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chrono days sim date (F/M, F/F, free, /browser/)

• overall: C. enjoyment: B-.
• chrono days sim date is probably the poster child for "when pacthesis games started getting good". starring a girl (default name saige) who travels 100 years into the past only to discover she'll soon need to choose an era to stay in, the game certainly has it's charm points. the art, while not broadly impressive, is easily a step up from it's predecessors. the gameplay is fun and has a unique spin, and the characters (including the first F/F romance for the series) are pretty cute. however, the writing itself isn't anything standout. it's very simple and basic, and without the little bits of flair spicing the game up it'd be largely forgettable. it's still a decent game, though, and if you like light-hearted and straight-forward romance you'll likely have no complaints.
• plot: C. your best friend's scientist older brother has invented a device to time travel using power from a mysterious portal in the sky. your friend talks him into letting you test it out, taking advantage of his crush on you, and it works! unfortunately, once you arrive your device suddenly breaks. and not only that, it soon becomes apparent that the portal in the sky is disappearing. this is a decent start! unfortunately, despite the set-up, this is never really mentioned again. because, as usual, all it is is an excuse to give you 8 cute boys/girls and a deadline. its more of a gameplay gimmick than a story. still, its passable.
• characters: C. this game is when pacthesis started including female datable characters. bianca is our first ever f/f option, and she is charming as hell. i've always thought pacthesis was better at female characters, so not limiting herself to only boys helps the games a lot. aside from bianca, though, the rest of the dates are kind of lackluster. roland and cole are interesting. emmett might be okay, if his writing wasn't so extreme and jokey. landon and teddy came off as more annoying than charming to me, but it's possible i'm biased against lovestruck childhood friends. nathan was the biggest disappointment for me, replaying. i remembered him being my favorite, and i still like his concept and aesthetic. he reminds me a bit of julius monrey from hnkna. but unlike julius, nathan is just kind of... there. he's nice enough, but he seems so one-dimensional. so that sucked. this game also features an AI character, oz, and he's... cute, yes. i see what he's going for, and it's not written super well, but it's likable. overall a mixed bag for this category. the designs are quite nice, though; whether i personally like any or not, they're all well designed.
• writing: C. roland: "my sister is dead." "you can now go on dates with roland!" i joke. the deeper topics in the game are handled just fine -- though there's much fewer of them. maybe that's why the writing in this game doesn't hit the same? it's alright. its mostly very light-hearted, and tends towards sweeter more straight-forward romance. which is fine, of course. but every character being more of the same is a little disappointing. some routes come off a little awkward, and teddy and landons both seemed pretty lackluster considering theyre the main guys. i was expecting a swerve where saige's "childhood promise" with teddy would turn out to have been with landon, since they used to look alike, but this isn't fucking black bird or whatever. it was just kind of... exactly what it says on the tin. maybe im expecting too much? the point is, kind of thought it was boring. roland's route was much better. i also think it's kind of lame how the time hole closing is never given any weight. the characters mention it, near the end, but it never seems like as serious a choice for saige as it should be. and you never have a scene of you discovering that it's closing; it's just kind of brought up casually, which is inappropriate for something so serious.
• routes: roland > bianca > cole > oz > nathan > landon > emmett > teddy
• gameplay: B. first thought: unfortunately, the bug in the previous games allowing you to stack more than 50 HP has finally been fixed. sad but fair. for this one it is necessary to stick to the 5 lines of dialogue a day limit, and working is less efficient as the "better" job's HP requirement doesn't divide evenly into 50. aside from that, however, the balance is steadily improving. the time travelling gimmick is neat, and the map switching to a first person perspective you can actually move the mouse to look around in is very nice. cutscenes and more complicated characters interactions are prevalent, and it gives the game a very nice atmosphere. things you do in the past can have an impact on the future. it's very neat. i have serious complaints about the sheet music puzzle, however. how dare you make me read sheet music. i miss ferris. also, occasionally the button on the "X days until time hole closes" page doesnt work and i must time travel to escape.
• art: C. this game has some of the best art in the whole series. it's fully cel shaded, she's finally graduated from using that obnoxious gradient tool (except for some backgrounds). UI and world/BG design has stepped it up a notch, menus and interface are beautifully designed and worlds and buildings look realistic and lived in. characters bodies look mostly anatomically correct, clothes are properly weighted, and hair finally looks like hair. ...but thats only comparing it to the other games in the series. the art still has issues. faces are substantially better, but they still look fairly alien and rather amateur. characters poses are varied and expressive, but they're very stiff, and don't move when animated. backgrounds are well lit and fantastically designed, but the continued existence of the gradients makes them look flat and cartoony. this may be the best art when looking at the creator's portfolio, but in a general sense it is still adequate at best.
• sound: F. this game has a scene where the main datable character plays you a song on his guitar. so, i will be rating it on this as well. its hot garbage. i got the sense it couldve been a decent song, sure, but the recording quality is so bad i can barely tell what the singer is saying. i had to mute it straight away. the music in the rest of the game is... okay, but kind of lame.

http://pacthesisgames.com/games/sim-dates/chrono-days-sim-date.html

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