It’s summer break for 8-year-old Jamie Last (renamable MC), a kid that lives every waterbug’s dream by living walking distance from the beach. On the way home one day, Jamie is approached by a stranger with an unusual request—be friends with his only son, Cove, for a crisp 20 bucks. Whether Jamie accepts it or not, this chance encounter leads to a lifelong friend (and maybe more) with the two spending their summers together over the course of 15 years. Told through snapshots of their childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, and full adulthood, these precious days become yours as you quickly become immersed in the lives of the residents of Sunset Bird.
Can you believe it’s already August? Summer will be over before we know it! For some people, that means going back to school and, for others, it means dealing with the creeping in of seasonal depression as the weather turns cold. But, you can live in the summertime for as long as you like by playing Our Life: Beginnings & Always, a summer-centric visual novel with endless replayability and a host of extra content to keep the days long.
If you’re new here and you haven’t witnessed me gushing over Our Life, among other games, Our Life is a feel-good, “feel-better” visual novel series being developed by GBPatch Games. The first game, Beginnings & Always, is complete and just saw the release of its final piece of public DLC content that tells the story of Sunset Bird’s most stylish resident. Free-To-Play and fully customizable, the entire game makes for the perfect escape from the real world. And, if you aren’t convinced to play yet, here are three reasons to play my favorite visual novel, Our Life: Beginnings & Always.
A Colorful Cast of Lovable Characters
When you start B&A, you meet Mr. Holden, a warm man that’s facing uneasy times on the tail of a recent divorce. After his misguided request (that you have the option of never letting him live down), you meet his son, Cove—a sad little boy with a hot pink cast and an equally eye-catching shock of bright green hair. One-by-one after this, you’re introduced to a whole host of characters that include your mothers, your sister and the boy that’s latched onto her, and more.New Steps (what GBPatch refers to the chapters as) bring new faces—new neighbors, lifelong friends made at a playground party or through co-working dads—and every single character will carve out their own little niche in your heart. The best thing of all is that none of them are particularly unlikable or upsetting. Even if some of them have moments where you want to hate or be angry with them, you can’t help but be fond of them at the end of the day like you would in any healthy relationship. There’s always ups and downs in every relationship, which makes Our Life feel so real.
Full Customization
A lot of visual novels are very inclusive these days, but Our Life B&A is the most inclusive one I’ve come across so far (besides the in-development Now & Forever, of course.) When starting the game, you get to choose your MC’s name (voiced if you download the free collection of over 600 names), appearance, personality, and identity that can be changed however you like as you grow older. This includes changing pronouns! As the game goes on, presenting you with various choices, you can shape your personality, feelings, and preferences that are remembered by every character you encounter.On top of shaping yourself, you get some customization for Cove. His general personality, interests, and minor facets of his appearance develop over the years based on choices you make throughout, but you can also make some manual changes before each Step if you choose to do so. You can decide the rate at which your relationship with Cove develops by setting a dynamic that ranges from love at first sight to a last minute confession. You can also simply remain friends. The possibilities are endless with this game, making it something that practically everyone can enjoy.
A Heartfelt Narrative With No Wrong Choices
B&A’s charm really shines through with its overarching story and the little moments that make it up. Major milestones and everyday events are explored throughout this visual novel, but it doesn’t just end with you. You can watch your sister grow up and move out, friends come to know themselves and their identities, relationships (familial, platonic, and romantic) evolve, and even reconnect with faces that pass as the summers go on.The best thing about the choice-based storytelling in this game is that no choice you make is a wrong one (unless you're playing a be-mean-to-everyone speed run 🥲). If you react negatively to something, your loved ones rarely get mad or blame you for the outcome. And, if they do, it's incredibly short-lived. There’s not a trace of bigotry or anything of that sort, either. Every single choice you make is met with understanding and swift acceptance that’s reflected from that moment on. If I was to describe any game as the textbook definition of a safe space, it’s this one and I can’t praise GBPatch enough for concocting such a masterpiece.
Bonus Reason: DLCs That Truly Add to the Experience
Our Life: Beginnings and Always will always be free, but you can support GBPatch and bolster the gameplay with new scenes by buying optional DLCs!- More Moments: While "Steps" is the name for new chapters, “Moments” refers to the mini stories told within each Step. B&A feels complete without additional moments, but GBPatch has still gone the extra mile to offer 3 DLCs that add more moments to Cove and the MC’s story.
