Sucker for Love: Date to Die For (PC)

Sucker for Love: Date to Die is Akabaka’s second Lovecraftian dating adventure. This game is part mystery and part dating sim with a point-and-click adventure with multiple endings. Like Sucker for Love: First Date, the game has a very memorable aesthetic, fun music, and a story full of spooky comedy.  The game does have horror elements, but it balances out with plenty of comedy and over-the-top anime antics. Below we take a look at who Sucker for Love: Date to Die is for and how the gameplay loop feels.

Dying For Love

This isn’t a sequel to Sucker for Love: First Date. You will be playing an all-new protagonist with an all-new story to unlock. Many of the storytelling elements from the first game are still here, but this time, things are a bit different. One major change is that there is only one love interest named Rhok’zan. Rhok’zan is a summons from a book found in an old Japanese house. Once released, the play must face horrors while trying to get to know the cosmetic entity. The story mainly revolves around this new character in the Sucker For Love universe, and luckily Rhok’zan is a fun horror that you will want to spend time with again and again.

The story is based in a fictional town called Sacramen-cho, where the main character returns to investigate the disappearance of their parents. This is all due to a mysterious letter arriving in the mail, stating that their parents are now alive.  The main protagonist, Stardust, returns to Sacramen-cho in pursuit of the truth. Soon after trying to return to their grandmother’s home, Stardust finds they have entered into an alternate version of reality. Here, they must navigate horrors to ward off Rhok’zan’s advances. The main goal is to help her help the deity escape along with Stardust, as she has also become a victim of the cultists that have cursed the town.

Stardust is an asexual character, while Rhok’zan is a being of lust.  This leads to a comedic exchange between the two entities throughout the game. This even includes a spray bottle to ward off Rhol’zans advances. The whole game is story-driven, so it’s a bit hard to give anything away without major story spoilers. Just know that the game is a perfect choice for fans of Lovecraftian stories, 90’s anime, and horror-comedy writing. With that being said, there were a few points where I felt like Stardust wasn’t interested in Rhok’zan at all. This can feel a bit awkward if you are going into this game just for the dating.

A Dark Comedy

At its core, Sucker for Love: Date to Die For is a dark comedy. The game balances scary moments with witty commentary well. While I wasn’t busting out laughing at every comedic piece of dialogue, I found myself chuckling pretty often. The comedy is geared towards more what I would expect anime fans would enjoy. The horror elements, on the other hand, will sit well with fans of suspense and paranormal books. This creates a marriage of genres that flows well together, something that a lot of media that tackles these two widely different ideas can’t accomplish. If you regularly watch anime, then this game is likely for you. If you’re on the line, then play the demo or watch some playthroughs of the first game. Just be aware that there are some raunchy jokes, which might not sit well with some gamers. Likewise, some of the horror elements may turn away gamers who avoid scary games. I should mention that there are some jump scares, but I didn’t feel like anything horror-wise in the game was too intense to handle. 

Follow Your Heart

Sucker For Love: Date to Die drops you into environments where you can look around and interact with certain objects. Some objects add absolutely nothing to the story, some give insight into the lore, and others will help you progress through the main story. Unlike classical dating sims, this game has heavy adventure elements, similar to what you will find in the investigation section of the Danganronpa games.  There are ways to mess up the game as you proceed, like fully opening a door. This can unleash The Thousand onto Stardust, which causes you to experience a game over. Some of the game requires quite a bit of trial and error in order to move through the chapters. You will also notice that you can collect items that will aid in your exploration and you have a map to help guide you. This is necessary as without the map, it’s easy to run in circles.

While there’s not a lot of ground to cover, it’s entirely possible to miss an important item. You will need to move around the house, completing rituals in order to gain your freedom. To do this, you will need to regularly check the ritual book. You will have clues to each item that you need to collect in order to perform the ritual. For example, to perform the early Epicurean Feast, you will need to gather meat from the kitchen, among other items. Once you are done, you must make it back to Stardust’s room to perform the ritual. Depending on the player, the gameplay may come across as a bit tedious. While having to slowly open each door adds tension, it may feel slow to some. Visual novels, along with adventure games, aren’t everyone’s cup of tea to play, even with an interesting story.

Players should note that this is a shorter game with only five chapters. While there are multiple endings, it only takes around three and a half hours to fully complete the game. This makes the experience quick, and most players can run it in a single weekend sitting. There are also quite a few mysteries to uncover, and it can be fun trying to unlock the true ending.

Creating The Right Ambience

The major focus of this game outside of storytelling is the art design and music. Luckily, the area is one of the ways Sucker for Love: Date to Die really stands out. The art is an anime based style that is similar to shows put out in the early 90’s. Fans of classic shows like Gundam Wing and Sailor Moon will quickly recognize the style. Some of the minor characters, like The Odd Bookseller, have a simple design that still feels full. No character feels like they weren’t thought out during the development process, and Rhok’zan is already well-loved by the player base just from her debut in the game’s demo. The backdrops and house are also well-decorated. The game purposely makes some of the rooms feel the same to get you turned around. This adds to the suspense, as pulling open the wrong door can lead to a game over.

The rooms have heavy horror elements like splatters of blood everywhere and what appear to be hanging corpses. The voice acting for the characters is phenomenal, and everyone is voiced. This is another area that truly helps the series stand out, as voice acting in indie visual novels is hard to pull off, especially on a polished level. While it may not be as long as some of the Japanese dating sims, it has the same quality as major hits in the genre, such as Piofiore. Fans of Doki Doki Literature Club will also immediately feel at home with the art direction and narrative.

Lastly, the ambiance created by the soundtrack is top-tier. Not everything is a spooky track, but the team managed to make everything fit perfectly. Horror comedy is a hard balance to meet, but once again, Akabaka has a winner on their hands. 

Swipe Right

If you like dating sims, then you should swipe right on Sucker for Love: Date to Die. The game has a charming story, and while the gameplay is not for everyone it helps to build tension. Rhok’zan is a fun character, and despite being a cosmic horror, she has a lot of human moments. You can’t help but start rooting for her and Stardust to form a wholesome relationship. Luckily, with this game, you can make the right choices to ensure that happens. With multiple endings, you will find yourself going through the game over and over again to soak up all the lore you can.

As an added bonus, this game launched with a price tag of only $12.99. While it won’t entertain you for days on end, if you’re looking for a short weeknight game or a fun weekend story, you shouldn’t skip over this title. A demo is available that covers the game’s first chapter. I highly recommend that you check it out before making a purchase. While it doesn’t feature anything heavy or the suspense of opening the wrong door, you can easily tell if the story is for you or not. Just keep in mind that this game is more narrative-focused than the first, and this is likely the reason why there’s only one love interest.