
from what i read on the taiwanese article on this game, this story is inspired by this tragic event that happened in taiwan. Before the mentor moved into the building, many tragic events happened in the building, for example a husband murdered his wife and after going to jail his son jumped off a building and killed himself. That's why the building was never peaceful and was surrounded by angry spirits. After the mentor moved into the building, apparently it helped with the atmosphere in the building, that's why many people started contributing money , because they thought that the "god" could help with everything. Not sure if the article is 100% accurate, but many threads online have been talking about this game and the meaning behind the little details. I just thought it was pretty interesting and wanted to share what i read here:)
edit || the article I read was just a more detailed explanation of the story, while also giving the game some background stories. So while the story is fictional, it is inspired by the very commonly seen religious scenes in Taiwan during the 1980s. sorry for not doing enough research!
MeetingSkylar hey can you share the article
MeetingSkylar I think you may have misunderstood the article. This game as far as I know is purely fictional (although based on very real religious practices in Taiwan). The events that you mentioned in your comment are part of an ARG in which the developers used to get people excited about the game prior to its release.
@@emlin803 assuming you understand Chinese, so is 杜家慘案 a fictional event? My friend told me it is based on a true event or should I say inspired maybe this is a better way to put it, bits and pieces of the games are inspired by supposedly a true event, but then again, I might've misunderstood what he said. if so I am sorry😅
@@emlin803 I just did some research and I suppose both my friend and I misunderstood the article, thank you for pointing my mistake out:) I'm also sorry for not doing enough research!
@@meetingskylar34 I do! I'm actually from Taiwan haha. 杜家慘案 translates to "The Du Family Tragedy", which simply refers to the main story we were told in this game. As far as I know, the story is completely fictional. I watched GTLive's playthrough and I recall a disclaimer in the game that states this. Your friend may have been mistaken because of the nature of ARGs though :)
"mY dAUgHtEr'S nOt a LuNAtIc" no, but you definitely are.
Literally said this to myself at that part. XD
Boohzer Bear not a lunatic. He just wanted his daughter to be better and this scam artist woman took advantage of him and he bought into it until it was too late
A bit of fun facts to top up the awe of this masterpiece...
For those who are not aware, the selection of names for this game is totally ingenious (applaud to the game developers :D).
First, the name of the whole game, which is Devotion 「還願」, in Mandarin it is pronounced as 'huan-yuan', which actually sounds like the other Chinese word 「孩願」 'hai-yuan', and this translates to 'the dream of a child'. This forecasts the context of the game which the child Du Meishin dreaming of getting healed from her sickness and have a happy family she deserved......
Secondly, just talking about Meshin(美心), the pronounciation for her name (mei-shin) is actually THE SAME to the other chinese word 「迷信」, which the word means 'superstitious'. This is probably another nice plot element with the father believing so blindly in god and spirits that he subconsciously (or intentionally...?) named his daughter with the same pronounciation to his own trait. Else it is just another easter egg pun left by the developers for us to discover its literal depth behind their work. Big hands for the game developers again. :)
Dude no I don't think you know Chinese lololololol
There is a lot about this game that is ingenious and just a wonderful masterpiece. It was pulled from Steam because butthurt Chinese people didn't appreciate their "fearless leader" being called Winnie the Pooh and review bombed the game. Seriously, fuck the government of China and the government's little fragile political egos that cause massive amounts of censorship to taint and warp the experiences of their citizens for the worse. I genuinely feel bad for the people living in China who have to deal with this Pooh bear's insecurities drastically altering a truly free and happy life that is free from severe governmental manipulation and influence.
"this place has seen better days. i should know, i've been here three different timeline times." 😂
For short reader. . .
Edit : yep, the wife is killed by husband also, it was hinted when she crawl into elevator trying to escape. . . Confirmed by taiwanese community
Edit2 : well shit. . . The wife topic is still hot debate in taiwanese community. . . :v
1. He rethink of his life while realizing his daughter is dead
2. He realize so much mistake and regret everything he have done
3. "Baba, let's go home" at that sentence he is already committing suicide. To meet his daughter on the other side, but they never met each other. . . Its just emptiness kind of afterworld (according to the song)
In shortest conclusion. . . the Husband kill all of his family, and regret it, rethink of his life from the starting of marriage to misery end, then committing suicide
Opinion : as Thai who have chinese ancestry. . . This really reflect the problem of chinese belief. . . very accurately of what can go wrong, starting from "let your child choose the career since being newborn" to ridiculous tradition that harm child's mental health :v
NOW LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
WELCOME TO THE FEEL TRAIN, HOP ON AND NOW WE ARE HEADING TO FEELADELPHIA
I'm happy to see more Asian representation in entertainment that represent the culture; the good and the bad
Oh shit, I thought she got away...but damn i guess you're right
I do not see how the wife is supposedly dead. I saw the whole chase sequence as an attempt for her to stop you from going to Cigu Guanyin. The elevator has Cigu Guanyin imagery in it, and she’s crawling almost sorrowfully and and desperately to get to YOU to stop you, and salvage the family. But you are too stubborn and you throw the marriage out for Cigu Guanyin and your pride/ego. She leave to live with her mother and for her career.