- The Step 1 DLC adds more adventures to that first summer together and even gives you the opportunity to decide things like whether or not the MC is afraid of the dark and if they like strawberry or chocolate ice cream cups.
- The Step 2 DLC adds 5 bonus scenes to a summer in the midst of middle school. Does the MC stress about grades? How do they spend a day at the mall with friends? That’s all yours to decide as you explore more of the second summer featured in Beginnings & Always.
- The Step 3 DLC is the last of the extra moments DLCs, but it’s certainly not lacking as it looks at young adulthood for our favorite characters. These bonus moments give you the choice between a few summer jobs for your MC, while also adding conversations to the later Step where what happened in these events is referenced and reflected on. It really ups the nostalgia factor 🥰
- Cove Wedding: The original game ends with Cove and the MC as young adults, but it only scratches the surface of their adult relationship with each other. If the two lovebirds get engaged, you can get the full engagement experience with this $2.99 DLC that lets you plan Cove and MC’s wedding. From selecting the venues and deciding on traditions to picking out the clothes you’re most comfortable in, you get to customize the whole wedding with the help of a familiar face. Best of all, you get to enjoy the spoils of all your hard work by playing through your crafted wedding. The entire game is a tearjerker with how sweet it is, but this one really tugs on the ol’ heartstrings as you watch the kids you’ve witnessed grow up get married.
- Derek’s Story: I want to preface this one by saying that Derek is one of the most lovable characters in the entire Our Life-verse. He’s a sweetheart who cares about his family and friends more than anything, sometimes to his own detriment. This DLC, which is my favorite, just makes you love the giant (believe it or not) softie even more. In the Derek’s Story DLC, you get the chance to further develop MC’s relationship with Derek Suarez beyond the brief moments you get with him in the main game. By purchasing for $4.99, you will unlock 5 bonus Moments for Step 2 and a whole new storyline in Step 4, all of which let you get to know Derek and the Suarez family even better. I already adored Derek before, but playing this DLC burned a Derek-shaped hole in my heart and brain.
- Baxter’s Story: I’ll be honest, I haven’t had the opportunity to play Baxter’s DLC as it is the most recently released one; however, Baxter is another supporting character that left an impact on me. I don’t know, there’s something about the chic, seemingly too cool guy who just wants friends that really leaves an impression on you! With GBPatch’s track record, I’m certain that, by the time I’m finished playing, he’ll be a tattoo on my soul just like the other boys. This DLC is $4.99 as well and it unlocks 5 moments for Step 3 and new Step 4 storyline. Again, you get the chance to form a deeper platonic or romantic bond with Baxter who I was honestly left wanting to see more of because he shows up so late in everyone's lives. This DLC also unlocks scenes for the other Step 3 moments that get referenced later on. That's something that I love about this game—you get the chance to play over and over again because things will always feel brand new!
Final Thoughts
There we go, I’ve pleaded my case. If you don’t want to play Our Life: Beginnings & Always by now, then I’m certain you have no heart (jk jk 🤭). And if you do want to play, now is an amazing time because the game and its DLCs (except Baxter’s) are on sale during the Steam Visual Novel Fest! You can also just get them any other time there or on Itch.io and you should definitely give the other GBPatch games a chance. My personal favorite outside of the OL series is the chilling horror novel Lake of Voices.If you want to keep up the good Our Life vibes after playing, or you want a literal soundtrack to the Sea Bird residents’ lives, you can download the free Our Life soundtrack that has over 45 minutes of music. You can, and should, follow GBPatch on The Idol Formerly Known As Twitter, Tumblr, or Patreon for updates on all of their projects. If you choose to support the devs on Patreon, you can get exclusive access to bonus content for B&E and other games. Right now, there’s a Cove wedding night bonus in the works~
Writing this blog has made me miss my beach boys, so I’m going to go ahead and grab the Baxter DLC to start my fourth playthrough. (UPDATE: I have played it and I have no words!!! It was everything I wanted and more! I love Baxter so much!!) I hope you enjoy playing no matter what number you’re on 💕
Thanks for reading and ta ta for now, little bees!