The Best Romance/Dating Sims Games for Beginners
Dating sims are more often than not the butt of the joke. For example, Riot Games announced a Valorant dating sim as an April Fool’s Day prank. With the way they’re joked about, it would seem like dating sims are only good for a few laughs.
But the truth is you can’t write off how important and beloved they are. Dating sims have even influenced the romance mechanics in non-romance-centric games, from Mass Effect to Fire Emblem.
If you’ve ever wanted to try dating sims, you don’t have to feel ashamed; after all, romance games can be an incredibly moving vehicle for storytelling. But jumping into dating sims can seem daunting if you don’t know where to start. The large amounts of reading involved may also give people some pause. That is why we’ve compiled a list of best romance/dating sims games for beginners. If you’re ready to begin your dating sims journey, these should be the games to start with!
Monster Prom
Monster Prom is a dating sim that challenges you to find a prom date at an all-monster high school. It works similarly to the 2013 game The Yawhg, in that each turn you choose what skills you would like to work on, and encounter different events that help further your dating experience.
Monster Prom is funny, beautifully drawn, and well-written. Each character has an undeniable charm and the wacky, dark humor works well to lighten the mood. It can be played in both singleplayer or multiplayer mode. In particular, I would recommend playing in multiplayer, as competing with your friends to get dates can be really fun.
As a content warning, it should be noted that the Monster Prom contains mature themes. But if sexual humor isn’t a problem for you, then Monster Prom should be a great choice for a good first date.
Mystic Messenger
Mystic Messenger is a unique mobile visual novel that uses real time events, which takes place throughout the day in real-time, to propel the story and relationships. You take on the role of a girl who finds a mysterious phone, and ends up entangled in a mysterious party planning organization.
The real-time aspect makes Mystic Messenger a big time commitment. The story moves forward as you participate in chat rooms that appear hourly. You don’t need to keep track of every chat room, but doing so for a couple of them is necessary to get the best endings in every route.
If you are willing to devote some time on this, this is a quintessential dating sim. It features a good array of character archetypes, such as the aloof millionaire, the overworked secretary, the mysterious hacker and more. There is also a larger overarching mystery that surrounds the romance narratives, which can only be uncovered from playing through the various story routes. To say the least, there is more to Mystic Messenger than meets the eye.
Tender: Creature Comforts
In Tender you play as someone recovering from a breakup, and using the swipe based dating app, Tender, to meet a colorful cast of intergalactic singles (and some not-singles). Tender is similar to Mystic Messenger, in that it’s a mobile game that uses real-time events. Like a real dating app, people will swipe and message you at different times in Tender, and there’s even a feature that lets you schedule dates. Tender actually lets you manage these events better than Mystic Messenger, so it’s not as much of a time investment as the latter.
Besides the sci-fi theme, the portrayal of app dating is uncomfortably accurate. Sometimes it felt like actually using Tinder. This means it doesn’t cater much to the fantasy of romance, which is unusual for a game about dating.
But the dates, whether they be bad, good, or just plain awkward, are relatable and give a much more realistic view of modern romance. Even if you don’t find love in the story, there still is something to learn from every encounter. If you’re looking for a virtual dating experience that’s more rooted in reality, then Tender may be your best bet. Currently only available on mobile, it’s planned for a PC release in the future.