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games with unique or non-traditional mechanics

mission: it's complicated (M/M, F/F, F/M, NB/F, NB/M, free)

• overall: A. enjoyment: S. mission: it's complicated is a superhero themed matchmaker sim. you send your chosen heroes on missions together to help them grow closer and explore their romances in VN segments (formatted to appear like a chatlog) -- all so you can save the world with the power of love! i don't cover many matchmaker sims, though i do love them. if you're only interested in games where you yourself are at the center of every romance, you probably won't. but its a fun game with high replay value, cute romances, good writing, and charming characters. definitely worth a play. Full Review

fire emblem: three houses (M/F, M/M, F/M, F/F)

• overall: B. enjoyment: C+. is fire emblem a dating sim? three houses seems to be making the case that it should be. some significant gameplay changes putting supports heavily into the focus, story highlighting romance (your dad literally leaves you a wedding ring when he dies), and all the lords openly flirting with you pushes this one heavily into "man, i guess this counts, huh!" now, i will not be reviewing this as a fire emblem game, but as a dating sim. the art, voice acting, and gameplay are impeccable, though there are some gameplay features that don't mix as well. the romantic storylines are... hit or miss. some have very nice romantic buildup with byleth, and some definitely do not. the length of the game can be frustrating, since you must endure the common route again for each story you play. as a game, i had fun. but it doesn't make a very stand-out dating sim. Full Review

blush blush (*/M, 18+, free*)

• overall: C++. enjoyment: D. the sequel to crush crush, the first ever idle dating sim (probably). blush blush is... identical to it in every way, except that the characters are male and spend half the game as animals. furries, this one is (not actually) for you. the game format works, but it really could have used some improvement. the couple tweaks it got were steps back, not forward. but the art is much better, and the writing is more consistent. also, it has a basic plot. which is always fun. would i recommend it? definitely not. half the boys are ripoffs and the last character is so fucking infuriating to play that you're pretty much forced to cheat. but, you know, it is what it is. Full Review

crush crush (*/F, 18+, free*, browser*)

• overall: C. enjoyment: D-. i have almost a thousand hours in crush crush on steam. it is not by choice. i fucking hate this game. anyway. crush crush is an idle dating sim, likely the first of its kind. given that, there is a lot more focus on art and gameplay and zero focus on writing, which shows. this is forgiveable. unfortunately, the game is pretty poorly balanced and the art is only sometimes good. the game is fully voiced, obnoxiously. the characters are 75% jokes. the games high points arent bad, but they aren't impressive either, which they need to be when they're all it has going for it. also, it's obnoxious to play without cheating, which is always a flaw. Full Review

snake academy (*/?, free)

• overall: C. enjoyment: B-. snake academy is a very short dating sim themed around the classic game "snake". you play as a little green snake, and to impress the other snakes you need to grow a longer tail. the whole game can be completed in a matter of minutes, depending on how good you are at playing snake. i hesitated about including it because of the length, but i do think its cute, and worth playing. Full Review