Unless you mean the husband killed her after Mei Shin’s death, when she visits them and asks “where is mei shin” and etc.
There is so far very little confirmation/evidence of anyone’s death other than Mei Shin’s.
Brother, as a Taiwanese myself, I heard no saying from our community that the wife was dead. We pretty much unanimously agreed that the segment was to represent Li Fang's effort in dragging Du away from the Cigu faith, thus was antagonized by Du in his memory. The final scene in the elevator chase when Li Fang's face turned from a monstrosity to an actual human was a great hint. It was also followed up by the radio interview played in the elevator, and the subsequent cutscene where Du sees Li Fang leaving the apartment dressing in her Qi Pao dress which signifies that she has left home for the film industry again.
I thought the father saw the wife as someone who was evil because she was against him , so thats why before the elevator scene she was chasing after him then when he finally got to the elevator you saw her face turn more not creepy asl and then a little later she just left him to continue his praying because she knew she couldnt control how he looks at her now
One of the most beautiful horror games we had?
for sure!
@@fritzkuhne2055 more like Fo Sho!
Check out Detention by RedCandle too. Everything bout it is just great especially the story
Outlast
More likely one of the most heartbreaking horror games.More of an emotional roller coaster than a horror game.
Damn, what a beautifully made game. Such a deeply sad story as well
It's really strange watching the mom and dad fighting from the kid's perspective seeing how something very similar happened to me. My father couldn't keep a job and constantly harped on my mother for having her own job. He thought it was the man's job to handle finances and the woman's to take care of the kid. My father was also incredibly religious to the point that it was detrimental and spent carelessly. Heck he even tore up my mother's wedding dress, much like how the father in the game tore up the mother's stage outfit. I grew up suffering from serious anxiety to the point where I passed out constantly. Only difference is my parents got divorced and I stayed with my mother, I didn't die in a bathtub from alcohol poisoning at least.
Great to see u alive >_< weak men can’t handle strong independent woman. Glad u and your mum get out of there fast.
That sounds like a tough time.
Spoiler
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This is going to get lost in the comments but I attempted to take the missing words from the 09 script bit and retranslate them back to chinese and back to english to see if there was a hidden meaning. Of course I had to guess what the words were so it might not even be accurate.
what I got was 聽丈夫給了我的是非常難以偉大母親精細足夠 (hear, husband, gave me was, very, hard to, greatness, fine, enough)
it translated to
"It’s very difficult to listen to what my husband has given me."
that plays really well into the next scene in the elevator.
Hey Jack. Just want to let you know that the show on TV was filmed just for this game, but it is based on an actual Taiwanese show in the 80s, which is called "Five Lights Award".
I'm really glad you're Devoted to finishing this game
I see what you there, you a devoted fan?
You’re truly devoted to these puns huh
as a person with anxiety, when i saw the child was in her deepest time, it made me uncomfortable because i can feel how is it in her place. that's how sometimes describe my anxiety. the point is right now, some asian countries are religious and the country i live in is pretty religious and yes i am asian myself too. some parents in this country usually think that depression or anxiety isn't real. they said that it's because "we dont pray much" or "we dont read bible enough" and they usually come up with religion most of the time and invalid the children's illness. some parents think that 'mentally ill' is something doesn't exist especially when the children are under the age 18. this is how the reality is. it's sad. parents seek to meet the preacher or something to heal their children when they need a therapy instead. not all illness will cure with religion. i hope that parents will be more understanding and took care of their children very well. why would you want kids when you dont even try to be understanding for your own kids? what's the whole point then? just to fulfill your needs? to show off? children aren't robots. it made me so sad.
btw the game have such a deep meaning. there might be more of it. for me, what i can see the dad was being scammed. i'm not saying the religion is a scam but people should know what should be included in religion and what shouldn't. you can be religious and understanding about the whole situation of mental illness. it is real. everything can tear off family relationship so if anyone gonna say "religion will fix all your problem" i will say it's a fucking bullshit. even in this game, it's obviously ruins the family. i'm not saying you cant live a healthy life with being religious, ofc you can. ^,^ that's all i can say in here. i love all religion but being scammed like that is a bruh moment :/
i hope all the souls out there will be in peace.
idk what to say anymore hahaha but the graphic is hella dope!! i love it!
