Women of Xal
This game has so many layers to it… the plot twists… the stakes riding on your decisions! I am in awe. I went through so many ““bad”” endings to get to the ‘true’ good ending but having to work for that ending made it so much more satisfying. Not to mention that the ““bad”” endings still had brilliant content, and I enjoyed playing each time as there are so many different decisions to make. And so many people to woo…. heart eyes
– Real player with 31.4 hrs in game
Read More: Best Dating Sim 2D Games.
Feminist brain: This is an excellent use of the visual novel format with amazingly complex worldbuilding, distinctive characters who are easy to love (or hate, as the case may be), and while the dream-dropping doesn’t seem to be integrated into the game so far it’s an interesting concept I’d like to see. All in all, I’m very much looking forward to the finished product.
Queer brain: hehe purdy ladies
– Real player with 24.6 hrs in game
雨音スイッチ - Amane Switch -
There are a ton of repeated, nonsensical, random dialogue that is annoying and very distracting from the story line. Words are split in half between two lines, which is also distracting and you have to play over 2 hours of the game to get to a choice (I’m not sure how long because I saved and then fast forwarded to the choices to get an idea of what to expect and haven’t gone back to my save yet because the extra text makes it almost unbearable to play).
– Real player with 3.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best Dating Sim Multiple Endings Games.
Can someone explain why the game is full of lines like “In the event that you have any questions concerning where and how to use the internet, you can call us at the web site” or “this is a great way to make sure you are getting the most out of your money”? Like, come on! This is INCREDIBLY disrupting.
– Real player with 0.5 hrs in game
Sepia Tears
Sepia Tears is one of those free visual novels that really make you feel grateful to the developers and unfortunately there’s no DLC available, otherwise it had deserved for sure 1€!!
Though, I read on the game’s page that it’s a very popular visual novel on Android although it’s indie so I hope it had the visibility and the support it deserved!
It’s the only game from Scarlet String featured on Steam so I really hope that they will make new games like this one and port them on Steam :)
The artwork and the general graphics, just to start with something, are awesome and feature many different styles. It’s clear that the developer put lots of work in designing manga-like characters, detailed backgrounds and cute little cutscenes (you can see some of them in the screenshots!!) :)
– Real player with 13.0 hrs in game
Read More: Best Dating Sim Romance Games.
This VN is not the easiest one to read - it’s slow-paced, at times confusing and the writing not always hits the mark. The “people don’t talk like that” feeling some more critical reviews mention is very much real, especially in the first few chapters.
Still, later in the game the story really becomes intriguing - information you get let’s you piece things together and slowly uncover the logic behind the main intrigue. Also, as the stakes get higher, the writing starts feeling much more solid and focused. The plot itself is emotionally engaging, while art and music, even if simple, complements it rather well. The ending, although hidden behind a very nasty mechanic (go for the roof first, it’s not a spoiler, it’s a life-saver), is satisfying and to some extent caught me by surprise. My eyes got teary from it, what happens rarely enough to be a recommendation in itself if you’re looking for some feels.
– Real player with 11.0 hrs in game
最后的47小时 - The Last 47 Hours
I like this visual novel to be honest. I think the art design is nice and the story is okay. I Recommend.
– Real player with 2.2 hrs in game
The story is alright, nothing extremely special. Felt a little bit rushed. The art itself is pretty good and same goes for music production. There are other visual novels I’d recommend other than this one, but go ahead if you wanna read this one :)
– Real player with 1.9 hrs in game
Ninki Seiyuu: How to Make a Pop Voice Actress
This game exceeded my expectations by a mile, featuring some solid character writing with its development of the three main heroines. This, coupled with great supporting characters and pairings where both the MC and the girls work equally hard to succeed made for a very satisfying experience. Only minor complaint would be that one of its lovable supporting characters(Kaname) does not have a route of her own.
– Real player with 50.6 hrs in game
This is a pretty good visual novel with a lot of passion. There are too many H-scenes in my opinion, and some of the expressions don’t change as much as they could in my opinion. The ambiance is well done in this story and the side characters are cast well. The manner in which the text displays the thoughts of characters aside from the protagonist can be confusing at first.
[Light spoilers about plot theme]
I will talk about how I believe the voice actresses were well chosen for their roles.
Kurusu probably has the most generically lovely voice out of voice actresses. In a way, her voice is the polished type that the anime industry wishes to utilize for female leads. She gets a lot of jobs because of this.
– Real player with 50.2 hrs in game
Speed Dating for Ghosts
As if dating wasn’t scary enough, now there are ghosts!
Speed Dating for Ghosts is a short dating sim developed by Copychaser Games. Essentially you choose from one of three available rooms, each room has three different ghosts for you to chat to and since it’s speed dating. You have a brief conversation with all three ghosts, then there’s a break and you speak to them all again. At the end of the last conversation you can choose which ghost to ask out on a date and depending on how your conversation went you’ll get an extra date scene with them.
