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, a fourth DLC that is $2.99USD released in 2022 |
| 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
- Font style and size customization. Hit the "A" key to open a screen that has text appearance options
- 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 optional DLCs!
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…
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Development log
- Our Life ORCA Merch Available Now! 🐬✨Jun 01, 2026
- Our Life Ocean Hoodie Available Now!Nov 21, 2025
- Our Life: Limited Time Cove Pin Set!Mar 03, 2025
- Cove Step 1 Plushie Now Available for Limited Time!Nov 24, 2023
- Our Life: Beginnings & Always - The Last Major UpdateJun 23, 2023
- Our Life: 2023 GoalsJan 01, 2023
- Our Life 1.6.1Oct 06, 2022
- Our Life Version 1.5.4May 22, 2022
Comments
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I need a Spanish version please
I remember playing this game during my last year of high school... It really hits hard. Now I'm in my senior year of university, time flies 🪽 But Cove Holden will always have a special place in my heart ilhsm 🤍🐠
I've never played a vn so life altering ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡ Thank you for making such masterpiece and making it free 🤍
Pfvr, coloque esse jogo na língua pt-br pfvr eu lhe imploro🙏🏽😭
Bro, i haven't played this game in years but i remember Shiloh not being close anymore and i was sooooo sad! he was my FAVORITE character too.... why'd yall take him away again? i guess its because he got "older" but stillll what a lost.
Either I found a spelling error, or Cove is more talented than I expected, in the dlc moment "happiness" it says "what you heard was a familiar rapping on the windowpane.", which paints a hilarious image.
Is Cove autistic? Because I feel like he might be. At least somewhere on the spectrum.
Yeah he is.This is mentioned in the chapters covering his adult life.
I didn't expect to love this game as much as I did, admittedly. I loved all of the unique characters, AND ALSO, two moms is actually my dream come true <3
More to appreciate, I love how you get to actually grow up with not only the other characters, but with yourself. Getting to make a trans mc made me want to cry with joy. I don't see a lot of good rep :]
Cove is such an amazing and complex character, and I cannot wait to get the DLC's (in the next few months at least coz I'm starting college), and see more :]
EDIT: I now have nearly every DLC (all but step 1), and OMG I LOVE THIS SO MUCH ToT I adore all of the characters and how much love was put into all of their personalities and stories. There's so much to love about every character in this game, and I find myself in them too. It's helped me realize some things about myself too, so thank you for this amazing game <3 <3 <3 Money well spent heheh
i usually dont write reviews, but this game is just perfection. I like that it doesn't only focus on cove and mc, but other characters were given their own traits and were allowed to shine. the writing/dialogue got me crying and i got soo attached (that includes the kid with the bowl cut.) I rarely see vns (especially romance ones) with a loveable li plus the setting being near the beach also makes me really happy cause I, for one, loves summer vacations. cove is the best!!
If you want to play on mobile, just download Ren'py Pocket on the App Store and watch a tutorial how to use the app if you need to! It has nothing to do with pirating, and you do need to import the games yourself- BUT THERE ARE NO BUGS. The app essentially works as a bridge, it's completely safe and does NOT steal your data.
As for importing games on it, there are quite a few tutorials on tiktok if you need it, since it's about 4 steps to do! Just converting and merging files manually.
I did it and it works perfectly, even for DLCs I paid for. Personally, I disconnect the internet while playing on the app to avoid watching ads (yes, this app is offline too!).
Just wanted to put this out for mobile users. Lots of love, this is my going strong favorite romance VN.
That's not the reason. I'm sad because I can't pay for it. There are other reasons. It's not that I can't download Android games, it's that I can't get DLC.The direct purchase of steam can only be played on the computer, but I happen not to have a computer, and the rest of the channels I happen to be unable to pay. Recently, I have been working on a payment bank card. If this is not successful, I am going to find a payment agent.
Quick translation has some problems, I mean, my card just can't pay itch, not can't afford to pay, damn quick translation.
Ohhh, I see! Sorry about the misunderstanding, and good luck with everything! If you still need any help, I can help you figure that out. (Your discord didn't accept friend requests from unknown party, LOL!)
我的手机是安卓系统，itch.io支付碰巧卡住了，国内有些卡也付不了款，Steam我没用过，只买过《我们的人生》，其他游戏要么是买的正版，要么是买的盗版，电脑上根本玩不了，评论回复不了，手机也回复不了，只能重新发评论。不好意思给大家添麻烦了，我去手机下查了一下DLC，发现要用礼品卡兑换DLC，所以会有兑换码，我一直在考虑要不要去代购那里买。总想办法买DLC兑换码。有两款游戏都很好玩！这是我第一次这么努力地想买，结果屡次失败，还犯了错误。不好意思给大家添麻烦了。再次抱歉。【附上我家猫咪的照片。】
Such a perfect game
Hello, I can't pay the bill, so I choose to buy it on steam.But I found one thing, that is, after the purchase of steam, it can only be used on the computer, and I happen not to have a computer, steamdlc can not be used at all.How do I get DLC. [Crying]
Do you mean you can only play on an Android device? The Steam version does not support Android, only the itch.io version. If this was purchased recently, it should still be possible to get a refund on Steam. If there's anything else I can help with, just let me know, and thank you so much for playing!
