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…
Download
Development log
- Our Life: Limited Time Cove Pin Set!27 days ago
- 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
- Cove Plushie Now Available (Limited Time Only)!Apr 29, 2022
- Cove Plushie Coming Soon! + GiveawayApr 22, 2022
Comments
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OKay I can't this game making me sad imma have abandonment issues after finishing it 😭
Cove is my babygirl and now I'm way too attached to him 😭😭😭 he's so soft and sweet ndbdhdhdh MY BABY MWAH
Honestly I'm so in love with this game, I always seen the game and ignored it but I decided to give it a try and honestly best decision, by far the best visual novel I've ever seen.
It's my comfort game. I like to play it every year during summer vacation since I discovered it.
Following
AHHH I LOVE THIS GAME SO MUCH IT'S SO HEARTWARMING AND CUTE!! IT'S EVERYTHING 💕💕
im so closed to being done with this game, and it's really good for just seeing this for the first time, i would give it a go im telling you im hooked😭
>:C omg Jeremy is just soo mean
oh mah god- Jeremy- Shiloh is too nice to be friends with him>:d
oh wait- ohh so that's why he had a character-
:3 ngl but he looks good without the bowl cut and glasses
XDD really- piano headed- I mean I see where it's coming from but-
XDD omg- he called me a coal headed-
btw it's soooo cute that we get the meet Baxter again! as someone new too! lol I was questioning myself when I first saw him but after playing his route it's 100% him!
I got the wedding DLC and absolutely sobbed. It was so sweet and touching. Thank you for making such an amazing game! I already can't wait to play it again. This time I will get the other DLCs too!
Legitimately ruined me, both in terms of other VNs and just in general
I am trying to buy the Baxter and other DLCs, but it says that my card number is invalid or incorrect, and I do not have PayPal.
I am in LOVE with this game!!!!! It's like the tenth time I've played it and I can't get enough!!!!!!
commenting as a shameless our life enjoyer. If anyone reading this is considering downloading this game; DO IT
this game actually has such a chokehold on me. i’ve played through the base game twice and have downloaded part 1, 2 and 3 DLC. The game is perfect as it is but i so recommend buying the extra sections! it put so much more depth into the game and honestly part 2 was adorable. I havent even finished the dlc yet but i’m already thinking about buying the other add ons!
just such a good game. the music is amazing, the character design, literally everything. I love it so so much.
Please play this game if you haven’t already, and if you have - play it again!!
Shamelessly asking when the NSFW DLC will be available to buy in pt 4 or 3 I can wait a year or longer! And don't just stop at the wedding I'm ready for adult with kids I feel like an adoption would be Great choice for the other binary options ahem.... MxM, new scenery a family trip out of country .... I'm getting ahead of myself lol.
ps: Patreon confuses me
Great game! When is Cove's mom romance dlc route coming
hi can i ask!! cause ive been curious for the past week now lmao in the wedding dlc or something? when we ask cove how his girlfriend is was his girlfriend JB from the other game? (i have limited knowledge about xoxo droplets 🥹)
中文
THE BEST GAME. im gonna cry cause i ended it ;( like the way you can customise him and yourself it soooooooo niceeeee im gonna miss the game so fuckin much.... i hoped ill see the wedding or something but i havent...... that ok tooo
This is genuinely the best game i have ever played. Thank you to everyone who had a hand in this masterpiece. I will definitely come back and play through this game just to see more of the beautiful and deep characters in it. I think when i am finally done I will miss the characters like an old childhood friend that moved away and you never saw again. The game is amazing at showing the immense depth in the lives of all of those around you. It also shows that not everything is always pleasant, but that you chose how to let it affect you.
THIS GAME IS SO GOOD I teared SO HARD several times throughout the gameplay and have been feeling this strong sense of emptiness ever since I finished it two days ago. Can't stop thinking about the stories over and over again! Thank you for making such a great piece of art that provides me with this incredibly immersive experience! COVE IS SO PRECIOUS I SINCERELY WANT MORE OF HIM omg TwT
I just recently finished the game.. and I must say... this is absolutely beautiful!! GBPatch never fails to make such amazing VNs!! It's so magnificent :D
From the bottom of my heart, I love this game <3
Hello, I just finished the game! From the bottom of my heart I want you to know that I congratulate you very much and I am proud of everything you have achieved. The game is an invaluable piece of art, its story, its characters, its art, the voices, the inclusive themes about the variety of pronouns, gender identity and sexual orientation, etc... everything generated many mixed emotions in me and I felt part of it, it made me reflect a lot on my own state and my life. I realized that it would be wonderful if the people around me and the person I establish a relationship with were like them, so liberal, understanding, honest, loving. The game reflected everything I lack but it was also a caress to the soul and made me really very happy.
I am sad because I do not have dollars to donate or pay for your games because you deserve it! Even so, thank you for letting me enjoy the base game, it brightened my sad days and I no longer feel so alone, it even gave me hope and encouragement to keep going.
Thank you very much for existing, creator! 🥹❤️
I played this a few months ago, but it´s truly a gem, the most precious thing ever! Wish I could play it again for the first time <3
Absolute gem of a comfort game, 160 hours played on steam
Guys i have problem. Some help? Plz
Hello! I'm so sorry, but this is a known issue we have with the Android version right now. We are looking into a fix, but haven't quite figured it out yet. We appreciate your patience!
hi there! Did you fix the problem? If so, please let me know.
