​Our Life: Beginnings & Always
A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android
A nostalgic visual novel where you design your own character and grow from childhood to adulthood with the lonely boy next door. Create an experience that’s all your own in this near-fully customizable, choice-heavy story.
Our Life: Beginnings & Always is a feel-good simulation, as well as a “feel-better” one, where painful emotions such as sadness, anger, stress, and worry can all be expressed, then met with reassurance, understanding, and support.
It’s a wholesome experience that faces large steppingstones of life, while having a focus on familiar everyday moments. With notable amounts of customization for even tiny details, you can enjoy pleasures as simple as having a preferred type of drink and a neighbor who cares enough to remember what it is.
| Price: | Free-to-Play, with optional paid DLCs |
| DLCs: | The first batch of DLCs are $3.99USD each with three available |
| Rating: | 16+, for swearing, crude humor, and suggestive content during adult-aged portions of the game |
- 4 different periods of life to experience: childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, and fully grown
- Name, appearance, personality, and pronoun (he, she, or they) customization for your character
- Change your character’s details however you like as you grow, including transitioning to new pronouns
- Shape your personality, feelings, and preferences, then see them reflected in the story as characters remember who you are
- 1 love interest, Cove Holden, whose personality, interests, and appearance will develop in a custom way over the years based on his experiences with you
- Decide for yourself how quickly or slowly the relationship with Cove develops by setting a unique dynamic; from love at first sight to last minute confessions to always being friends and more
- A welcoming, sentimental story that can easily be enjoyed over and over using new main character qualities or different connection types with Cove
- 397,000 words, 16-24 hours of content in total
Plus, an optional feature of having a preset name for the main character that the love interest says out loud through voice lines. Download the free DLC to add that to your game build!
The main story of Our Life from beginning to end will always be free, but if you’d like to support our group and get new scenes you can purchase DLCs! Currently there are two available: the Step 1 DLC and the Step 2 DLC. Both of the DLCs unlock five new Moments, meaning you can get as many as ten completely new Moments to experience.
If you would like to add DLCs to the game, please download Our Life directly from the webpage rather than through the Itch.io App. Using the App reformats the game file folder in a way that can prevent the DLCs from working.
And if you want even more Our Life content, you can consider joining our Patreon! There’s sneak peeks for future game expansions, extra update posts, bonus art, a private backer-only Discord, and so on.
Jamie Last (changeable name) has spent the last couple weeks on a summertime high. At eight-years-old, nothing is better than what feels like endless days of school-less adventures, especially when you live walking distance from the beach. While coming home under a scorching sunset one fine evening, Jamie is approached by a stranger. The man is looking for a kid who can do him a favor, and he’s even offering to pay for it. He wants Jamie to please be friends with his only child. The person is Mr. Holden, Jamie’s new neighbor, as well as the father of the odd, and oddly named boy, Cove. Whether Jamie wants to play along or not, Cove isn’t going anywhere. He’s present in Jamie’s life for far longer than they ever would’ve guessed.
And then the long days of vacation finally come to an end. Summer may not be able to last forever, but Jamie can take comfort in knowing it will come back again someday…
Our Life: Beginnings & Always released on November 16th, 2020. Two optional DLCs also came out on that day: the Step 1 DLC and the Step 2 DLC. The Step 3 DLC launched on April 16, 2021. Step 4 became available on September 18th, 2021.
Our Life will continue to have content releases. Next on the list is the Step 4 Cove Wedding DLC! The estimate release is Fall 2021. From there, we’ll be adding DLCs for Derek and Baxter romances.
Thank you so much for giving Our Life a look! We hope you’ll enjoy вЂ
| Updated | 19 days ago |
| Status | Released |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android |
| Rating | |
| Author | GBPatch |
| Genre | Visual Novel, Interactive Fiction |
| Tags | amare, Comedy, Dating Sim, Gay, LGBT, Meaningful Choices, Multiple Endings, Otome, Romance |
| Links | Steam |
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Development log
Comments
Tem tradução para PT-BR?
I love to play the demo but the visual novel isn’t working on Android 11. Is there a way to fix this problem?
Have you fixed it yet? Mine isn’t installing
No, I haven’t. Can install the app but cannot play it. The visual novel closes after being used for a minute.
Did you downloaded the voiced name version? Some Android types just can’t run it because of font issues, but the non-voiced version works in those cases.
