Info about Chinese Parents: Official game description: In this casual yet realistic life sim with a Chinese authenticity, you step into the shoes of an average kid from the first day of life towards the end of your high school days. Study hard, have fun, make friends and face the “Gaokao”, one of the most critical examinations in your life. And perhaps this experience might also give you a special perspective to explore your relationships as a parent and as a child. A unique slice of life simulator -------------------------------- You are a child born in an ordinary Chinese family. Prior to Gaokao, one of the most critical examinations, you have 18 years to enjoy your life and make choices to be yourself. Be a Chinese kid ---------------- As a girl or a boy, different experiences from heartfully weaved stories and distinctive characters awaits you. Use “Fragments” to improve yourself ----------------------------------- Raise your stats with Fragment mini-game. Higher stats improve your character through learning new skills. Tiger Parent, or not? --------------------- Scheduling every detail, either ensure a happy and stress-free life, or force the kid to study as hard as possible? It’s all up to you. Live the life as a Chinese child with various mini-games -------------------------------------------------------- Expect a life full of challenges. Do you have what it takes to defeat your annoying and cocky neighbors in the Face Duel? Or can you maintain your cool while trying everything to grasp the Red Pocket against your relatives in a courtesy manner? Multiple friends to date with ----------------------------- You are not alone, after all you need a social life. Choose and date with 14 friends in total with various interaction in order to know them better. Who knows what post-graduation fairy tales will happen to these childhood sweethearts? Over 100 career endings ----------------------- Persuade your dream career, and choose your own life. Will you settle to be an average nobody, or only after reaching the top of everything will your ambition be properly answered? Your family journeys on, from generation to generation ------------------------------------------------------ Your child in the next game will benefit from your achievements in the previous generation. Don’t forget to check back your roots to find courage and wits for the future. Release date: 28 Sep, 2018 Categories: Life Simulation, Character Progression, Resource Management, Mini-game Collection, Dating Simulation, Generational Gameplay, Puzzle Solving, Education Simulation - Hardware Profile: No data Feature extractions: - Community Price: No data - Playtime Metrics: No data - Time-to-fun: No data - Player Archetypes: No data Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category. Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews. What players like: - Evokes nostalgia and reflection (weight 0.51): The game evokes strong emotions and nostalgia, particularly for those familiar with the Chinese education system and culture. Its realistic portrayal of life events and family dynamics resonates with players, prompting reflection on their own experiences and relationships. - Simulates Chinese-style parenting (weight 0.36): The game effectively simulates the experience of raising a child in a Chinese family, highlighting the pressures and expectations of Chinese-style parenting. Players often find themselves adopting the same parenting behaviors they initially intended to avoid, leading to self-reflection and a new understanding of their own parents. - Engaging and enjoyable initial playthroughs (weight 0.21): The initial playthroughs of the game are particularly engaging and enjoyable due to the novelty and discovery of new content. Players are motivated to explore different character routes and unlock various skills and professions. The early game experience is addictive and makes players want to continue playing. - Continuous updates and support (weight 0.09): The game receives consistent updates and support from the developers, adding new content and addressing previous criticisms. This ongoing support is a significant positive for reviewers, indicating the developers' dedication to the game and its community. - Humorous and satirical content (weight 0.06): The game contains humorous elements, internet memes, and satirical commentary on educational pressures and social issues. These elements enhance the entertainment value and create a relatable experience for players, particularly those familiar with Chinese culture. - Enjoyable raising simulation aspect (weight 0.05): Players enjoy the raising simulation aspect of the game, finding it satisfying to nurture their characters and guide them towards different outcomes. Some reviewers express a desire to raise their children to be healthy and happy, while others enjoy the freedom to experiment with different parenting styles. - Reflects social and economic realities (weight 0.03): The game reflects various social and economic realities, such as the impact of starting points on future success and the accumulation of family wealth across generations. It also touches on the importance of choosing supportive friends and the social dynamics between genders. - Repeatedly drawn to certain paths (weight 0.03): Some reviewers find themselves repeatedly drawn to certain career paths or academic goals, even after multiple playthroughs. This suggests that the game's mechanics and progression system can be highly engaging, even if they lead to similar outcomes. - Innovative mechanics and novel theme (weight 0.03): The game is praised for its innovative mechanics and novel theme, which initially pique players' curiosity. This suggests that the game offers a unique and refreshing experience compared to other titles in the genre. - Positive addition of pet system (weight 0.02): The addition of pets is a welcome feature for many players, adding new life experiences and heartwarming moments to the game. This update enhances the raising/nurturing aspect and provides more long-term gameplay options. - Significant domestic game (weight 0.02): The game is considered a noteworthy and historically