The way they portray anxiety in this game is great. 👌🏻 As someone that goes to therapy and takes meds for anxiety, I can vouch for that!
Seriously accurate, considering I have severe anxiety and take meds for it as well! I've gone through similar attacks in the past actually.
i dont think those are meds for anxiety, since the father refuses to believe that the duaghter is mental ill, probs for her anxiety related symptoms
Scripted I don’t think either of us were saying that the meds in the game necessarily were anxiety meds. I just meant that my anxiety is so bad that I need to takes meds for it as to show that I’ve dealt with some of this shit lol
Sorry for the misunderstanding.
That Plumm Flower chant is a commom child's game in Taiwan. A group of kids forms a circle and decide on a month in which "the plum flower blooms". A kid will be in the center of the circle and guess which month while the other kids run around her. When the kid in the center called out the correct month, the other kids have to flee, and the guesser kid would have to try to catch one of them.
Oh wow that's very interesting 😮thank you for explaining that ☺️
Just a fun fact: here in Malaysia, or at least in the area I live, we play a similar game called 'Hibiscus Flower/Big Red Flower'. Hibiscus in Chinese literally means big red flower, and another fun fact, it's our national flower.
@@luluce04 that's really interesting thank you for telling that
@@luluce04 Plum flower is also the national flower of Taiwan too! Maybe that's why we use the respective flowers huh
@@madeleinelucille8847 glad you thought so! :)
I think the daughter had a panic or anxiety attack (I think the pressure of her parents depending on her to repay them for all the time and effort they put into the person *they* wanted her to be and it cause a lot of anxiety for her. So much so, that she would have panic/anxiety attacks daily. That's probably why the doctors wanted her to go to a mental hospital so that she could get the help she needed) in the tub full of wine her father put her in and drowned. The dad, as shown in the game, kept calling the mentor to ask when he could take her out of the tub and when she didn't answer he probably got worried and went in. He probably saw his daughter dead in the bath of wine he had put so much faith in, so much so that he barely spent any time with his daughter and she felt neglected. Anyway, I think he found her body and proceeded to kill himself bc of the guilt and shame that hit him when she died realising that he wasn't a good father and had denied her the help she needed and put too much faith in something that ultimately didn't work. In all honesty I think the whole game was the father going through all of the "monumental" decisions/moments that had shaped what happened after, basically his personal hell that he had to climb through and figure out where he went wrong and to see the perspectives of what he was doing through his daughter and wife's eyes. The ending could have been him forgiving himself for all the wrong he had done as a father and a husband and finally being able to move on and be with his daughter in his version of heaven.
As for the part where the player is running away from the wife, I have a theory on that too. I think what that was supposed to represent was how the father viewed her for most of the game. He saw her as the villain trying to kill him. I think he saw her this way because of how they're marriage was going. According to the letter the wife's mother sent, they were always arguing about everything and was too much for the wife, and that's probably why she left. I think it was also how she wanted to provide again because of their financial issues and decided to leave when the father would let his pride get in the way and tell her to basically do what a woman is "supposed to do" which, at the time was stay home, take care of the children, and let the husband handle everything business related. Because of all of this, the father thought he had good reason for seeing her as the antagonist, but we saw different when the he was in the elevator. We saw a woman battling with herself in whether she should stay so that she could be a good mother and loving wife or leave and be free of the chains her husband binds her in. When she falls, she pauses and stays on the ground. When she looks up we see a more human face beaten with sadness and torment. She still loves her husband and dowsnt want to leave him but knows she has to. In those seconds the husband sees that and before we can see her defeated for any longer, the elevator moves and the game continues. Idk that's just what I think happens sorry if I ranted and if it doesn't make sense I am also sorry but I needed to get it out before I lost my train of thought.
I really like your theory about the wife, like I think this is 100% correct
But as for the father killing himself I disagree with because in the ending cutscene he was alone without child or wife. So I think he was still alive but was realising that he had no family left anymore. I think the ending was actually the afterlife, where Mei shin remains a child and then when he dies, they can finally be together and play together, like she wanted all along. It also shows she forgave him for his actions because she played with him again
Alexa.Is.Not.Panicking I think she could’ve taken Mei Shin with her tho. I don’t understand why she left her with her husband when she was aware that he was doing rituals and not taking her to the doctor. The mother could’ve taken the daughter away from him and gotten her the care she needed.