Unfortunately, after consulting with our programmer, it seems like the only fix that might work would be to update the entire game to a newer version, which isn't something we can do right now. We are really sorry about that! Hopefully we can make the change eventually, and thank you so much for your interest in our game, anyway.
it wac already on my game list for a looong time, and omg.......WHY DIND'T I PLAYED THIS MASTERPIECE BEFOREEEE?????????????
the longest and most well developed game i've played, i got a little too attached to Cove....
i definitely going to save up to get the DLCs bc this game was pratically therapy
This game is amazing! It was one of the first visual novels I played on PC and one that I still use as a base for comparison to this day. The richness in detail in the game makes it so immersive, and the characters are so well developed they feel like real people! The writing makes the interactions feel so natural and even when a choice feels kinda like a "bad choice" the plot continues to be so sweet. It took everything in me to not be friends with Cove in order to get all the achievements on steam :(
It's just impossible not to fall in love with this game, the true definition of a cozy game <3 I've played it countless times now, switching between Cove's route and the DLC's, and it's still as magical as the first time.
THIS GAME WAS SO GOOD, I THINK I PLAYED IT ALMOST 3 TIMES BECAUSE I WANTED TO ACTUALLY TRY NEW OPTIONS WITHOUT THE SAVING AND GOING BACK
This VN has been my by far favorite VN ever. I always go back and replay it and I've even bought all the DLCs just because its that good. I've played it so many times I've lost count and its even made me want to make my own VN.
It's so well coded to be so flexible unlike any other VN I've played, and there has been MANY.
If anyone knows how to code or where I could find instructions on how to code things like the "picking a memory" section, the picking which epilogue to play, and the whole Mc creation screen kind of thing, PLEASE PLEASE point me in the direction. I would absolutely love being able to incorporate those ideas into my projects.🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
I'm so glad you found the game both enjoyable and inspiring! I'm not sure if this will help with your specific programming question, but our lead programmer has a website with useful information specifically about Ren'py, so hopefully this can help you:
https://feniksdev.com/
Thank you again for playing, and good luck with your own efforts!
Thanks so much! I'll check it out!
is there any way to transfer the dlc's I bought on steam to itchio?
Yes! The DLCs are rpa files which can be found in your Steam directory. You should be able to find them if you right click on Our Life in Steam, click on Properties > Installed Files > Browse > and then the directory should open up. In there, click on the "Game" folder, and look for the files with the .rpa ending. Move those into the "Game" folder of your itch.io version, and that should work. If you need more help, just let me know!
does it also work if I play the itcho version on Mac instead of windows since the steam version only includes the windows one.
I can't actually check with certainty, as I don't have a Mac, but I believe the DLC files should work on Mac as well as Windows.
I've got a mac (intel, not apple silicon, if it helps) and it works for me
Its soooo cute! QvQ but like Cove's dad still looks sooo young after years.
Ma and Mom look like they're in their 40's or 50's but Cove parents look like they never aged .>.
Didn't Terri want to change his name from "Terry" to "Terri" at like the begining of step 4 (or maybe end of step 3). But in the game we're still calling him Terry instead of Terri o.O?
Wow Derek changed soo much?? O.O!!
btw this is super long- like I've been playing for like 16 hours already. and I think I'm almost at the end... for one ending?
lol i don't think this should be happening here cause this route is when mc and Cove confessed their love and was already together in stage 2 .>.
annd yet.. mc is confessing their love to Cove and it's like mc and Cove has never been together~
this game is actually so freaking good?!?!? i thought it was gonna be short but it was really long + it was so full of story even without the dlc!! i enjoyed the fact that everyone was so well written, and the scripts were also amazing!! this vn is genuinely one of the best if not the best i've played so far, and it made me so happy while playing :(( gosh i love it sm
What do i need to download so that there's like voices???😭
Do you mean the voiced name pack? Here's a link directly to the page!
https://gbpatch.itch.io/our-life-voiced-name
Scroll down and you should see a download link for your operating system, as well as instructions on how to add the files. Hopefully that helps, and if you have any more questions, just ask. Hope you enjoy the game, and thank you for playing!
Amazing game, and I absolutely had a blast playing the base content. Honestly speaking, even without the DLC content, this is a very full and enjoyable game with a lot of story to go through! GBPatch always has incredible base content and their writing + long gameplay has always been my favorite, since I enjoy slowburn as well as how down to earth the storytelling here is. :-)
I bought two DLC's early this month, but I ended up not having time to play because of college work, and now I'm curious about the refund policy so I can buy this again later when I have time. (I'm a STEM major, and I severely underestimated how difficult my second semester would be, LOL.)
I wouldn't mind keeping the DLC's to play later this year when my work is over, but what's the refund policy? I couldn't find it anywhere.
Thanks in advance.
Thank you so much for your kind words! We're glad you enjoyed the game, and we totally understand that life can be a bit crazy at times. We don't actually handle refunds directly on itch.io, but you should be able to contact their support page and get a refund:
https://itch.io/support
We really appreciate you playing the game, and best of luck with your semester!
This is really the best visual novel I've ever played. I always played the yandere ones but I noticed this pearl and wanted to give it a try and WOW. It was so fun to play and I personally think it's a well-done game, graphic is amazing and the characters are well written and there're so many choises you can make!
I LOVE THIS GAME SO MUCHH might purchase the dlc for Derek route soon! <3
lovely
I LOVE THIS GAME SO MUCH!!! Made me cry by the end, this definitely came first in my leaderboard!!