significant domestic game, particularly for its contributions to the indie game scene in China. It is praised for its unique characteristics and overall quality. - Positive re-release in Chinese region (weight 0.02): The game's re-release and availability in the Chinese region on Steam is a positive event for many reviewers, addressing a previous restriction and allowing more players to access the game. Common complaints: - Overemphasis on academic achievement (weight 0.95): The game heavily emphasizes academic achievement and following a predetermined path, mirroring the pressures of real-life 'Chinese-style' parenting. This focus can lead to stress, anxiety, and a sense of meaninglessness, especially when academic success doesn't translate to a fulfilling life. Some reviewers felt pressured to prioritize grades over other aspects of life, both in the game and reflecting on their own experiences. - Repetitive gameplay loop becomes boring (weight 0.8): The core gameplay loop becomes repetitive quickly due to redundant content, monotonous actions, and a lack of meaningful choices. This is exacerbated in later playthroughs, leading to boredom and reduced replayability. Many reviewers mention that the game loses its appeal after a few playthroughs, with some finding it tedious after only one. - Poor save system and achievements (weight 0.71): The game lacks a manual save feature, and the achievement system is poorly implemented, leading to frustration and a sense of wasted effort. Some achievements are based on probability rather than skill, and the need for multiple playthroughs to unlock everything exacerbates the tedium. - Technical issues and poor quality (weight 0.64): Several reviews mention technical issues, such as frequent crashes, unresponsive controls, and region-locking. Some reviewers also express dissatisfaction with the game's visuals, music, and translation quality. These issues detract from the overall experience and contribute to a negative impression. - Limited scope and shallow interactions (weight 0.32): The game's scope is limited, primarily focusing on the period from birth to college entrance exams, omitting social experiences and career paths. This narrow focus, combined with static family and social environments, leads to a lack of depth and unrealism. Some reviewers found the storylines and character interactions to be repetitive and lacking in nuance. - High difficulty and excessive grinding (weight 0.09): The game's difficulty is high, requiring multiple playthroughs and a significant time investment to achieve success. The game relies heavily on luck and grinding, and the stat boosts in subsequent playthroughs are too small. Some reviewers feel that the game is designed for high spenders, suggesting a potential imbalance in progression. - Shallow and unbalanced romance system (weight 0.08): The romance options are limited and lack depth, with repetitive interactions and a lack of same-sex relationship options. The difficulty of pursuing relationships as a male character is unbalanced, requiring excessive effort and save-scumming. The marriage system feels like a burden, lacking substantial plotlines and meaningful impact. - Unpredictable and grindy trait system (weight 0.05): The trait system feels unpredictable and grindy, with low drop rates and unclear mechanics. Unlocking special skills and professions requires repetitive actions and save-scumming, leading to frustration. Some items are useless, and the abundance of new features makes achievement hunting even more tedious. Gameplay feedback: - Simulates Chinese family, Gaokao (weight 0.17): The game simulates raising a child in a Chinese family, focusing on education and preparing for the Gaokao (college entrance exam). Players manage the child's schedule, balancing academics, hobbies, and social interactions to influence their development and future career. - Match-3 puzzle stat acquisition (weight 0.1): A core mechanic involves 'brainstorming' or 'digging brain holes,' which are mini-games similar to match-3 puzzles or Minesweeper. Players strategically acquire attribute points and skills through these activities to improve their character's stats. - Repetitive, simple gameplay loop (weight 0.08): The core gameplay loop involves repetitive actions like stat grinding and clicking, which can become monotonous over multiple playthroughs. The game's mechanics are simple and easy to learn, but lack depth and intellectual stimulation. - Generational gameplay, stat inheritance (weight 0.05): The game is designed for multiple playthroughs across generations, with inherited stats and family heirlooms influencing subsequent characters. This generational system encourages experimentation and optimization of character builds. - Continuous learning, resource management (weight 0.03): The game involves continuous learning and skill development, requiring players to manage resources like energy and enlightenment points. Players must balance stat improvement with skill acquisition to progress effectively. - Social system, relationships (weight 0.02): The game includes a social system where players can develop relationships with other characters. These interactions can trigger special story events and influence the character's development, though their impact on the overall game may be limited. - Gaokao importance versus life skills (weight 0.02): The game highlights the importance of the Gaokao (college entrance exam) while also suggesting that skills learned outside of academics are crucial for life. The game implies that exam scores and university prestige are not necessarily indicative of future success. - Mini-games, familiar events (weight 0.01): The game incorporates familiar mini-games and events like essay contests and exams. These activities provide opportunities for character development and progression within the game's simulation of student life. - Achievements ease later generations (weight 0.01): Achievements and parameter bonuses carry over to the next generation, making subsequent playthroughs easier. This creates a snowball effect, where later generations can more easily achieve high scores and access top universities. - Early