After finally playing the demo for theindiegameDate Everything!, I’m convinced that this is my personal GOTY (Game of the Year). The title is a new dating sim developed by Sassy Chap Games, a studio led by several voice actors-turned-developers, such as Robbie Daymond, Ray Chase, Max Mittelman, and Amanda Hufford.The idea behind the game is that players gain access to special glasses that can turn nearly all the objects in their house into animated people, whom they can date, become friends with, or make enemies.Date Everything!was already my most anticipated gamethis year.
Much of this was due to the wide cast of voice actors that had been chosen to play these characters.The studio already confirmed that the game has 100 dateable characters to uncover, plus a few extra secondary characters, all of which are fully voiced by these actors. Given my fascination with voice acting and innate appreciation for dating sims, the game had already left a mark on me. The title was supposed to be released earlier this year, on Valentine’s Day, butDate Everything!’s release datewas postponed to June 17 to allow the team to tweak it.
The Date Everything! Demo Is Now Available On PC (Via Steam)
Expect Around Two To Three Hours Of Gameplay With The Demo
Closer to its release date than ever before, Sassy Chap Games and publisher Team17 released the playable demo for the title on PC, via Steam. Players interested in learning more about the game can do so practically by downloading the demo on the platform.The demo is medium-ranged, allowing players to go through three full days of exploration within the house, two of which they are free to interact with any of the items that are promptly available to them. The demo for theupcoming dating sim gameDate Everything!lasts a surprising amount of time, depending on your approach.
The first in-game day will be something of a tutorial led by the dateable character Skylar, as she guides you through some of the Dateviator glasses’ features and introduces you to a few fixed characters. During the ensuing days, however,you are free to explore the house as you please and put your Dateviators to use on any of the objects that you desire, meeting new characters and, depending on your choices, romance or antagonize these humanized household items. Based on my experience with it, I believe that the demo forDate Everything!can last about two to three hours.
Date Everything’s Demo Is Comfy, & I Can’t Wait For The Full Game Soon
There’s A Great Sense Of Calm When Exploring Your House In Search For New Dateable Characters
The demo for the dating sim lived up to my expectations, as it delivered precisely what I thought it would. This game is comfy, and there is no sense of urgency or pressure applied to it, which deviates a lot from the games I’ve been playing recently.you may calmly stroll through your house and think about the objects you’ll give life to every day, and then interact with them the way you’d like based on whether or not you enjoy their personalities – and these characters are full of personality. As expected, this is possible because of the cast.
During theDate Everything!demo, the Dateviator glasses only allow you to interact with five dateables per day, and each character can only be interacted with once per day.
The game feels like a celebration of voice acting, with several well-known voice actors who have made a name for themselves all assembling to create a rich social environment. During the demo,I had the pleasure of interacting with Luna, a video game console dateable played by Shelby Young, who immediately starstruck me thanks to her adventurous personality. Later on, I met Chance, a D20 dateable played byCritical Role’s Matt Mercer, who ran a fantastic one-shot RPG session for me inDate Everything!. I played the one-shot with the clutter dateable called Jerry, played by Damien Haas.
I found it extremely fun to flirt with these iconic characters, voiced by actors whose careers I follow closely across all types of media. As a Critter (the denomination given to Critical Role fans),it was hilarious to hit on Matt Mercer’s character and imagine him running Chance’s lines in the recording booth– curiously enough, this type of reflection never really broke my immersion with the game. Instead, I felt even more connected to it. A lot of this is due to the quality of the writing. Oftentimes, the dialogue options inDate Everything!are cheeky and even silly.
However, this is never in a bad way.The cheekiness and silliness only add extra charm to the game. After all, this is a dating sim, and your main goal is to establish connections with the many humanoid objects you uncover in your house – being flirtatious often requires responses such as these. You’re not obligated to romance every single character, as you are permitted to be friends or even enemies with them, but it seems nearly impossible not to fall into a platonic daydream with some of these characters.
What really impressed me from the demo alone is how many options players have to choose from. I remember that, on my first free in-game day,I spent a few good minutes walking around the house, opening all doors and looking for objects that I hadn’t seen in promotional materials and was interested in meeting. Of course, this was after opening my bedroom’s closet and using one of my Dateviator’s charges on hangers, knowing that the Hanks, played by Sassy Chap Games andCritical Role’s Robbie Daymond, would greet me.
Date Everything’s Demo Reminded Me Of How Much I Love Well-Written Dating Sims
I’m Looking Forward To The Game’s Complete Release
Once the demo was over, I was notably upset because I wanted to play more and not only continue to expand my relationship with characters I’d met, such as Luna and Chance, but also meet new dateables in my house.Immediately, I was reminded of how much I love well-written dating sims. This genre isn’t among my favorites, nor do I play it so often, but games in this style are appealing to me, mostly due to the aforementioned comfy factor. I rememberedHatoful Boyfriend, a fantastic visual novel and one of thebest meme dating simsI’ve played.
At the time I played it, I got 100% of the Steam achievements forHatoful Boyfriend.
As soon as I was done reminiscing, I downloaded the demo forSucker for Love: Date to Die For. Dating sims and visual novels like these are fun, usually lighthearted, and engaging. Even when they aren’t too lighthearted, like one of the paths available inHatoful Boyfriend, they provide enough mystery or tension to keep you interested. While I’ll explore other dating sims until then, I can’t wait to finally playDate Everything!starting on June 17, and get to experience my 2025 GOTY entirely.
