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dating sims are a broad genre that's only grown wider over the years. to some people, a dating sim refers to any romance themed visual novel (though this category's inclusion is in fact recent.) to others, it implies stat raising, time management, and money management. while these are very different types of games, i think both are equally valid interpretations of a genre that has a lot of room for diversity and innovation.

summarily, the qualifications for games i will review on this list are as follows:

• the game's objective, or one of its objectives, is pursuing a romantic relationship, and this objective is not treated as secondary.
• the romance actually has a pass/fail condition. you aren't guaranteed to get a date simply by playing. (a "default route" that triggers if you dont qualify for the other romances is another story, as that still involves failing to trigger those other options.)
• the story (or at least the romantic elements) must actually change based on your choices or gameplay. if its entirely linear, its not a dating sim, just a normal romance game.
• there are at least two options for dateable characters. single-target dating sims are perfectly valid, yes, but i will not be covering them here.
• the game must contain dialogue or an equivalent. a full romantic storyline is not necessary if the focus is more on the gameplay, but the dates must actually interact at some point. if a game is really insistent on going wordless, it must find another way to represent communication between characters. in short: the "dates" cant just be a picture on a screen you're unlocking. they need to be people you're interacting with.
• the choices the game gives you need to be significant; you're not just being presented with the characters and choosing one. (it is alright to have a choice like that, as long as there are other choices or mechanics determining your success or failure.)
• the game must meet a minimum playtime of 15 minutes. i may change this number if it becomes unreasonable, but essentially - if the game takes a couple minutes to finish (not counting bad endings or atypical routes that end early), i'm probably not going to review it. i will occasionally make exceptions to this rule if the game is notable in some other way, however, such as especially unique concepts or mechanics.