We Know the Devil

95%
Game Brain Score Based on 796 reviews
  • story
  • music
  • atmosphere
We Know the Devil Game Cover
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"We Know the Devil" is a visual novel game where three teenagers are sent to a Christian camp for troubled youth. Players navigate their relationships and fears as they confront the devil. The game explores themes of identity, sexuality, and the struggle to belong.

  • Mac OS
  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Web Browser
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

95%
Audience ScoreBased on 796 reviews
story90 positive mentions
stability4 negative mentions
  • The game features a beautifully crafted narrative that explores themes of queerness, self-discovery, and the impact of religion on identity.
  • The art style, combining hand-drawn characters with real-life backgrounds, creates a unique and immersive atmosphere that enhances the storytelling.
  • The soundtrack is haunting and atmospheric, perfectly complementing the game's eerie tone and emotional depth.
  • The writing can be vague and abstract, making it difficult for some players to fully grasp the story and its themes on the first playthrough.
  • The game is quite short, with many players feeling that the price does not reflect the limited gameplay time.
  • Some players experienced technical issues, such as character sprites disappearing or audio levels being inconsistent, which detracted from the overall experience.
  • story304 mentions

    The story of "We Know the Devil" is a poignant exploration of queerness, identity, and the struggles of youth, set against the backdrop of a surreal Christian summer camp. While the writing can be cryptic and the plot somewhat vague, many players find the characters relatable and the themes deeply resonant, particularly for those who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community. The narrative's emotional depth and metaphorical richness invite multiple interpretations, making it a memorable experience despite its brevity.

    • “The plot of the game is all about queerness, discovering oneself, and how religions impact both of these things, and while I'm not queer myself, I could enjoy these points nonetheless.”
    • “This is such a beautiful story about queerness and the power of community.”
    • “The story belies a fantastic understanding of the LGBTQ experience and youth experience, and how people struggle to fit into normalcy.”
    • “The story was so vague that I only understood parts of it, and the whole thing kind of makes no sense to me.”
    • “For the whole story, I was waiting for something important to happen, and it just kind of never does.”
    • “This story was a slog to get through, despite being one of the shortest and least satisfying visual novels I’ve ever finished.”
  • music180 mentions

    The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its ability to create a haunting and atmospheric experience that complements the visuals and narrative. While some players found the soundtrack to be beautifully unsettling and fitting for the game's themes, others criticized it for being overly loud or jarring, leading to a need for volume adjustments. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as a significant element that enhances the game's emotional depth and eerie ambiance, despite some technical issues with mixing and volume consistency.

    • “The music really adds atmosphere.”
    • “The soundtrack is fantastic and is really what captured me in this game.”
    • “The music is perfectly timed down to the second and sets the atmosphere exactly.”
    • “Personally, I found the ambience and the music to be aggravating and annoying.”
    • “The loud buzzing music with radio noises and morse code all over it wasn't pleasing to the ears at all.”
    • “If you're sensitive to noise, then the soundtrack is, quite frankly, an absolute nightmare to listen to.”
  • atmosphere90 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its effective combination of realistic backgrounds, unique art styles, and a haunting soundtrack that enhances the overall experience. Reviewers note that the blend of visual elements and sound design creates a captivating, eerie ambiance that draws players into the narrative, often evoking feelings of unease and intrigue. While some critiques mention vagueness in storytelling, many agree that this ambiguity contributes positively to the game's atmospheric depth.

    • “The use of simple character sprites on top of real photos creates an atmosphere that's elevated even further by the music.”
    • “The atmosphere is amazing, and I love the premise of the game and how the flaws of the characters lead up to the endings.”
    • “The moody atmosphere is masterfully assembled through the storylines and amazing soundtrack.”
    • “The developers wanted a dark, horror-inspired, and emotional atmosphere that missed the mark entirely and landed somewhere in 'middle school creative-writing project' instead.”
    • “From the very beginning, the game creates an atmosphere where things don't feel quite right.”
    • “Sure, length might not be everything, but when you're just flying through the game it doesn't make it feel like you've been stuck in this cabin for 12 hours like it should, especially in something that seems to want to pull you into its atmosphere as much as We Know the Devil does.”
  • graphics84 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their unique art style, which combines hand-drawn character sprites with photographic backgrounds, creating a charming and immersive atmosphere. Many reviewers highlighted the aesthetic appeal, noting how the visuals complement the game's themes and enhance the overall experience, despite some criticism regarding the clarity of certain scenes. Overall, the art and music work harmoniously to evoke a distinct emotional response, making the visuals a standout feature of the game.

