Sucker for Love: Date to Die For is the midpoint of a deliberate trilogy that grew out of solo dev Akabaka’s submission to Dread X Collection 2 again in 2020. The theme of the second lockdown recreation jam overseen by indie horror writer DreadXP was “Lovecrafting”, which Akabaka ran with to create a courting sim the place you romance anime-esque waifus who’re additionally eldritch goddesses impressed by deities described within the Cthulhu Mythos. The goal was to create a horror courting sim the place the romanceable monsters had been horny and terrifying in equal measure, pulling no punches when it got here to demonstrating the dreadful and infrequently disgusting issues a human must do to catch the romantic attentions of an incomprehensible cosmic being.
This irresistible idea rapidly led to a three-game deal between Akabaka and DreadXP, starting with Sucker for Love: First Date, an growth on the unique one-shot launched in 2022. The second recreation, Date to Die For, is technically a prequel to First Date fairly than a sequel; I say “technically” as a result of timeline chronology does not have an enormous quantity of significance in reality-warping cosmic horror tales, and the truth that it undoubtedly takes place earlier than its predecessor is barely revealed off-handedly close to the top.
Familiarity with the primary recreation is much from obligatory to take pleasure in this one, though taking part in them in launch order will furnish you with some helpful context about characters and mechanics from the unique which can be riffed on in Date to Die For. However, the prequel focuses on an virtually solely new solid, with cameos from returning characters stored pretty low-key — a sensible alternative, on condition that Date to Die For has the potential for wider enchantment than its predecessor, which was lauded within the area of interest circles of horror courting sim followers however by no means actually broke out past that.
Sucker for Love: Date to Die For is not essentially a greater recreation than the primary, however it’s a extra polished expertise. Much of the publicity surrounding it has performed into its ’90s anime inspirations, turning the stylistic prospers as much as 11 to make the nostalgic homage stand out higher than ever — very important in a market that is oversaturated with courting sims sporting inventory anime-esque visuals. There’s even a touch at a meta-narrative in the way in which chapter choice is framed as you sorting by way of VHS tapes of episodes 1, 2, 999, and 1000 of a long-running present (with episode 1000 clearly a much-loved bootleg copy). This ties neatly again into the narrative, too, serving to to convey the self-esteem that an epic if usually repetitive story — once more, basic ’90s anime — has taken place in-universe, regardless of the comparatively brief real-world time you may spend taking part in the sport.
It additionally exists, regardless of the shared universe and premise, in a subtly totally different style to the unique: I might describe Date to Die For as a survival horror recreation with a courting mechanic, fairly than a courting sim with survival horror parts. While the unique recreation took a flip for true survival solely in its comparatively brief last chapter, Date to Die For is persistently a survival horror expertise kind of all through, which is particularly spectacular on condition that that is nonetheless a visible novel with some mechanics taken from the less complicated finish of point-and-click journey video games.
But for all that Date to Die For strives to be one thing greater than a repeat of the unique — and maybe to distance the collection from among the baggage that comes from being pigeonholed as a “courting sim” alongside the way in which — it does not really feel like a rejection of First Date in any approach. Sucker for Love has at all times been a darkish comedy, and with the discharge of a second full-length recreation, the collection is ready to flip a few of that lampooning of courting sim tropes again by itself earlier entry as properly.
I’m most impressed with the inclusion of an asexual protagonist this time round — how usually do you see that in any recreation, not to mention a courting sim? Stardust’s asexuality is mainly handled as a superpower in a world falling to damage underneath the affect of cosmic lust, and satirically it is her skill to maintain a transparent head within the presence of supernaturally-amplified temptation that strengthens the romantic bond between her and Rhok’zan, a fertility goddess imprisoned by her human followers.
It’s a surprisingly candy love story of opposites attracting, however whereas a comedy of manners performs out as a result of frequent mismatch of their libidos, you may’t assist however agree with Stardust’s view that flirtation ought to in all probability be taking a backseat whereas they’re being pursued by murderous cultists. The better part, although, is that — for all it capabilities as a plot level — Stardust’s sexuality is handled with sensitivity and intelligence in addition to good humour. The recreation even contains an choice to put a cease to any interplay that turns into too sexually suggestive for the participant’s consolation, including to the general impression that this can be a recreation meant to be fulfilling for a-spec folks as a lot as being about one.
Speaking of accommodating all kinds of consolation ranges among the many participant base, there’s additionally a function that lets you obtain a warning earlier than bounce scares. There are fairly just a few of them, however I discovered these momentary jolts of alarm paled compared to the constant sense of dread I skilled due to the principle new mechanic launched this time round: the necessity to manually click-and-drag to open each door — and thus react appropriately to something that could be behind it. It’s a easy and efficient approach of constructing stress as you repeatedly navigate across the recreation’s confined setting of an eerily deserted household residence, and whereas maybe not wholly authentic, that is certainly the primary time I’ve seen it completed throughout the constraints of a visible novel.
I completed Date to Die For in six hours, wherein time I noticed all main outcomes to each route (in response to the helpful checkpoint tracker within the load menu). Like most DreadXP titles, this can be a recreation that does not outstay its welcome; and, additionally like most DreadXP titles, it left me wanting extra in a mostly-good approach. Most plot factors weren’t lingered on, leaving me to work out the significance of the sport’s occasions to the general collection lore in my very own time; however every thing I wanted to know was in there and nothing felt rushed — with the only exception of the 2 last endings accessed within the post-credits epilogue. Neither of those fairly happy me as a lot because the pre-credit-roll finale, and to be trustworthy I might’ve completed with out the closure they tried to inject into an ending that was appropriately open-ended.
Sucker for Love: Date to Die For does not do something fully groundbreaking, however it’s maybe the most effective examples on the market of the factor it is doing, and it could be a disgrace to see it buried within the avalanche of courting sims of admittedly variable high quality accessible on Steam. It’s a trendy and well-written visible novel that finds the steadiness between horror story and love story, whereas managing to take care of each all through. But there’s extra to admire. It’s additionally a advantageous instance of how a black comedy courting sim can concurrently be an irreverent car to admire the belongings of well-endowed anime ladies and an inclusive expertise that not solely makes gamers not usually included within the style really feel welcome, however gracefully and authentically centres an underserved perspective.
Sucker for Love: Date to Die For was reviewed on PC with a code offered by the writer. It releases immediately, April twenty third, on PC through Steam.