– Real player with 7.1 hrs in game
Speed Dating for Ghosts is perhaps a little bit different dating sim I’m used to, and I don’t mean it in a bad way. The tone is more existential and less fun, yet hopeful; it is sad but joyful, it makes you laugh but also my eyes got misty on a few occasions. You meet various characters with different pasts and with various outlooks on death, some characters to whom I related more than I would be willing to admit out loud. This game struck me, made me feel many emotions, questioning my own purpose and dealings with life (which I’m already doing quite a lot in my spare time), providing an even deeper level into my playthrough. I like stories, and going through the stories of these beings was a time well spent… on the other hand, what wasn’t a time well spent, was getting “rejected” achievement which was incredibly hard for me, because I am an ass, but not that kind of an ass, especially in video games, so this guide was a godsend. Even with that kind of a playthrough though, you uncovered further glimpses into feelings and mindsets of the ghosts you meet which helped to deepen their characters, and made me even more sympathetic to their fates.
– Real player with 4.1 hrs in game
Dear Mom: My Letter to You
_Dear Mom: My Letter to You_ is a slice-of-life/dating sim visual novel that combines an emotional story with a calendar system in which players can gain stats to initiate and develop relationships with other characters. Your choices and stats heavily influence the outcome of the game. The story emphasizes the impact of family grief, building meaningful friendships, growing as a person, and reflecting on past mistakes.
Genre: Slice-Of-Life / Dating Sim / Romance (Yuri/GxG) / Visual Novel
Rating: 16+
Release Date: TBA
Platforms: Windows / Mac / Linux (Steam & Itch.io)
Content Warning: Dear Mom: My Letter to You may contain content not appropriate for all ages, or may not be safe to view at work. This game is intended for a more mature audience (16+), as it contains sensitive topics like bullying, suicide, and blackmail.
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Female Protagonist & 4+ romanceable characters, each with their own unique personalities and side chapters
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Story-rich narrative that explores the meaning of friendship, family loss, and self-reflection
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Point-and-Click adventure where you can explore various areas of interest, each with day/night variations
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Partial Voice Acting
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Stat system that heavily influences the story’s outcome and form bonds with other characters
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Diary-style Interface to capture the feeling of recording your life’s stories
This is an emotional journey of loss, acceptance, and the bonds made along the way. The story stars high school student Ayame Kawasaki who blames herself for her mother’s suicide. Having closed off her connections with her friends for a whole year, Ayame is finally restarting her life, repeating her second year at Yamada Hoshi High School. Since her absence, students have been spreading rumors about her, claiming that she’s a selfish person hungry for attention. Ayame struggles to fit in as they start shunning her and calling her out when she does something wrong. When she thought there was no chance of making friends, a kind classmate steps in to turn her life around–
It’s up to Ayame to build and maintain her relationships, new and old, while coming to terms with the reality of her mother’s death.
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Developer/Character Artist/UI Artist: Mangoku418
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Lead Writer: Renkka
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CG Artist: RyThae
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BG Artists: kjkjmulo, KeiraWorks, Ari Angga
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Isometric Map Designer: Arctic Fox
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Smartphone Template: ds-sans
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Music Composer: Red Robotix, Ankit22
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Sounds from Zapsplat
Half Past Fate: Romantic Distancing
Got this game with a small rebate (about 4$ US) ,i loved the subject,with everything going on right now,i decide to give it a shot.I find in easy to relate to Stephen(one of the caracter),also the SNES feel is great,music is nice…remind me of sone NES and SNES music,that bring’s a lot of memories.It’s not a dating sim per say,it’s more like a story driven game.
This game definitly deserve more attention.If you love story driven games,this is a nice 4 bucks who make you forget your miserable empty life like mine…The only downside,it’s pretty short(just over 90 minutes) and there’s not much of a replay value
– Real player with 2.0 hrs in game
Played this after the first Half Past Fate game and caught me off guard how short it is compared the first one. That aside, this spin-off features the same gorgeous art style, good writing, and down to earth and relatable characters. I recommend it if you’ve finished HPF and want to explore some other aspects of the world and get to know more characters.
Also, we never learned what our resident himbo’s occupation is :( ..
– Real player with 1.6 hrs in game
Paradise Beach Girls
I played this for a couple hours with my husband’s black boyfriend. The first thing that popped at me was slow scrolling text, repetitive music, and spelling errors. There didn’t seem to be any options to change the text speed or music. Also no achievements or cards. The graphics are exactly what you see in the screenshots.
Aside from that, this game is average for this genre, 5/10 IF you get it on sale. I only give it a thumbs up because this is playable and there is worse stuff out there.
– Real player with 5.3 hrs in game
After Meeting
It’s basically a matching game. I enjoyed going through it, but knowing what kind of game it was would have been helpful. You’re just trying to find which objects are similar or themed similarly.
– Real player with 0.4 hrs in game