Any other fans of dating sims/games with romance?

[.: Meri :.]

I know I'm not the only one here, so I thought it'd be nice to have a proper thread to discuss these games in! ^^ Feel free to not only discuss romance visual novels, but any game with an additional focus on romance or central dating mechanic.

When it comes to romance in games I'm mostly an otome enjoyer, but RPGs or farm sims with a well-fleshed-out romance mechanic will definitely grab my attention too. Of the former, some of my favorites are the Code: Realize series, Dairoku: Agents of Sakuratani, and Jack Jeanne (which I'm still admittedly playing as of the time of writing, but it has yet to disappoint).

I mainly choose my dating games based on whether or not I think there's a romanceable character in it who would appeal to me, so I'm fairly flexible if it meets that criteria ahaha, but I really like the low-stress ones without bad endings, so I can freely explore dialogue options without fearing ~consequences~. And I love when routes have multiple different but equally happy good endings!

So! What are some of your favorite dating sims, and what do you look for in romance games? Are there any upcoming titles you're looking forward to? c:

 

[Mokuren]

Oh did you play by chance mystic massenger? This game was top tier otome game and I am still so in love with 707. The game messed up my sleeping schedule big time!

I don't play them so often and I am not in the scene really to know what comes out next buuut I know I would be really invested into this type of games lol

 

[Croconaw]

I do like romance, but I haven't played any games like this. I'd be open to trying some out if I can find some good ones.

 

[.: Meri :.]

Oh did you play by chance mystic massenger? This game was top tier otome game and I am still so in love with 707. The game messed up my sleeping schedule big time!

I don't play them so often and I am not in the scene really to know what comes out next buuut I know I would be really invested into this type of games lol

Ahh I never tried that one because I didn't want to have to wake up in the middle of the night ;u; The only mobile otome I've played was Ikémen Sengoku for a good few years... and what do you know, I wound up getting up at 4am for limited-time event messages there instead LOL
I've since sworn myself off mobile otome because I'm too prone to FOMO and events/gachas are bad for my wallet ahaha, but I'm not opposed to console ports of them!

 

[Halloqueen]

I'm somewhere asexual-adjacent on the sexuality spectrum so I'm pretty disinterested in romance in meda. That said, I do enjoy dating sims.

As far as serious dating sims go, I got into one that was pretty popular in at least some circles of the Internet back in 2012 that I won't name since there's a little bit of mature content included. Despite the name, it seemed mature about the subject matter and I thought it was good.

I'm generally more into the humorous or otherwise different dating sims. Hatoful Boyfriend, the pigeon dating sim, was funny and quite entertaining. Doki Doki Literature Club was a neat little game. I also enjoy the Monster Prom series of games; you are technically trying to woo the monsters but it's more about their wacky eccentricities and hijinks that ensue.

I used to watch someone play dating back in the day on YouTube, but their content shifted away from them years ago so I haven't really kept up with any in a long time other than the Monster Prom series of games.

While my taste in the genre is a bit different, the actual act of playing such games is enjoyable.

 

[Khaoticnoize187]

Lot of the games i'm getting for xmas is visual novels, stuff like bad apple wars and code realize to name a few non otome lot of it is from Japan like love once mermaids tears and anime wise date a live would prolly be my fav.

 

[CylieDanny]

I love visual novels! I tend to stick to the Shounen AI ones, my favorites usually have really tense stories. I enjoy the different ends, and picking my favorite Bachelor. Ive played others too. Lamento, a fantasy Shounen AI is my favorite

I played Mystic Messanger and it was alot of fun. Zen is my boi. Im so embarrassed to admits it, but I might love this one you get on the app store with a bunch of demon boys, its really fun ^^
--
Romance wise I love Stardew Valley so much, its got way better romance then Harvest moon in my opinion. I like the events, and the gradual change of dialouge

Im currently choosing between three characters. Its soo hard. But i love dating in games. Esspecially the ones that allow same sex relationships.

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

I’ve played a couple before. It’s a good way to pass time if you want to play something but don’t want to play too long.

 

[piske]

I haven't played many, but the ones I've tried I've thoroughly enjoyed! I liked Monster Prom and Dream Daddy. I am playing BG3 right now, and I suppose that could be considered a dating sim as well!

 

[Khaoticnoize187]

I haven't played many, but the ones I've tried I've thoroughly enjoyed! I liked Monster Prom and Dream Daddy. I am playing BG3 right now, and I suppose that could be considered a dating sim as well!

I reccomend jack jeanne and also charade maniacs if you're looking for any 2 play

 

[Pate and Ketchup]

Oh did you play by chance mystic massenger? This game was top tier otome game and I am still so in love with 707. The game messed up my sleeping schedule big time!

I don't play them so often and I am not in the scene really to know what comes out next buuut I know I would be really invested into this type of games lol

Oooooh I personaly have to start this game! I love romance games. I've learned about V's relationship and I feel sad for him but it's the only thing I know about this game lol.

