Casual · November 16, 2020

Our Life: Beginnings & Always (2020)

trophy22 achievementsextension9 DLCgroup1M–10M ownerstrending_up237 peak concurrentrecommend434 recommendations
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. 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 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…

Casual releases from 2020

48 Casual titles launched in 2020 — top 6 by review volume.

Peer Casual titles

Comparable titles in the same genre and review-volume band — ranked by Steam positive percentage.

Position in Casual

MetricThis titleGenre position
Review volume12.5k Steam reviewsTop 20% in Casual
Positive rating99% positiveGenre average: 88% — this title sits in top 1%
Concurrent peak237 playersTop 22% in Casual by live player count
Engagement hours9 h averageTop 46% for session depth among Casual

Community Tag Signals

Tag weights reflect how many Steam users voted each descriptor — larger pills = stronger consensus.

  • Visual Novel · 715
  • Romance · 668
  • LGBTQ+ · 657
  • Character Customization · 655
  • Dating Sim · 579
  • Choices Matter · 496
  • Free to Play · 487
  • Choose Your Own Adventure · 400
  • Cute · 377
  • Relaxing · 362
  • Multiple Endings · 358
  • Otome · 351
  • Interactive Fiction · 334
  • Replay Value · 301
  • Singleplayer · 272

Reception Metrics

Steam community

99%Overwhelmingly Positive · 12.5k reviews

12.3k positive · 125 negative

Curator recommendations

434

Peak concurrent players

237

Engagement Profile

All-time avg

9h

short (5–15 hours)

Median

8h

Typical completion time

Achievements

22

Steam unlocks available

Release & Availability

Release dateNov 16, 2020
DeveloperGB Patch Games
Base priceFree-to-play
DLC / Add-ons9 released
PlatformsWindows, Linux
Estimated owners1M–10M
External linksOfficial site · [email protected]