An English Version of Hit Game “Chinese Parents” is Coming to Steam this Week

For those who grew up chirpily munching on a bag of Doritos while enjoying a daily TV break after getting off from school at 3 PM, here is your chance to relive your childhood in a way much more nightmarish to most — in the household of Chinese tiger parents. Recently, Shanghai-based indie game studio Coconut Island Games announced their release of an English version of hit title Chinese Parents:

Hi, we have a big announcement! The English edition of #ChineseParents will be available on 20th June! Here you go, the official release date announcement trailer!

Add Chinese Parents to your wishlist: https://t.co/5WC8vh9QNV#indiegames | #tigerparent | #China | #sim | #casual pic.twitter.com/Weq2k64OVA

— Coconut Island Games (@Coconut_Island) June 13, 2019

Since its initial release in Chinese, Chinese Parents has garnered rave reviews on the Steam charts, making it one of the best-selling games in a foreign language.

The game depicts the journey of a child coming of age in a typical Chinese household of high expectations and boiling stress levels. From first steps to asking your crush out on a romantic rendezvous, to late-night cramming before the notorious gaokao (China’s national college entrance exams), the game challenges you to navigate a series of key life events.

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For Chinese players, the game has evoked some of the anxiety they used to experience as kids, but also given some a way to vent frustrations over their constricted upbringings. It’s also attracted attention from non-Chinese players. On a Steam discussion board, many non-Chinese speaking players show interest in an English version of the game.

Chinese Parents offers players a perspective on the way children grow up in a different cultural setting. The game is about brutal parenting just as much as it is about responsibilities, dreams, and (sometimes unrequited) family love. As one commenter on Steam’s message boards notes, some of us may still “never understand Chinese parents” whatever language we’re playing in, but that doesn’t mean the release of Chinese Parents in English isn’t something to look forward to.