By Catherine Bell (Contributor) – Email
We Know The Devil is a psychological horror visual novel-style game for browsers, available for $6.66 USD from datenighto.com. The game was written by Aevee Bee, with art by Mia Schwartz and music by Alec Lambert. We Know The Devil is about three teens at a summer camp for troubled children who are forced to spend 12 hours together in a cabin on the outskirts of camp, waiting for the devil to arrive. Unfortunately for them, in this case, the devil is very, very real. We Know The Devil is entirely narrative-driven, and the only choice that the player makes is to pick which of the three protagonists get to work together and which one gets left out at each junction. At the end of the night, those trapped in the cabin will have to face the devil together.
The game is about two hours long if you’re fast, and up to four if you take your time. However, if you want to understand the game as much as you can, you’re going to have to replay each route at least once. Something someone says in one route can help you realize the truth behind what someone else said earlier, and re-reading something can give you an epiphany about what a character really means.
The three main characters have a wide spectrum of personalities. Venus is shy and aims to please, Jupiter is the “good kid” who wants to keep her friends out of trouble, and Neptune is strong and lashes out at others. Depending on which character resonates with you the most, you can think of one as your protagonist; however, all three characters are equally represented in the narrative. The game’s plot doesn’t explicitly state what exactly each character is struggling with besides the description of “queer” on the store page, but over the course of the game’s three routes and final “true ending,” the player can piece together the stories of the main cast.
Before I played We Know The Devil, I had actively sought out spoilers. Even when people related so deeply to the game that they had written an essay. Reading them didn’t help me figure out what it was about.
You must try to have empathy with the characters to understand how and why they act the way they do. If you don’t, the game will probably fall flat for you, as you won’t understand how the narrative progresses. This doesn’t mean you have to have the same feelings as the protagonists, but that you might learn how other people might feel through this game.
We Know The Devil is ultimately about coming to terms with the parts of your identity that are demonized by others, and learning to help each other cope and become our true selves in the face of hatred. It’s a game about how adults impose their beliefs on children, and how children repeat what they’re told without believing in it themselves. It’s a game you have to play if you want to learn more about yourself.
