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In Sunset Bird, childhood is made up of spontaneous trips, surfing, and close-knit friend groups. To many, it is an everyday lifestyle, but for others — a wish that never came true.
The visual novel “Our Life: Beginning & Always” (2020; GB Patch Games) delves into the protagonist’s warm life, which players shape through their choices and customization. The passage of time involves three steps, with an additional step implemented in a paid DLC.
In a story of family, connection, and coming of age, players get to live through the protagonist’s life in the form of a second chance to relive their childhood — ultimately connecting with their inner child and healing inwardly. It’s an experience exclusive to the art of visual novels and those who engage with them.
“Visual Novels Beyond The Screen” — Understanding Their RiseIin Modern Reading Culture
For too many, reading is not an enjoyment but a roadblock.
According to a reading statistic from NPR in 2025, fifty-one percent of people read a book in the past month. As for roughly eighty percent, they watched a streaming service instead. With the decline of physical books on the rise, visual novels have increased in popularity, defined by their shorter prose and a prominence and focus on illustrations to move the stories forward.
Well-known, older visual novels, however, were preferred by players based on their narrative depth, with honorable mentions for “Clannad” and “Steins; Gate.” At the same time, some genres were more sought after than others. The otome genre saw an 8.8% growth in popularity overall in the U.S. compared to other visual novel genres. The genre’s traits are centered around its emphasis on a feminine demographic.
One of the main reasons for the genre’s success was the emotional connection formed between the work and its audience, along with a focus on simulation-based interactions between the protagonists and other characters, such as pursuing love interests and cultivating friendships. Secondly, the story and what it offered to players, like fulfilling unrealized dreams or living in a desired fictional setting. It was a quality that most creators, developers, and companies practiced to perfect.
Prevalent in Japan, and as an extension of the 2D subculture, visual novels were seen as a more effective method for storytelling and a means of achieving success and renown for video game companies. With companies such as Key and Square Enix, blending simulation with role-playing elements, they stood out by connecting with their audience through personalization and emotionally charged scenes and storytelling — present in their respective interactive fiction, such as “Final Fantasy” and “Angel Beats! 1st Beat.”
GB Patch Games, the developer of “Our Life: Beginning & Always,” drew inspiration from early 2000s otome games like “Re: Alistair” and “Cinders” and a passion for detailed, inclusive player customization to create a title that now holds the hearts of longtime visual novel fans.
“GB Patch Games & The Art Of Comfort” — Exploring How Indie Storytelling Creates Emotional Safe Spaces
As an indie game development company, GB Patch Games was founded in 2014. The first game was released three years later, “A Foretold Affair,” a game where the protagonist searches for their destined spouse. The visual novel offered limited customization options, ranging from an alternate outfit DLC to the choice of pronouns and partial voice acting. Soon after the same year, their second game, “XOXO Droplets,” was released, introducing similar game mechanics with vastly improved customizable in-game options.
Evidently, the company branched out from its horror-romance, gothic, and comedy genres to focus on a holistic route that focused on all-embracing emotional comfort for players. GB Patch Games improved dialogue, customization, in-game options, and illustrations to fit a variety of people, beliefs, cultures, clear-cut personalities, and identities.
As the indie company pushed boundaries with “Our Life: Beginning & Always,” it further established its newfound brand and vision following its mainstream success. “Our Life: Now & Forever,” set to release in 2026, follows a blueprint centered on the personal connection between the story and players, as they are identified through their personalized choices and identity.
Cove Holden was the beginning and end of the visual novel, leaving players with a sense of change and healing through its intricate and mesmerizing storyline.
“Cove Holden & The Language Of Innocence” –Exploring Childhood Bonds & Gentle Storytelling
The visual novel starts with the protagonist living their day-to-day as an eight-year-old. Their normal is broken by a new family moving in next door. The primary love interest’s father, Cliff Holden, offers the protagonist twenty dollars to befriend his son, Cove Holden, of the same age. The player is given the choice to refuse or accept.
