A QUIRKY KIND OF LOVE

Dating simulators are evolving, and now video game developers are giving players the chance to date and romance all kinds of supernatural suitors.

BY AARON POTTER AND ILLUSTRATION BY CHLOE LEWIS

MODERN DATING IS SCARY, surprising, and oftentimes a bit bizarre. No style of game captures these sentiments better than the aptly named dating simulators, called as such because they let players form romantic relationships with fascinating digital characters (each with their own set personalities, responses, and preferences) in a similar way they would real-life suitors. These games emphasize text-heavy decision-making and dialogue options in favor of action but affecting the outcome of which potential partner you end up with can be just as engaging. What happens if human-on-human relationships are suddenly done away with in favor of wooing supernatural candidates? This new breed of dating simulator aims to prove that no species, object, or monster is off-limits.

One indie dating simulator wilder than most is Dialtown, a lo-fi genre spin that takes phone dating one step further by letting you date, well, phones with bodies. “I’d always enjoyed object head characters in fiction,” says the game’s sole creator, DirectDogman, referring to Dialtown’s visuals. “[It] allows for an abnormally diverse range of character portraits, far more than would’ve been feasible with hi-fidelity graphics. I’m no Picasso, but I’m really adequate at shambling literal garbage together into the shape of a datable person. I don’t care if he’s made of garbage. Now, kiss.”

Dialtown follows the typical dating simulator formula of presenting players with a set number of romanceable characters, having them make choices, and selecting different dialogue options to affect the final outcome of the story. In addition to each phone’s specific personality traits, however, it’s the Blackadderesque humor and the overall surrealist vibe that offers up a zanier dating experience than is traditional. “Dating, and hell, life itself, can be surreal sometimes,” posits Dogman. “Finding unique ways to convey that surrealness can be a great way to set your story apart from [those] that don’t tap into the mundane eccentricities of life.”

Another dating sim unafraid to combine life’s mundanity with an oddball take on love’s pursuit is the aptly-titled Boyfriend Dungeon

Combining the romancing with the gameplay of a conventional hack-andslasher set within tightly contained areas (dungeons), it’s a refreshing take that quite literally lets you date your weapons in between all the hack-andslashing. If you’ve ever looked at a dagger and thought, “phwoar,” then this is the game for you.

Boyfriend Dungeon caused quite a stir upon release for its portrayal of Eric, a stalker-ish character that ignores your advances in a potential rumination on how dangerous dating can be. “I wasn’t trying to be edgy or tackle any particular issue,” reveals director Tanya X. Short. “I just wanted a well-written antagonist that felt like a real person with real flaws. He also does cartoon villainy (kidnapping, mad doctoring, the usual), but part of a real antagonist is that they make you feel uncomfortable.” Regardless of how far removed from reality a dating sim is, certain players can’t help but be deeply invested. “Some people say defeating him was cathartic, which is a huge compliment.”

For as far-fetched as dating your weapons appears, Short believes there must be familiar elements players can recognize. “Initially, I had planned to make the whole thing happen in a traditional fantasy world, partially to escape the various traumas associated with modern dating,” she says. “But we actually had to move it to be more contemporary for the dating and writing to still be relatable, and it felt like normal date places (cafes, restaurants, gyms) was the best way.”

Relatability aside, a fear of the fantastical hasn’t prevented Beautiful Glitch’s Monster Prom series from growing. Initially set at a high school where Frankenstein’s monster and werewolf-style figures are all romanceable, 2018’s first game saw you try to find a date before the titular event, but the concept has since expanded—first to a camp in Monster Prom 2 and then a road trip in Monster Prom 3. By constantly changing the setting, the studio has kept this world of fantastical creatures fresh.

“I think non-mundane settings help a lot in elevating a genre that’s all about mundane interactions,” reveals creative director Julián Quijano. Monster Prom differs from other dating sims, though, in that saying the wrong thing may lead down the right path, depending on the suitor’s persona. “I have never been a fan of the main mechanic of dating sims being ‘choose the obvious answer that the character wants to hear.’ It feels uninteresting to me,” he says. “Avoiding the classic approach (as seen in most dating sims) was quite intentional.”

As formulaic as dating sims can be, leaning into the supernatural is often a clever way to break the rules, make the most of dating’s mundanity, and be a little bit cheeky. One thing is for certain: quirky genre entries aren’t going away. Not while developers and players alike are having this much fun. “Dating sims go from absolutely earnest, corny, and intense to silly, meta, horny, and/or outright kitsch,” sums up Quijano. “This is a genre that many times takes itself not seriously at all. I think it’s part of the appeal.”