Thank you! I have been working on something. If I can succeed, I can almost pay. I am now adjusting the registration of Chinese cards and the possibility of being stuck by paypal.Trying hard, China is a bit restrictive. Even if this doesn't work, I can still get someone to pay for it.
It's actually so humbling that you're going to such lengths to play our game. We really appreciate our players for things like this. If there is anything we can help with, please ask. Good luck!
Download Renpy Pocket and watch some how-to-use tutorials! You can use DLC's through it too, that's how I play Our Life. If you need more help, dm me on discord (MY USER IS friedspaminrice)!!!
My name is Mika.I'm not very skilled in the world of software. The head portrait is a white cat of my family.
The user name is Mika
cave´s dad was my guilty pleasure in all of the history lmao
Bruh.
Reall, he looked young when he was supposed to be older. i would fawn over him too lmao
PLEASE CONSIDER MAKING A BAXTER WEDDING DCL IM WAVING MY MONEY FOR IT
in 8 more years (Jk idk but they are working on our life nf rn so it'll be a while probs bfr she even thinks about starting another dlc sadly :(
yeah... i know, but like, still worth the wait 🥲if its gonna happen at all i heard somewhere that they don't have any more plans for more dcls in our life ba T-T but i'd wait
This game hit me emotionally in places i didn't knew i could be hit T-T i would need a whole screen of text to explain just how much this game moved me and how it's the only vn i ever played multiple times. I'll always come back to it and cry every time, i like it sm it was the first game i ever spent money on and just saying IF GBPatch EVER would make a Baxter wedding DCL just so you know... no matter how expensive, I'M BUYING IT.
Man before playing I honestly had a hunch I wouldn't like this game but I gave it a try anyway and now I absolutely adore every single character. I love how customizable everything is.
REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
I love this game so much,Cove is just so so so cute! making me want to cuddle with him a lot ngl! thanks for this wonderful work!
Hola, buenas noches me preguntaria como puedo conseguir el juego con sus dlc para telefono si los tengo comprados en Steam.
Si me pueden decir lo agradecería mucho, gracias por su atención.
Transmite de tu PC a tu teléfono mediante Steam si te es posible. Si no, debes comprarlos de nuevo en itch, solo acá están los archivos apk.
The amount of times i replayed this game. I love it so much and I’ll always come back to it .
this is one of my FAVORITE games ever 🥹
SO WHOLESOME IM GONNA CRY PROBABLY ONE OF THE BEST VN I HAVE EVER PLAYED
Me encanto la historia es fácil querer a cove y los otros personajes. Creo que la parte que más me gustó del juego fue la cantidad de opciones que te da ya que no se queda con una sola y eso hace que el juego tenga bastantes variables incluso sin los DLC. El desarrollo de las relaciones del juego no se sienten forzadas (cosa que amo) y tengo que decir que todos los personajes son atractivos cada uno de ellos,a mi en lo personal me gustó el papá de cove y me encanta los guiños que te permite la historia tomándolo de manera sana. Mi único problema diría que es que no esté en español y la letra del juego siento que al jugarlo en teléfono las letras a veces son difícil de distinguir lo cual dificulta el poder traducir lo aún así es muy buen juego 1000/1000. ❤️❤️
Me encantaría jugar está novela visual pero no puedo por hablar español y no saber tanto inglés:((😭😭😭
deberias usar traductores no sé si en celular funciona asi pero yo juego en pc las novelas q están en otros idiomas si buscas en youtube te dará varias opciones yo uso Luna translator
Esta fue de mis primeras novelas visuales, y de verdad me enamore de la historia y de los personajes desde el principio, sin duda la mejor de todas, siempre que vuelvo a jugarlo me emociono como si fuera la primera vez, lo amo!!!
I've been on a VN kick for the past month, and out of all the ones I've played, this is the only one that has me kicking my feet, twirling my hair, and smiling unknowingly. I don't even like beaches or summer in general, but this game has me romanticizing them now. 10/10 tell your friends bc this is peak.
I really wanted to like this game. The art is beautiful. I can tell the amount of love poured into making it inclusive.
Unfortunately, the amount of unnecessary choices this game presented me with detracted from rather than added to the experience. Too many times I found myself just wanting to read and enjoy the story but I'm presented with yet another choice about my hairstyle, type of phone strap, the flavour and topping of my ice cream.
That's... kinda the point of the game tho? If you want a story without any choices at all, I can definitely reccomend Antonym Obscure. It's free on steam... I think. I don't really remember that tho.
hola, hice una fan traduccion en español, pueden verla en mi perfil!
so i have encoutered a problem whit the game audio recently after installing a new dlc and it echoes on itself and cannot be regulated (specifically the audio) ive tried closing the game and moving the dlc file but it didnt resolve the issue any help?
