Sucker for Love: First Date

Sucker for Love: First Date is a comedic horror visual novel that commits fully to its ridiculous premise: you, a hopeless romantic with a cursed grimoire, are trying to date eldritch entities that could unmake reality on a bad Tuesday. The gameplay loop is simple but effective. You read incantations aloud (or via button press), trigger ritual sequences, and navigate dialogue branches that inch you closer to either a date or dimensional annihilation. It is a short experience, clocking in around two to three hours per route, which is honestly the right call. Overstaying the joke would kill it. The writing is where this thing earns its 98% positive rating. Akabaka has a genuine feel for comedic timing, and the script bounces between self-aware absurdism and oddly sweet character moments without either tone steamrolling the other. The eldritch love interests, primarily Ln'eta and Estir in the routes available here, are not just one-note gimmicks. There is actual personality layered into the dialogue, and the game rewards you for paying attention to small details in earlier scenes. It is not Disco Elysium levels of recursive writing depth, but for a horror-comedy VN you can finish in an evening, the character work punches above its weight class. The ritual mechanics add just enough interactivity to keep it from feeling like a static read. You are occasionally asked to repeat phrases from the grimoire, which creates a participatory creepiness that straight dialogue choices would not. The horror elements, while never genuinely scary, are dressed up well. The art style leans into a heavy pink-and-black aesthetic that makes the cosmic dread feel glamorous rather than oppressive, which is exactly the right call for the tone. Sound design supports the mood without being intrusive. Where it falls short is scope. This is explicitly a First Date, meaning it ends before any relationship really settles. The routes feel complete in themselves, but players expecting meaningful branching or consequence-heavy choices will find the structure fairly linear. You are mostly here for the writing and the vibe, not for build variety or replayability depth. There is also a third route (Shub) that adds some meta-narrative spice and is worth doing after the first two. Still, if you come in hoping for the narrative complexity of a longer RPG or a Hatoful Boyfriend-style hidden-depth structure, calibrate expectations. For fans of horror aesthetics, dating sims, or anyone who has ever thought Lovecraftian fiction needed more sincerity and fewer fedoras, this is a well-crafted little oddity. It does not overstay its welcome, it respects your time, and it genuinely earns its laughs. The sequel hooks are real but not annoying. Recommended for a single dedicated evening, ideally with someone who will appreciate you reading ritual incantations out loud. Monika, Scout Team