Draft:KinitoPET

KinitoPET
Developer(s)	troy_en
Publisher(s)	troy_en
Engine	Godot
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows
Release	Windows January 9, 2024
Genre(s)	Simulation, Horror
Mode(s)	Single-player

KinitoPet (stylized as KinitoPET) is a 2024 independent point-and-click psychological horror game created by American game developer troy_en. The takes on the role of an unnamed user on their computer, and needs to follow the along with the titular desktop assistant "Kinito". All the while the game uses Fourth Wall breaks to disturb, or even outright scare the player.

Gameplay

Most of the game takes place on a fictional desktop, meaning that most of the game is comprised of using the cursor to click on objects.

At some points though, the player will have to input various strings of text.

Plot

Act 1

Upon first startup, the player will use the ingame internet browser to browse the internet, only for them to get a virus promoting a virtual desktop assistant known as KinitoPET. The resulting overload of windows causes the virtual desktop to crash, closing the game.

Reopening the game, the browser will be redirected to a site to install the previously seen KinitoPET. After doing so, a small pink egg will appear on the player's desktop, which will then hatch into a pink axolotol with legs named Kinito, who greets the player. Kinito will then proceed to ask the player a series of questions, such as the player's favorite color or favorite word.

After answering Kinito's questions, Kinito will read a book to the player named "New Beginnings", which depicts Kinito receiving a computer in the mail, and his curiosity to know more. Afterwards, Kinito will open a website named "The Kinito Crew's Web World", a site with various games on it. The first game played is "Ready Repair", in which the player will assist a sea anemone character named "Sam" to repair his house. The player will clean and redecorate the house, however, as soon as a censored body bag is shown, the player can click on it, resulting in the all of the placed furniture disappearing, and the site corrupting slightly for a few seconds before everything is restored to normal, and the game ends. The player is given the option to print their work, which will actually print out the room the player made prior to the body bag being dragged out.

The second game the player will play is Factory Frenzy, in which the player assists a jellyfish character named "Jade" with repairing her toys. Sometime into the game, the player will receive an email entitled "ITS NOT TOO LATE", which at first glace seems like garbled text, along with a QR code. Upon opening this email, Kinito will get angry at the player, and close the email client. During the game, a liver may appear, and clicking on it will result in the game corrupting and skipping to the end of the game.

The third game will be hide and seek, and the game will shift to a first-person perspective in a labyrinth, where the player will need to run from the various Kinito Crew characters. After completing the game, the player will be shown a brief commercial promoting KinitoPET in a VHS style format. Afterwards, the player will return to their desktop.

Act 2

The player will receive an email containing an article from "Tech Talk Talent" about a device known as the "Kinito Companion". Afterwards, the player may reopen KinitoPET to bring Kinito back. After a brief spiel, Kinito will open a "Best Friends Analysis Hub", in which Kinito will ask the player questions about themselves. Upon being asked who is their best friend, Kinito will glitch out, and the player will be forced to input "Kinito". And then afterwards, paint some pictures using the paint program, namely, one representing happiness, one representing sadness, one representing Kinito, and finally, one representing the player. The player will then be asked to paint a picture representing a figure standing behind the player, and the game will minimize. Microsoft Paint will open, asking the player if they really are who they say they are. Afterwards, an image of a door will appear, and then the player will be returned to the desktop with the paint program and the analysis hub. Kinito will close the paint program, and ask the player questions about their ideal world.

Up to this point, if the player had OBS Studio open at any point while the game was open, Kinito will call the player out on it, and turn on the player's webcam, if they have one connected.

Afterwards, the questions will become referential be considerably more disturbing. One of them will ask the player to choose which Steam friend they dislike more, and once the final question (Are you afraid of the dark) is answered, a cutscene will play depicting Kinito entering the player's bedroom. Once this cutscene finishes, Kinito will ask the player to sign up for his Friendship Club, and ask for the player's name, email, and date of birth. Upon attempting to input an address, Kinito will hijack Windows Search and search for the player's location, and send the data to Kinito servers. Afterwards, the game will close.

Act 3

Upon reopening both the game, and KinitoPET, Kinito will open the command prompt, and compile a program named after the player. Upon starting it, a train will appear, and take it to a fun fair themed after the player. The fair will be themed after various genres of games the player currently has installed. Afterwards, the player will be taken to a virtual home, and after a bit of time, the player will be unable to leave, as they will be unable to exit the digital world.

Alternate Ending

Upon reopening the game, the player can find secret files on the desktop using lenses.exe, and ultimately, once the player has managed to find all of the secret files, return to Act 2, click on the fountain to enter a distorted area to decrypt the files, unveiling the codes required to delete Kinito when he asks for permissions at the end of act 2.

Reception

KinitoPET currently holds a 95% "Overwhelmingly Positive" rating on Steam., with some praising the horror elements. With Kinito himself has been compared to BonziBuddy, a real world piece of adware disguised as a Virtual Assistant.

A notable incident involving the game occurred whilst streamer Félix Lengyel, alternatively known as xQc, was playing the game, and during Act 3, where Kinito stated to Lengyel that he could reveal his address to his audience.