I playd games were no romo route existed, but (aside NPCKC games) it is 1st time i fell the friendship is on 1st place, normally no romo routes seems just ‘romance route but wihout romance’, like someone take a story and just cut out some parts. This game is different, you do not feel like you miss something, no-romo route is a story on its own (and not a downgraded romance route)
I LOVE THIS GAME SOO MUCH. It is rare for VN to allow MC having a strong non-romantic bond with LI, i like playing romance routes but it is so good to have a choice and develop other kinds of commitment. Finally i can hug a character in game or spend whole night with them without it turning in romance. I love Cove personality, and MC personality too! One of my fav VN developer said that MC is the hardest one to create, and it seems true-so many MC are too plain, without anything special in them ( i know, Cove dad would disagree ;p), very uhmmm. basic, if not silly and/or irritiating. But my precious MC (named Veru) is really relatable, not only bc of gender and sexuality and romantic orientation I choose for them, but also in general vibe. and choice options feel so natural! I often experience ‘ughh none of these option seems right for me! Who would ever do/say something like that’ but not this time! Choices are great! And colours works great, there is nothing more frustrating than choosing something that you think will be consoling or funny etc and discover that full sentence is rude or unvalidating! colours indicators help avoid such mistakes! generally it feels like anything i hate in VN has been solved in this game. i am on step 2 right now but i already know i will play multiple times to see how my choices shape MC and Cove.
Oh, and moms personalities and relationship is great too. and just everything is great? w o w.
During step four when i press the option «Hey cove is there anything you’d like to see me in today?» cove doesn’t reply back and it skips as if i never said that
I dont know how to apply the DLC purchase i made for step 2 do you think you can help me
Windows, Linux, & Mac Instructions:
- Download the file after purchase
- Extract the zipped file you downloaded
- Open the extracted folder and copy the rpy files inside
- Open the folder of your current Our Life Build and find the «game» folder inside. To view folders on Mac you might have to right click the application launcher and select «view package contents» and you may have to open a couple different folders before you find the «game» folder tucked away inside
- Paste the new rpys you got from the DLC into the Our Life «game» folder
After that, the build you already had will now include all the extra content this DLC gives.
Android Instructions: Download the .apk file and install it to your device. It will update your current game version to have all the new info. Or, if you haven’t downloaded Our Life before, the complete game (with DLC included) will be installed. The file size is large, but only the files you don’t already have will be kept. It won’t double the amount of memory used if you already have the game installed.
Creator, could I ask when the baxter and derek dlc’s will be released?
i don’t think they have a set date yet. They’re still working on the cove wedding dlc and after that i think they’ll work for baxter and derek’s dlc
How can I download the our life android? It keeps saying «App not installed» and «package installer stopped» or something like that
I’m sorry you’re having trouble. That is unfortunately some kind of compatibility or internet issue, I can’t say for sure what it is. It could be:
-There’s not enough space, even though it says there is
-You should try downloading through the Itch app instead of the webpage, or vice versa if you were already using the app
-You have a virus scanner that won’t let the app install
-You have settings on that don’t let third party apps install
-The internet connect isn’t strong enough
-Something is going wrong with Itch itself
And things like that.
But also, some Android builds don’t work with the Voiced Name version but do work with the Non-Voiced name version. I hope you’re able to get it to work!
Do you know what Android build the voiced one requires? maybe my build is the problem since I don’t have any problems with the one you listed.
i love this game so much! i’ve finished it a few days ago and been replaying my favorite scenes ever since. thank you for making such an amazing game вќ¤пёЏ
I loved the game a lot but i felt like i had a bit too much control over things i should not have control over but that did not spoil the fun for me too much,
perhaps give option at the beginning for those options to be chosen at random or perhaps an option for mini-game style approach which i think would be much better then simple picking things that i would not be able to pick if it was real life.
just my opinion though XD games great regardless i just figured there is some room for it to be even better but such is pretty much everything in life i suppose.
I also didn’t look through the comments before playing the game and i’m kind of thankful for that but i suppose it should have been so obvious but it makes sense now why i understood cove so well 🙂
another potential idea for future dlc could also be furry related content, i want to show up at cove’s house randomly wearing a blue dog fursuit XD but i suppose that’ll have to wait if it ever happens or i’ll just continue to imagine it in my head *shrugs*.
don’t know why, but it doesn’t want to start on win 10, but much earlier it was working properly (untill i deleted it for quite a while, but i want to experience this amazing game again)
i’ll try a couple times more, if i won’t add anything to this comment for a couple of days, this means that it’s not working
it’s working! i think it has something to do with the fact that i have a 32bit system, but it’s fine now
i loved this game it was so fun i was actually sad when it ended i love that you have the choice to be trans and stuff it made me super happ6y and i loved all the representation in the game
This game is beautiful and sweet and comforting, and I’ve already played it so many times, and I feel like that pattern is going to continue (possibly forever). There’s just so much warmth and thoughtfulness in it, and I always catch myself with a big, goofy smile on my face. The characters are all wonderful.
Plus, as a queer, demi, trans, autistic person. it’s really nice to see all those facets represented in a game, in a non-stereotypical way. (I actually cheered out loud when it was confirmed that Cove’s autistic. I’d headcanoned that based on earlier-game content, but I wasn’t sure if I was just reading too much into things or projecting, lol. Downside is, I was playing in the middle of the night and the neighbors might not have enjoyed the sudden «woo!» they heard through the wall. My bad.)
