Red Candle Games Co., Ltd. () is a Taiwanese

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

video game development studio A video game developer is a broad term for a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large ...

based in

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...

. The company is most known for developing '' Detention'' and ''

Devotion Devotion or Devotions may refer to: Religion * Faith, confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept * Anglican devotions, private prayers and practices used by Anglican Christians * Buddhist devotion, commitment to religious observance * Ca ...

''.

History

Red Candle Games was founded on September 1, 2015, by six individuals from different backgrounds to create '' Detention'', a

psychological horror Psychological horror is a subgenre of horror and psychological fiction with a particular focus on mental, emotional, and psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle its audience. The subgenre frequently overlaps with the related subgenr ...

video game set in 1960s

White Terror White Terror is the name of several episodes of mass violence in history, carried out against anarchists, communists, socialists, liberals, revolutionaries, or other opponents by conservative or nationalist groups. It is sometimes contrasted wit ...

-era Taiwan. Released in January 2017 for

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporizat ...

, ''Detention'' received positive reviews from critics, with ''

Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed '' polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two t ...

s Ashley Oh noting "it elegantly blends religious and thematic East Asian references with modern aspects of the mid-20th century". ''Detention'' was adapted into a film in 2019, and later adapted into a TV series in 2020. After ''Detention'', Red Candle Games began work on their second release, ''

'', another psychological horror video game, this time set in Taiwan in the 1980s. ''Devotion'' was released in February 2019 to initially positive reception, but when Chinese players discovered hidden

easter eggs Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tra ...

in the game which include visual references mocking

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...

general secretary

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...

, it was pulled in China. Red Candle Games issued an apology for the

incident Incident may refer to: * A property of a graph in graph theory * ''Incident'' (film), a 1948 film noir * Incident (festival), a cultural festival of The National Institute of Technology in Surathkal, Karnataka, India * Incident (Scientology), a ...

and removed the game globally from Steam.

Chen Chi-mai Chen Chi-mai (; born December 23, 1964) is a Taiwanese politician and the current Mayor of Kaoshiung since August 24, 2020. He has served as spokesperson of the Democratic Progressive Party and the chief executive officer of its Policy Research ...

, Taiwan's then Vice Premier, voiced his support for the developers. For a short period in June 2020, a physical release of ''Devotion'' was available for pre-order in Taiwan alone. In March 2021, Red Candle Games launched an e-shop on their official website which sold both of their games. In December 2021, the studio announced their next project being '' Nine Sols'', a 2D hand-drawn action-platformer inspired by '' Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice'', ''

Hollow Knight ''Hollow Knight'' is a 2017 Metroidvania video game developed and published by Indie game, independent developer Team Cherry. In the game, the player controls the Knight, a nameless Insectoids in science fiction, insectoid warrior, who explores ...

'', and '' Katana Zero'', with the former for its deflection-focused combat system. It is described by the developer as "lore rich", being set in an Asian fantasy-inspired, futuristic,

cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian Futurism, futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of low-life, lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial in ...

world that tells the story of a vengeful hero on a quest to defeat the eponymous 9 Sols, the formidable rulers of a forsaken realm where the hero must explore while discovering the mysteries of an ancient alien race and learning about the fate of mankind. The developers also described the game's setting as "Taopunk" being cyberpunk mixed with

Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...

and

Far Eastern The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

mythology. In March 2022, Red Candle Games launched a crowdfunding campaign for ''Nine Sols'' on their e-shop and pledged NT $3 million. The crowdfunding was a huge success, raised over NT $13.6 million over the initial pledge and crossed the following three stretch goals which are a story mode, an in-game cutscene, and an alternate ending.

Games developed

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website
Video game development companies Video game companies of Taiwan Video game companies established in 2015 Taiwanese companies established in 2015 Companies based in Taipei Video game publishers

History

Games developed

See also

References

External links