+Inovoxv X He was sitting there unmoving in from of static though. He might have slit his wrists while watching those recordings of his daughters contests he loved so much.
@@MsLilly200 Woah that's haunting to think about, imagine if that's what really happened
@MsLilly200. Yeah no I get that I don’t disagree with the theory completely like omen of my own theories is that he wasn’t actually already dead, and was reliving our what had happened to lamented him kill himself. The idea of him sitting alone was that he is coming to terms with the fact that he has postbox his whole family, but in actuality he was stuck in purgatory, trying to decide whether to forgive himself or keep blaming himself. This is supported with the continual looking at his hands and the red flashes when completing an action. I think this symbolises him remembering he is in purgatory, but then getting lost in bish memories again. It’s also supported with the Mei shin doll guiding him throughout the game so he can once again be with somone he is so devoted to.
This is the full extent of my theory, but The idea of him living with the guilt is also another possibility
But yeah I like your ideas 😄
Don’t take any of this offensively either, I’m just voicing my thoughts
Watching him misinterpret the ending because he talked over a key piece of dialogue was one of the most unsatisfying experiences I’ve ever had on RUclips
I know right? He didn't read things through and skipped over subtitles, and he completely missed the entire point of the ending because of it. He started talking over it as soon as the important stuff popped up as well when he was walking through the hallway. Talk about bad timing :(
I stopped watching because of his unnecessary commentary and talking over the important details. He's just playing this game like a normal puzzle game and making fun of everything he finds different in Chinese culture. It's my first time watching this streamer and I expected more from someone with such a large following. There were so many details that he missed because he was just impatiently wanting to make progress. This has been one of the most unsatisfying playthroughs to watch because the devs put so much effort to make it real, and he's barging around like he's playing Amnesia.
@@yvriver_ then why are you still here lol?
Sayo Chan he’s a lot more entertaining when the subject matter isn’t this heavy
@@yvriver_ you realize let's players like him make a living off of talking and making commentary over videos of the games they play, right? And he is not making fun of chinese culture. He's uncomfortable, and if you had ever watched his videos prior, you know he makes jokes when he's uncomfortable, like a lot of people do. If you cant handle it, dont bring it to the comments, just move on.
*Sees this was uploaded yesterday*
There must be a jump scare list by now
*Scrolls through comments*
Zero jump scare time codes
*Proceeds to watch with caution*
Haha right 😂
Same!! I'm crying, my eyes are hidden most of the time 😭😭😭
Yes, me too 😂 but there's not much of a jumpscare here though, thank God 🤣
> read this comment
> scroll down a bit
> find a comment with the jumpscare list
oh
ME TOO. ME TOO.
Just noticed that the title screen looking at the couch/living room is the daughters room. She's looking through the door into the living room kinda like at 55:33 in the video.
Faith healing is a thing that happens in the USA a lot my dude. There have been parents that have gone to jail for trying to pray over their children and letting them die rather than just take them to a hospital to get the help they actually need. People have tried to use prayer and faith healing for infections, cancer, and just about everything else under the sun, instead of getting the medical care they should actually seek out. Having faith is fine and all but you've got to temper it with science and rational thought.
I have seen it and it’s really sad they mean well but it’s bacicly child abuse.
Darkwolf1382 like the anti-vax parents lol smh
Yeah, faith cannot heal medical conditions. I'd say I have a lot of faith in my religion but I still know that praying cannot heal physical conditions.
I can't handle those people. I consider myself quite religious, I even think prayer is a powerful tool, but like God gave us medicine too, ya'll. Use it.
It's a very sad thing that happens. And sometimes the answers to prayers are the opportunities to get better (treatments, medicine, etc.)
I highly relate to the daughter, as a classical voice performer, and someone who was what people call a 'stage child' in my younger years. My mother was much like this dad, she wanted me to become a performer, and my childhood was simply a rinse and repeat of competitions. My mom still has a box full of my certificates, which by the time I was eighteen weighed nearly ten pounds, ten pounds of paper. I remember having the exact same experience of crippling anxiety as a child, the fear of failure, and simply wanting to be normal. When you can only relate to your parent through the lens of competition, it feels like you're competing with the world just for your parents attention, but all they care about is what you can do for them, not who you are. Thankfully, despite the nature of my childhood, I didn't end up like this girl. Though there was abuse, in the end I took a path much like this girl. I was willing to forgive my mother, and we're on much better terms now.
I'm so happy your story had a happy ending :DD