decisions impact later events (weight 0.01): The character's life and future events are significantly impacted by the parameters and decisions made during their development. Early choices have lasting consequences, shaping the character's path and opportunities. - Difficulty varies by generation (weight 0.01): The game's difficulty can vary significantly across generations, with early generations being more challenging due to limited talent options. This can make it difficult to achieve high scores in exams during the initial playthroughs. - In-game store, mini-game (weight 0.01): The in-game store allows players to purchase items like stamina recovery and skill books using money earned from part-time jobs. There is also a mini-game at the convenience store where players can win prizes. Performance notes: - Pacing feels too slow (weight 0.01): Players feel the game's pace is too slow due to character movement and loading times. They want faster character movement and reduced loading times for text and mini-games to improve the overall experience. - Need more save slots (weight 0.01): Players are requesting more save slots in the game. This suggests that the limited number of save slots is causing inconvenience or restricting their ability to experiment with different choices or strategies. Recommendations: - Desire for future improvements (weight 0.39): Many reviewers express hope for future updates, sequels, or DLC to address shortcomings and expand content. Some specifically request new gameplay mechanics, while others desire a return to previous systems. A few reviewers express disappointment with recent updates, citing negative optimization and crashes. - Mixed reviews; conditionally recommended (weight 0.37): The game receives mixed reviews, with many recommending it, especially on sale, while others cite repetitiveness and lack of depth. Some appreciate its casual, time-killing nature, while others find it tedious. The overall sentiment leans towards a conditional recommendation, depending on individual preferences and tolerance for grind. - Reflective, culturally relevant experience (weight 0.09): The game is praised for its ability to prompt reflection on family education, life choices, and the Chinese education system (Gaokao). It resonates particularly with Chinese players due to its cultural relevance and nostalgic themes. Some suggest it's a good choice for those interested in understanding Chinese family dynamics. - Requests for expanded content (weight 0.05): Reviewers suggest adding more content, interesting systems, and a creative workshop to enhance the game. Specific requests include more detailed paths, romanceable characters, high-quality CG, and a skill tree to show character growth. Some suggest consulting with female players for diverse growth options in the daughter version. - Better alternatives exist (weight 0.04): Some reviewers suggest that other similar games, particularly 'Volcano Princess' and games on the Orange Light platform, offer a better experience. They cite superior art, gameplay, or overall quality as reasons for recommending these alternatives. This suggests that the game may not stand out in a crowded genre. - Conflicting views on replayability (weight 0.02): Some reviewers recommend a single playthrough to experience the game's content, while others suggest multiple playthroughs for full completion. Some suggest using save/load strategies for min-maxing in later gameplay. There are conflicting opinions on the necessity of multiple playthroughs. - Consider personal preferences first (weight 0.01): Reviewers advise players to check if the game suits their preferences and if the quality meets their expectations before purchasing. They suggest being true to oneself while playing and refunding the game if it doesn't align with their tastes. This emphasizes the importance of individual preferences in enjoying the game. - Try mobile version first (weight 0.01): Reviewers suggest trying the mobile version first or avoiding purchasing the game at full price. This implies that the game may not be worth the full price in its current state. It also suggests that the mobile version may offer a more accessible or affordable way to experience the game. - Addictive due to illustrations (weight 0.01): The game is described as highly addictive and difficult to stop playing due to the desire to see more of the illustrations. This suggests that the game has a compelling visual element that keeps players engaged. However, this point lacks specific details about the gameplay or mechanics. - Suitable for leisure time (weight 0.01): The game is considered suitable for playing during leisure time, winter, and summer vacations. This suggests that the game is best enjoyed as a casual, relaxing experience. It also implies that the game may not be engaging enough to hold attention for extended periods. Other player notes: - Prompts personal reflection (weight 0.11): The game prompts reflection on parenting, life choices, and the pressures of the Chinese education system. Players reflect on their own experiences and values in relation to the game's themes. - Ongoing updates and content desired (weight 0.09): The developers have consistently updated the game with new content and patches, even after re-release. However, some reviewers express a desire for more updates and workshop support to address repetitiveness and extend the game's lifespan. - Availability and pricing changes (weight 0.06): The game's availability and pricing have fluctuated, including periods of regional restrictions, removal from sale, and re-release with discounts. Some players initially resorted to pirated versions due to these restrictions. - Rough but unique art style (weight 0.01): The game's art style is described as rough or having limitations, possibly due to the development team's focus on programming. However, some reviewers appreciate the unique graphics and decent sound. - Achievement bug (weight 0.01): Some reviewers have reported encountering bugs, such as unlocking achievements prematurely. This point is of low importance due to its limited scope and potential for being patched. Emotions: No emotions}