I'm playing Fire Emblem mainly for the romances. I must admit, Fire Emblem Awakening, I did it five or six times just to unlock other romances with characters I liked. I have to start with the one on Switch, there is romance as well!

 

[Aerith]

I *love* otome games and some of my favorite series (Persona, Rune Factory, Fire Emblem) have dating sim elements. I'm a big fan of romance in media, but I can be picky about the writing. Unfortunately there are a lot of uninspired otome plots, but if a game has entertaining dialogue or believable characters, I can forgive it. My favorite is Hatoful Boyfriend, because it was such a surprising mix of comedy and moments that hit you right in the feels! I was so invested in finding out what happened to the characters with the main plot that I stayed up the whole night to finish it, haha. Norn9 and Hakuouki are also special to me.

The last otome I finished was Even if: Tempest. I enjoyed the story and how capable the heroine was, but it did lack believable romance (and just romance in general, it's kind of hastily thrown in there. But a fandisc is coming soon!) If I had to pick a favorite genre, I prefer fantasy and darker, mature settings.

I stay away from mobile otome because they never give as much as they take, and it's so long to get through what is usually a mediocre story. I think the Ikemen games are well done for what they are, but I just hate FOMO gacha events; it's unnecessary stress on my life.

I highly recommend Rune Factory 4 if you like farming adventure games with dating elements. It's similar to Stardew Valley, but the graphics are a bit nicer and there's actual dungeons to crawl through, and the love interests can party up with you. :3 Boyfriend Dungeon is also pretty fun for a dungeon crawler with romance, but it is a bit short.

 

[.: Meri :.]

I *love* otome games and some of my favorite series (Persona, Rune Factory, Fire Emblem) have dating sim elements. I'm a big fan of romance in media, but I can be picky about the writing. Unfortunately there are a lot of uninspired otome plots, but if a game has entertaining dialogue or believable characters, I can forgive it. My favorite is Hatoful Boyfriend, because it was such a surprising mix of comedy and moments that hit you right in the feels! I was so invested in finding out what happened to the characters with the main plot that I stayed up the whole night to finish it, haha. Norn9 and Hakuouki are also special to me.

The last otome I finished was Even if: Tempest. I enjoyed the story and how capable the heroine was, but it did lack believable romance (and just romance in general, it's kind of hastily thrown in there. But a fandisc is coming soon!) If I had to pick a favorite genre, I prefer fantasy and darker, mature settings.

I stay away from mobile otome because they never give as much as they take, and it's so long to get through what is usually a mediocre story. I think the Ikemen games are well done for what they are, but I just hate FOMO gacha events; it's unnecessary stress on my life.

I highly recommend Rune Factory 4 if you like farming adventure games with dating elements. It's similar to Stardew Valley, but the graphics are a bit nicer and there's actual dungeons to crawl through, and the love interests can party up with you. :3 Boyfriend Dungeon is also pretty fun for a dungeon crawler with romance, but it is a bit short.

Ahhh I love Rune Factory games, so definitely seconding the recommendation there!! ;w; I've only played Rune Factory 4 Special and Rune Factory 5, but I plan on getting RF3 Special at some point in the future too. I love getting to go adventuring with my faves!! For anyone who may be interested in RF games, I also want to throw out there that RF5 has same-gender romance too!

Yeah the FOMO event stuff is a large part of what eventually drove me out of IkeSen. ;; I'm still very fond of the original cast and I can't overstate how much that game helped me get through some stuff IRL, but I started playing fairly early on (they were still doing the release campaign for their 5th route LOL) and got to watch the event content slowly get more and more unattainable. You could full-clear events F2P in the early days just by being consistent and strategizing a little, but later on events would heavily overlap each other and I was struggling (and spending quite a bit) just to get my favorite character's stories. ;u; I was more than happy to spend a little here and there to support the game but it got to a level that just wasn't worth it to me anymore.

 

[Mimi Cheems]

I've been addicted to dating sims/otomes like Midnight Cinderella ever since I was like? 13? 14..? Then I found IkeSen and really loved that one too ;w;

I haven't touched any in a while because of my very very bad spending habit. I already play Genshin and HSR. I don't need any other ways to spend money and make excuses.. >w>

Although.. I'll always love dating sims ;w; I really loved Seduce Me: The Otome, as well. It was a really good one but it got too confusing for my 15 year old brain at the time, so I stopped playing it. Maybe 22 year old me will be able to unlock all the achievements xD

 

[Khaoticnoize187]

I've been addicted to dating sims/otomes like Midnight Cinderella ever since I was like? 13? 14..? Then I found IkeSen and really loved that one too ;w;

I haven't touched any in a while because of my very very bad spending habit. I already play Genshin and HSR. I don't need any other ways to spend money and make excuses.. >w>

Although.. I'll always love dating sims ;w; I really loved Seduce Me: The Otome, as well. It was a really good one but it got too confusing for my 15 year old brain at the time, so I stopped playing it. Maybe 22 year old me will be able to unlock all the achievements xD

Charade maniac and Jack Jeanne if you need any recs and youre welcome lol