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Games where you can choose your gender

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

huniepop 2: double date (*/F, F/F, 18+)

• overall: A. enjoyment: B. huniepop is a dating sim/puzzle game combo. you woo girls by playing candy crush. in this sequel, you're trying to get them to have threesomes with you, often by getting them to crush on other cute girls they know. and you have no idea how much it infuriates me that this game is so good. compared to the first game, the art, writing, and characters have all massively improved. it's a well crafted and fun game. it's... still a self-aware raunchy comedy game, so if that's not your thing definitely don't try it out. it's also got a real problem with racism and creepy shit, including a sexual assault scene and incest for some reason? i can't in good faith recommend playing this game. if you do, do yourself a favor and skip through as much of the dialogue as you can. skip the first lola/aiba scene, at least. Full Review

witches x warlocks (F/M, F/F, F/NB, M/M, M/F, M/NB, NB/F, NB/M, NB/NB, free*)

• overall: A--. enjoyment: A. witches x warlocks is a free dating sim (it markets itself as a raising sim, but it isn't really) starring a witch studying for their high school exams with the help of a cast of supernatural creatures. the art and characters are very cute, and the writing is surprisingly charming for such a short game. it is fairly limited, however, and the gameplay is so easy you'd have to be trying to fail. it's still worth a play! while three character routes are free, the fourth (a wolf boy) is dlc exclusive. i'd suggest playing through the free game before deciding if he's worth the $5.99 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

huniepop (*/F, 18+)

• overall: B. enjoyment: B. huniepop was a dating sim/puzzle game combo from 2015, noteworthy for both its self aware raunchy humor and high key problematic content, and for being the first of its kind in terms of game structure. the dates take the form of games of match-three, which at the time was an innovative design choice that has launched a good number of copycat games. aside from its standout areas, there isn't much to the game. the characters are hit or miss, the art is competent but not impressive, and the dialogue is very straightforward without any romance to speak of. i certainly consider this a "good" game, though i'd recommend pirating it if you think you might be interested. 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

how to date a magical girl (M/F, F/F, 16+)

• overall: C-. enjoyment: D. how to date a magical girl a VN/simulation game where you play as a new student in a magical girl academy, surrounded by new friends and potential love interests. behind the surface of the cutesy appearance, this is actually more 'psychological horror' than dating sim. in fact, very little of the story even changes based on which girl you pursue. despite the unexpected turn the game takes, though, it could still be enjoyable -- but frankly, the writing is unimpressive, the gameplay starts to drag on fast, and while the CG art is very good the majority of character art you'll see in the game is nothing like it. i came into this game expecting to love it unconditionally, but i found very little about it to be redeeming. Full Review

miraclr (*/M, */NB, free*)

• overall: D+. enjoyment: D-. miraclr is a instant-messaging based dating sim clearly optimized for a phone, but also available on PC for a cost. your player is contacted by a group of angels who need your help planning a miracle to reinvigorate faith in the divine. over the course of a week (real time), the angels will text you and set up meetings in a game interface reminiscent of a discord server. the game is cute, with a lot of potential-- but its hindered by several major flaws. the writing, while decent, is dragged down by the pacing. the art is subpar, but salvageable. the real biggest issue: the game just straight up doesn't work. the app is full of bugs, design oversights, and missed notifications. its not entirely unplayable, but its certainly hard to enjoy. Full Review

the ratchelor: a rat dating sim (*/*, free, browser)

• overall: D+. enjoyment: C. the ratchelor is a game where you play as a rat, and date rats. thats about all there is to it! i know i gave this game a D+ but that doesn't mean you shouldn't play it. as the only rat themed dating sim i've yet to play, it still has its competition beat. it's a short game, so you might as well. Full Review