Regardless, the secret is held over the protagonist’s head until the end of the story. At multiple points, they are given the chance to come clean, which in result affects Cove’s reaction depending on his age and maturity at which the secret is revealed.
“Our Life” — Customization
Before the story starts, however, the players get to customize their protagonist. From hairstyle and skin color to pronouns and facial features, players get to immerse themselves in a story that is exclusive to them.
The story progression consists of going through a series of steps — step one, two, and three, in addition to a paid DLC featuring step four, which is wedding-based. At those four points, the player is given a chance to change their appearance, clothing preferences, and even skin scarring.
These options also change as the player progresses through the steps and ages. With limited options, players are also allowed to customize Cove and his personality and initiative towards the protagonist, gradually expanding as he opens up to the protagonist.
Players can witness the protagonist and Cove grow and change alongside each other, experiencing the challenges of growing up and the maturation that comes with evolving likes, as well as learning how to manage teenage acne. These shifts are not all at once, which makes the story believable and wholesome in the way characters tackle real-life problems without seeming cliché or underwhelming — never turning malicious through open communication with their respective parents and adult figures.
“Our Life” — Dialogue
Personalization also extends beyond game mechanics, manifesting in the dialogue that comprises the central part of the visual novel.
After the protagonist accepts or refuses Cliff Holden’s twenty dollars, they come face-to-face with Cove Holden at the poppy hill behind their house. Through the protagonist’s personal innocence, they attempt to deduce why Cove is sad—at some point, comparing him to a deer, but then backtracking once they take one of his prominent physical features into account.
The comment allows players to immerse themselves in the protagonist’s lack of awareness, which plays into the step through a child’s eyes. The visual novel will enable players to click on choices that may be suitable for children but not socially acceptable for adults (e.g., an argument over a game decision), which makes the connection with the characters smoother and more plausible, while connecting with one’s inner child.
What sets the story apart is the connections the player builds along the way that strengthen their relationship with Cove. The in-game mechanics enable the story to remain unchanged, regardless of the player’s choices, as it only shapes it to reflect the tone and nature of the player’s personality.
Moreover, the player’s identity also plays a role in how Cove perceives them, but it is never negative. It can be said that the player’s uniqueness is celebrated in the story, promoting inclusivity through subtle details such as body shape, religious beliefs, and gender identity.
The protagonist’s default identity resides in coming from an unconventional family. Coming from an LGBTQ+ background, the protagonist shapes their life in the way they want, as players are allowed to break free from traditional societal expectations, as same-gender relationships, parental separation, and remarriage are not viewed differently or frowned upon. These changes allows players to escape momentarily and have a second chance to relive their childhood at Sunset Bird worry-free.
Toward the end of the visual novel, players can choose to maintain a platonic friendship or pursue a romantic relationship with Cove Holden. Additionally, players have the option to purchase DLCs to develop individual relationships, either platonic or romantic, with either Baxter Ward, the visitor in Sunset Bird during step three, or Derek Suarez, another childhood best friend in step two.
“Growing Up Growing Back” — How “Our Life” Helps Players Reconnect With Their Inner Child
Cove Holden and his story teach players to appreciate every moment and look back fondly on childhood memories. Additionally, it provides players with a second chance to reflect on and change the moments they’re not fond of by connecting with their inner child through the warmth provided by “Our Life: Beginning & Always.”
With the rise of visual novels and the decline in novel reading, “Our Life: Beginning & Always” was able to break out into the market and provide users with interactive, inclusive fiction that appealed to their hopes and dreams. A step further, many start-up and well-established companies are aiming to improve their mastery of personal connection through compelling and believable characters.
GB Patch continually strives to improve its work. They plan to release another visual novel in 2026, featuring a diverse range of backgrounds, personalities, and identities, with a similar framework to”Our Life: Beginning & Always,” named “Our Life: Now & Forever.”