Sorry about that! What DLC did you install when this happened? And does all of the sound echo, or does it only occur at certain times? Hopefully we can figure out a fix.
the extra for step 1 , the echo follows the song no matter witch song is playing its constant so i often just turn the volume off
What operating system are you using? And have you already tried a fresh reinstall?
i havent tried to reinstall it so i will give that a shot but i dont quite get the operating sistem question , english is not my first language but do you mean if im using windows or linux because i am
Yeah sorry! Are you on Windows or Linux or Mac? And let us know if the reinstall works or not.
legit changed my life HOW COULD YOU END IT SO EARLY I'M DEVASTATED I'll never view love the same ever again I might genuinely need an irl Cove UUUGGGHHHHHH😭
this game literally changed me, everytime i scroll and see it on here i feel a sort of nostalgic sad/happy feeling at the same time in my soul, my stomach twirls because of how cute and beautiful it was no matter how sad it could get sometimes, it always got better. Everyone, down to that mean-spirited bowl cut kid, was so awesome in the end, and I don't know, I just can't explain how much this game changed me. was so good.
I masterfully completed the game, avoiding all the "controversial" moments. It's completely unclear why the author insists on a romantic relationship between two young children. In some places, it literally looks like a pedophile fantasy story (I wondering, how authors avoided to get a BAN on Itch platform. Such content is literally against itch.io rules). The theme, to put it mildly, is completely inappropriate for the characters' ages.
And then it's completely unclear why there's this fixation on one character (Cove), even if the player have no interest in him. I though there will be some interesting twist (they are biological brothers or something), but absolutely nothing happen. Overall, I'm surprised by how the protagonist's childhood is described. It is so dull and empty it almost put me in depression. And i thought my was boring. The rest of the story is well-written, but completely boring, lacking any intrigue or interesting twists. It's like reading an accounting book: income, expenses, debits, credits.
boooooo tomato tomato
maybe youd like the new one theyre making? plus its hard to describe different childhoods as different people might have different experiences mine for example was quite similar if not for the amount of people the same age like derek but overall games like these are rare and hard to create if you didnt like it that's ok but no need to be so angry about it
Enter the same swamp twice? Thank you, but no. I think reading the OS events log will be more entertaining than that. I already spent much more than adequate time to understand, such writing is not in my taste, And i am really don't want to find more inappropriate" content. That one was enough for me, to put that developer in personal ban.
This has GOT to be the most INSANE reach i've seen this year alone. There's nothing in the game that 'insists' in them having a romantic relationship as children, and equally, children having a childhood crush is literally normal?? I'm sure it's just not your cup of tea, but you're random assumption that "yea, this is pedophilia." is insanely damaging to a persons reputation, and It's honestly shameful.
Ikr. My first playthrough was 100% platonic and I even got to make the MC canonically aroace. There was NOTHING forcing a romance. You literally have to deliberately initiate a romance yourself by selecting "crush", and that option isn't even allowed until step 2 at the *earliest* (when both characters are 13). One of the things I liked about the game was how free I was to avoid romance completely... this review is honestly absurd xD
The game also has an achievement for the "indifference" route, which is kinda the opposite of forcing you to like Cove... who takes up a lot of focus because he's, you know, the main NPC? As shown very clearly in the description and images and even the dang title card?
Not to mention the direct contradiction in the review themselves... they felt as if the game "insisted on romance" and yet still somehow maintained a relationship ambiguous enough that they were able to speculate that MC and Cove were siblings instead. Which honestly sounds like a fun headcanon that I might try in a replay.
I can understand being uncomfortable with things like hand-holding or sharing a bed, because a lot of people view those as inherently romantic (skill issue ngl) but even so... you as the player literally have to initiate all of those things yourself. The game gives plenty of alternative options, like high fives or hair ruffles or simply not engaging at all... so if at any point some particular action feels uncomfortable the player can just, well, opt out. You are in control of how the relationship ends up, so if it turns out creepy, that's just telling on yourself...
Really REALLY wholesome, I love everything about this game.
You can't just come into my life, completely change how i view myself and my relationships, then make me feel bad for starting another playthrough
i love this game so much. thank u so much for sharing this masterpiec
I was really looking forward to this game, but every time I open it and play it for like a minute (on Android), it kicks me out of the game, and I have to restart.
Sorry to hear that! One thing you might try first is turning off animations. This can be found in the game's "Config" menu at the title screen. If that doesn't help, then do you receive any error messages when this happens? Is it at a specific point?
I turned off animations, but it still crashes, sadly. Usually it does after I'm almost done with the tutorial or at the part where you design your character. The screen just turns white, then the game crashes.
OK, thank you for that. We'll pass that along to our lead programmer and see if we can't figure something out.
Edit: OK they got back to me very quickly with a couple of suggestions. Firstly, they wanted to know what kind of device and Android version you're using. They also suggested trying to free up some storage space to see if that helps.
I wish you could make a Spanish version; Spanish-speaking fans would definitely appreciate it. This game is very good, but some people don't fully understand English
Hello! We're so grateful for all our players. Unfortunately, we are unable to do any kind of translations/localizations for the game, as it is too long and complicated. But we hope everyone can enjoy the game as much as possible. Have a wonderful day.
this was the first VN i ever played and i feel like it's the equivalent of trying to get into drugs but starting with fentanyl. i seriously don't think it can get any better than this.