No One Can Ever Know

TL;DR: Spend a few bucks and play something fun like Vampire Survivors instead. The game is as fun and interesting as reading a shampoo bottle when taking a ♥♥♥♥ because you left your phone in the other room. There's no substance and can be hardly considered a game aside from the fact that it's on the Steam storefront, but let's be honest GPU tuners and Wallpaper Engine aren't games but are on Steam and are certainly better than this bowl of explosive diarrhea. Upon first booting the game it prompts the Continue option as the first option. I haven't even saved a game yet so why would you present this option? There's certainly no replay value as there's no real player fulfillment from even a single playthrough which can be completed in no time at all so why would you need Continue as an option regardless? When alt-tabbing, the "game" also does not present itself on your taskbar. I honestly was going to close the "game" sooner than I did, but simply forgot it was running because of this until Steam forced me to close the toilet bowl lid before I could play a real game. Flush this ♥♥♥♥ just like a turd. 0/10

No One Can Ever Know is a 2D retro pixel adventure/horror that's been slapped together with the godawful GameMaker Studio video game construction kit from Yoyogames. While there's some gameplay elements here, the purpose of the developer was not to make a game (this is problematic as my focus will always be on reviewing games, not art). The function here is to push social commentary about serious social issues by paying $100 to dump a GameMaker Studio construction kit effort onto Steam. I don't believe that video games are the correct, appropriate place for pushing various social agenda, no matter how signficant or important that agenda may be. For the purpose of this review, the game will be treated directly as a game and judged on its merits fulfilling that function, and this is something that "No One Can Ever Know" fails badly at doing. To describe the game, it's a simple adventure game presented with an old school retro pixel orthogonal view with a high difficulty level as you traverse normal office environments while trying to hide your biological gender. They chose to use obsolete retro pixel "art" as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics. It's unclear if this is due to lack of budget or talent, regardless, the overall visual quality of the game is extremely low as a result. Resolution and controls are locked. To make matters worse, no proper testing was done on modern PCs, and on very high resolution displays the text displays as a garbled mess. This renders the game unplayable, and also renders the social agenda the developer is pushing completely incomprehensible. Basic software testing is absolutely necessary for any video game, and it's clear this wasn't sufficiently done here. These flaws push this game far below minimum acceptable standards for PC. GameMaker Studio is a very poor quality game construction kit, and unsurprisingly results in products that have little to no value as games, especially when compared to the work of professional developers who create genuine products for gamers. Using a video game construction kit requires little to no talent or skill as a game developer. Very often, GameMaker Studio is used to make shovelware and lazy cash grabs, although in this case the game is completely free. Nothing speaks more to a developers belief in themselves and their product than making their game available for everyone without remuneration. This is certainly a gesture that shows dedication to the gaming industry. It's a shame in this case that the implementation is below the minimum standards a dedicated PC game should offer to enthusiasts. There's no "maybe" option in Steam, unfortunately. If you're looking for a decent orthogonal view adventure game that does work properly on modern gaming PCs (and is a video game and not a vehicle for pushing social gender discourse), the Legend of Grimrock series is a good example worth considering.

No One Can Ever Know is quite possibly one of the best examples one can point to when making an argument for the merits of video games as an interactive medium. This is not a "fun" game in the traditional sense and neither does that seem to be the intention. No One Can Ever Know is a difficult, sometimes frustrating experience because it wants the player to know what its like to be in the creator's shoes and by extension what it's like to suffer from gender dysphoria. This is something only games can do, because while films and text can adequately convey emotions and ideas, they can't quite put someone in the shoes of another individual in quite the same way a game can and I think for that reason, No One Can Ever Know is a huge success despite being a humble little title.

Anybody remember Nietzschie's Thus Spoke Zarathustra? Remember the preface - A book for all and none? That is this game. A game for all and none. Nobody who is trans will be enlightened by this game - we already know the terrible tolls it has taken upon us. Likewise, nobody who isn't trans will be instantly connected to the genius way in which the author weaves traditional rouge-like gameplay into a survival-horror like setting subtly underscored by an infinite psychological horror unless they know were to look. But, if you are the rare gentleman who would try to know these two things, than I can recommend no finer an experience. If you aren't, well, keep reading. Maybe. Please. It speaks for many of us. This game hurt me a lot. I cried a lot during it. I cried when I failed, I cried when I succeeded, I cried when I knew exactly what the author was getting at. I cried thinking about my own past. I cried a lot. I'm glad I played it, and I wouldn't miss it for a lifetime. I guess you should check it out too. God know's it's deserving of mainstream notice and praise. And dev, please, if you notice this, know that you have done the world a great service in sharing yourself with us. I, for one, am forever grateful. Sharing yourself is so ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ scary...<3

I will say first of all, this game isn't for everyone, it'd more so an experience rather then a game. There is a lot of reading involved, not to mention it is really short... if you know not to be a dumb dumb like me lol. This game deals with themes of death, mental illness, abuse, and transphobia etc. And if you don't like trans folks and/or the LGBT+ then please kindly [i]♥♥♥♥ off[/i] thank you. Although every trans person experience differs, this game gives a good example of what it is like living with gender dysphoria or any crippling mental illness. For those who struggle with these it may trigger you, but for those who don't, it's a good way to help one to understand what people like the main character go through each day. No One Can Ever Know shows how difficult it is to go through a single day and that it's difficult to navigate and keep track of keeping yourself calm and stable in order to survive school. Much less a day. To be honest, the layout confused the hell out of me not to mentioned stressed me out as everything looked the same and I was rushing to find all ways I could pass the time before gender dysphoria caught up to me. I like to interpret that as what it is like living in a confusing and stressful adolescence(And not me being an idiot lol). No One Can Ever Know tells the true story of a young trans girl and her life growing up. It tells the good, the bad and the ugly. Mostly the bad and the ugly, which sadly I related a little too much to. I truly wish the best for the creator, thank you for this enlightening experience and I'm proud of her for getting this far :)

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[quote]With that said, due to personal reasons I'll be removing the game from the steam store effective 6/25/24 [/quote] Game will be Removed soon. its Free, so get it, what you have to lose?

No One Can Ever Know is a true to life masterpiece where you play as a transgender individual, and the goal is to k*ll yourself as fast as you possibly can. It reminds me of the classic game "5 Minutes to K*ll Yourself" that was available on the Adult Swim website years ago. I hope this game heralds a return to those types of games.