Feng-yu's screenwriting career has stagnated while Mei-shin begins to show signs of a mysterious illness (implied to be panic-attack induced asthma).

Despite a doctor's suggestion that the family seek psychiatric care for Mei-shin's illness, Feng-yu instead begins to follow the teachings of cult leader Mentor Heuh (何老師) regarding the folk deity Cigu Guanyin (慈孤觀音), which is based on the household deity Zigu,[5] who could supposedly help cure his daughter and her singing career.

Instead, as instructed by Mentor Heuh after a séance, Feng-yu performs a dark ritual by submerging his daughter in a bathtub filled with rice wine, then locking her up in the bathroom for seven days, presumably causing her death.

[8] Red Candle cites the reason for creating a horror game was a narrative decision to introduce players to Taiwanese culture.

The album also includes a title track written and performed by the Taiwanese indie band and 2017 Golden Melody Awards winner, No Party for Cao Dong, and the song "Lady of the Pier" (碼頭姑娘), which appeared during the game and in the ending.

[12] On February 25, Red Candle removed the game from Steam globally to fix technical issues, as well as to confirm that no other hidden messages remain.

[13] Taiwan's Vice Premier Chen Chi-mai spoke out in defense of the game regarding the "Easter egg", saying: "Only in countries with democracy and freedom can creation be free from restrictions."

Red Candle's Sina Weibo account remains blocked, and posts containing the hashtag #Devotion, which had hundreds of millions of views before the controversy, were hidden by Chinese censors.

However, a few hours later, GOG issued a statement on Twitter[17] that "after receiving many messages from gamers," they had decided not to move forward with the release.

[18] The statement rapidly garnered thousands of comments and retweets, the majority of which came from fans who were angered to see the store cancelling the release.

[8] David Jagneaux of IGN gave Devotion a positive review, praising it as "a fantastic psychological horror game that’s short, concise, and well-paced from start to finish."

[29] Michelle Brohier from Stuff Malaysia praised the game's references to East Asian culture in lore and horror, but commented that its epilogue didn't deliver much impact after its captivating build up.

[30] In February 2020, Devotion as well as Red Candle's other game Detention were selected for preservation at the Harvard–Yenching Library, the largest collection of East Asian works maintained at an American university.