    • “It's a simple and charming visual novel with realistic backgrounds that blend in so well with the character's art style, which works a lot into the atmosphere when combined with the sublime soundtrack.”
    • “The artwork is great, the music and soundtrack set the mood, and the photographed backgrounds are unique and an awesome touch.”
    • “The unique art style helps further the mysterious atmosphere of the setting.”
    • “I liked the art but overall it feels like there wasn't a whole lot of thought put into the visuals of the game.”
    • “Would not recommend to anyone, this was insanely boring with minimal artwork and a relatively pointless plot that ends with no conflict or resolution, it literally just describes these kids' night in a forest and then it ends, no major plot points whatsoever.”
    • “The game's aesthetics are unique, using photos taken with disposable cameras for its backgrounds and disquieting sound effects and music that blend and blur together, making it hard to tell one from the other.”
  • emotional72 mentions

    The emotional impact of the game is profound, with many players reporting intense feelings ranging from tears to deep personal reflection. It resonates particularly with queer audiences, addressing themes of identity, struggle, and acceptance, often leaving players feeling emotionally bruised yet fulfilled. Despite its brevity, the game's heartfelt writing and character development create a lasting emotional experience that many describe as transformative.

    • “This game made me feel secret emotions I've never felt before in my life.”
    • “The true ending is so emotionally impactful and left me thinking about it for days.”
    • “This game is such a special experience; every interaction between characters feels heartfelt and meaningful, the soundtrack makes you want to crawl out of your own skin (in a good way), it's mysterious and magical and emotional, and I want to absorb it into my body forever.”
  • gameplay32 mentions

    The gameplay is centered around a unique exclusion mechanic where players must choose pairs of characters, leaving one behind, which influences the story and character dynamics. While the mechanics are simple and can become repetitive, the choices made significantly impact the narrative, offering multiple endings that encourage replayability. However, some players find the overall experience short and the writing quality inconsistent, which detracts from the potential depth of the gameplay.

    • “Gameplay is simple, as with most visual novels, and the writing is engaging.”
    • “The mechanic of having to choose a pairing, where one person is always excluded, added to the themes of isolation and alienation - in contrast to other visual novels, where no other characters are usually hurt or excluded by you going down a particular story path.”
    • “The gameplay is extremely effective for a visual novel in that it actually matters what options you choose and what options you don't choose, which is a layer that is uncommon in these kinds of games.”
    • “The game is quite expensive as well for barely an hour and a half of gameplay after completing all 4 endings... this is the kind of game that could've been so much better if it had a concise story!”
    • “Gameplay can get a bit repetitive if you're trying to get all the endings, but getting all the endings is worth it.”
    • “I am not writing this review to tell you about the gameplay, for there is none.”
  • humor15 mentions

    The humor in the game is a standout feature, blending clever writing and relatable character interactions that elicit laughter across multiple playthroughs. Players appreciate the mix of absurdity and depth, with moments that are both hilarious and unsettling, creating a unique emotional experience. The dialogue is often thought-provoking and funny, making the game accessible while maintaining an engaging and sometimes bizarre tone.

    • “The soundtrack is perfect and the writing is so good that I kept laughing at the same jokes for four playthroughs in a row.”
    • “Few games have managed to make me double over laughing and cry uncontrollably in the space of 15 minutes.”
    • “It's weird and funny and creepy and one of the best visual novels I've had the pleasure of playing.”
  • character development9 mentions

    Character development in the game is generally viewed as lacking, with many reviewers noting that the characters feel underdeveloped and their backstories insufficient to foster a strong emotional connection. While the character designs are praised for their artistic quality, the overall narrative fails to provide the depth needed for meaningful engagement, leaving the experience feeling hollow and rushed. More time dedicated to character development could have significantly enhanced the game's impact.

    • “This visual novel is definitely very artistic in nature, from the storytelling to the character designs, and the metaphors of good, evil, and the radios playing off of each other as what it means to be moral or immoral.”
    • “The character design is great though.”
    • “The simultaneous lack and rush of character development left what could have been a very promising game feeling very hollow.”
    • “More time for character development would have amplified an already intense experience.”
    • “There isn't much backstory or really much of anything to really get someone invested beyond their personalities and their actions, and the short length leaves little room for individual character development or actualization.”
  • stability4 mentions

    Overall, players report experiencing various visual glitches that can occur randomly or when fast-forwarding dialogue, which some find distracting. While these issues may detract from the experience, some users speculate that they could be intentional elements that enhance the horror atmosphere. Reloading saves has been a temporary fix for character design bugs.

    • “I experienced some visual glitches that other people are also reporting, though others say they happen when they skip dialogue, whereas mine seemed pretty random actually.”
    • “The visual glitches when you fast forward can be weird and distracting.”
    • “The character designs do buggy things occasionally, but I've fixed it by reloading a save.”
  • replayability1 mentions

    Players note that the game's design enhances replayability by allowing them to explore different outcomes based on their choices, which not only encourages multiple playthroughs but also provides a deeper understanding of the consequences of their actions.

    • “This would both a) increase the replayability of the main/core parts, and b) show the player the initial, subtle consequences of their actions, and therefore foreshadow the ending they get.”
  • grinding1 mentions

    Players appreciate that while multiple playthroughs are necessary to fully grasp the characters and endings, the game's short length makes this grinding feel manageable rather than tedious.

    • “The grinding in this game feels endless and repetitive, making it hard to stay engaged.”
    • “I found myself doing the same tasks over and over just to level up, which quickly became boring.”
    • “The amount of grinding required to progress is frustrating and detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

3hMedian play time
3hAverage play time
3-3hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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