This has become one of my go-to comfort games for when I’m having a bad day after work or for any other reason. And from there, I started looking into your other games, as well, and enjoying those. I can’t wait to see what you do next. Thank you for sharing this wonderful story with us.
I just finished the story today and it was amazingly beautiful рџ i want to buy the dlc but i will wait for the wedding dlc. Just want to say thank you for making this beautiful warm story вєпёЏ
If i buy the dlc for Android. do i need to redownload back the game? For each dlc?
No it’s ok already got it. Can’t wait to play again with the dlc’s!
Hey! I tried downloading this again and it keeps telling me the file is ‘forbidden’. I don’t know what the issue is since I have an account as well as have tried it on multiple browsing apps. If anyone could tell me what the possible issue is, I’d be thankful!
That probably means your device doesn’t want it for some reason. Different builds can be accepted differently by the same device. Maybe this time your virus scanner thinks it’s too risky, or it’s too large to easily be downloaded without better connection or even more extra space, or that you should download it through the Itch app instead of a browser app. I’m sorry it’s being finicky!
I was wondering why isn’t the Mac version available on steam?
Our App is third party and not officially approved by Apple. That’s a hard thing to do for small groups. Steam requires that special notarization and Itch doesn’t. Hopefully someday we’ll be approved by Apple and therefore Steam.
Just a question: sometime earlier this year I think I remember hearing that the Baxter and Derek routes would be optional DLC, so I was just wondering if anyone has any news on that? Sorry if I remember incorrectly or I’ve missed something 🙂
We’re still working on them! But they are coming along.
I see; thanks for the response! 🙂
crying and shaking im so excited to play this ending
So. I made a comment on the game saying I’d maybe come back to talk about the game once I finished Step 4 and so I will, this game is absolutely amazing, the moments I had with this game are great, it took me many nights to finish the game because I only played it at night when my mom and sister were asleep, this game made me have many emotions and some moments made me feel extremely good, like the failed kiss in the road trip, the first kiss and the confession with cove in Step 2, the fireworks that made me feel amazed and very energetic along with the fireflies that made me feel calm and happy in Step 3, the party and dance was for me the best thing in Step 3, at that point I felt nice, blissful and just. Calm and relaxed, like nothing was wrong, everything was perfect.
There were other very memorable moments for me that I remember with fondness because of some things of mine, like the road trip in Step 2 in which Elizabeth gives you a bag of chips that you can take a fistful of or the little road trip to Kyra’s house in Step 3 in which you go to the same place as the road trip in the previous step, I have an older sister that’s 3 or 2 years older than me so there were some things I could relate with (depends on the days we have our birthdays) and I used to go to road trips with my mom, dad and sister to some places in the province we live in, one road trip every summer, for 5 summers, we’d prepare things the previous day, wake up early the next one, put the things in the car and get pillows so my sister and I could rest, the places we went to were good and I had happy moments there, times in which I didn’t have to care about many things, but the travel to the place is the memory I hold in my mind the most and remember the best.
I got kind of off topic there, sorry. What I want to say is that Our Life: Beggining & Always is a great game, even with a direct crush and love later on, the relationship didn’t feel rushed at all and had a good development! I love the last dialouges, about «Our story» and I thought «The end of the story of our life. » both refering to the game’s name and the end of the story of the life of Cove and the protagonist, a game that I didn’t think really had a certain plot, it had a timeline and events, but it was always about experiencing life, its small details and strong happiness and hardships, it’s a game about life and a good one at that, maybe that’s the plot, life itself. Our life, the beggining and the always of it.
This game is a game I HOPE and BEG to remember to play again later in life, even if it means next year, 2022, following another route or with DLCs because in this game there are so many different choices and outcomes interconnected with eachother and it’s certainly worth playing 3 times or more.
To the person who’s still reading this, thank you, you’re patient enough to read all the text I wrote, I most likely don’t know you and probaly never will and you most likely don’t know me and probably never will, but I hope this game has taught you something and I hope you enjoyed it, after all, we’re also living our own life, just like the characters in the game, every action and dialouge in your life is like in this Visual Novel, you have choices you make in every step of your life and in the end all of the moments you experience become a memory of what they once were, like the game says.
I hope you have a great life as much as I hope to have a great life myself, I wish you the best and, understand, life is very complex and many things are interconnected, so try not to make a bad use of it and learn from other people’s mistakes, if you know you can do something bad for you and/or someone else or follow someone’s advice and not do it, don’t do it.
I love all who read this VERY long comment and. Well. Not much else to say really, have a great life and have a great rest of your day, just remember that our lives have the potential to be beautiful with our decisions, let’s make the best use of it before dying.
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