With Valentine's Day Single Awareness Day upon us, even the internet isn't safe from all the lovey-dovey crap that makes us solo folks feel lonely. But fortunately, we gamers have all kinds of games that we can jump into for the whole day and leave the real world to the romantics.
Want to love (or be loved) without the need to go out and spend money on a card, chocolates, and roses? Well you've come to the right place! These excellent dating sims will keep you company and give you more Valentines than you could ask for.
5. Just Deserts
Developer: Vifth Floor
Just Deserts is a sci-fi action dating sim where you play as a soldier who must protect a city from mysterious alien attack, while at the same time seeking to capture the heart of your dream girl(s)!
The game features 5 unique heroines, each with their own personalities and interests. So your Valentines won't be carbon copies of each other. And having an alternate objective (like saving the city) makes for a refreshing change of pace in this sim, so it's got more of an action feel to it.
Unlike the usual text-based affair with minimal background noise, you'll hear full English voice acting in this unique game. So your heroines will express themselves every step of the way as you do activities together and kick some alien ass in mini-battles.
The game features 7 different endings, depending on your status with each heroine. And each ending takes about 7 hours of play to unlock -- so there's a lot of replayability to be had with Just Deserts. Perfect for Valentine's!
4. No One But You
Developer: Unwonted Studios
[Note: This game is NSFW]
No One But You is a visual novel/dating sim about Hideaki, a high school student who has just returned to his hometown. He re-discovers this town he knew from childhood -- meeting new friends and reuniting with those he had long forgotten. He resumes his high school life in the big city, quickly adapting to the change in pace, and thinking of the city as his home once more.
But as Hideaki spends time with different girls, the ghosts of his past begin to haunt him, pushing him deeper into a hole of despair the more time he spends with each girl. This interesting take on the dating sim forces you to grapple with Hideaki's demons in order to maintain a normal life and help ease your friends' concerns about you.
Can you keep sane while under pressure? Only one way to find out!
3. Backstage Pass
Developer: Sakevisual
Backstage Pass is a visual novel/sim about love, life, and working in the entertainment industry. You play as makeup artist Sian Goodin as she navigates the world of showbiz. And there are lots of decisions to be made.
Work with upcoming talent, or established pros? Focus on your schoolwork, or use your industry connections to climb the ladder and land a job as a high-ranking producer? Date a famous actor, cultivate romance with a fresh-faced pop star, or strike out on your own? The choices are yours!
There's a lot to love about this game. It features 15 unique endings (so a TON of replayability), a fully voiced English cast, and opening/ending scenes that are animated by Studio DEEN. You can also switch up your character's look with over 80 items -- definitely an endless supply of customization options.
Dating sims featuring a female protagonist are becoming more prevalent in the genre, and it's nice to see this happening in an otherwise male protagonist dominated field.
With a unique and exciting setting, a few RPG elements mixed in, as well as the many differing personalities of the characters, this a great addition to the genre. And it features a female protagonist -- a nice change from the usual fare in this niche.
2. Hatoful Boyfriend
Developers: Mediatonic, Hato Moa, The Irregular Corporation
Congratulations! You’ve been accepted as the only human student at the prestigious St. PigeoNation’s Institute -- a school for talented birds! Roam the halls and find love in between classes as a sophomore student at the world’s greatest pigeon high school. Finding happiness won’t be easy, but it’s not all academic -- there’s always time for a little romance in this delightful remake of Hato Moa’s popular visual novel/avian dating sim Hatoful Boyfriend!
It might be a game about dating birds, but there really is a lot to love here.
You'll need to level up your character by doing things like attending gym and art classes, staying on top of your Wisdom stat to pass classes, and more! There's a lot of replay value here, because each scenario takes a different path through this genre-bending narrative and reaches a unique end.
There will be unexpected twists and turns, so choose your date wisely. Can you survive and find true love? Or will you be fed to the birds?
1. ACE Academy
Developer: PixelFade Studio
ACE Academy is a comedic, slice-of-life visual novel with sci-fi and romance elements. With hundreds of narrative choices available, you can experience the storyline and interact with characters in a much more personalized way.
Set in the year 2049, you attend a school for Cenorobotics in Japan. No team will accept you for your "outdated" American gear, except for one. Now it's up to you to help that team win the tournament. But you'll also have to wrestle with some love interests along the way.
This game is rife with story. Like most entries in this genre, it includes a variety of branching paths. But there's so much depth here that all the different choices can give you an near-infinite experience.
The detail in this game really is astonishing. It was developed in full 1080p graphics, and the artwork was created at a higher resolution to deliver sharper looking scenes. So it's as fun to look at as it is to play!
Have you played any of these dating sims? Will you be checking them out, or do you have other suggestions for single gamers who want some love? Comment below -- and have a Happy Valentine's Day!
Published: Feb 9, 2017 08:44 am