Speed Dating for Ghosts

Speed Dating for Ghosts is an unusual visual novel that I expected to just be a silly and quirky ride, such as Hatoful Boyfriend. However, this one took me on an emotional ride.

What I always appreciate most in VNs is when they really make you care about a character, and this one manages to do so with nearly every ghost you meet within a matter of minutes (as opposed to hours).

I don’t want to say any spoilers, as it’s not a very long VN (less than two hours) and the little stories that are thrown your way are wonderful and beautiful. It’s a game that really makes you think.

I will say however that though it has “Speed Dating” in the title, I only found one character that you actually get romantic with. Everyone else you go on a little adventure with and get to know them, a little about their lives before passing a way, robbing a bank, etc. You know, normal ghost stuff.

I highly recommend you check this out.
You can purchase it on Itch.io or on Steam.

Crystal City

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This is actually a Russian game, translated to English.

Crystal City is a weird game about a weird dystopian society where all of society revolves around sex. Everyone in the city walks around half-naked, most of the women don’t wear underwear, and people will openly have sex in public. Privacy doesn’t exist, as houses are made out of see-through glass. Your sexiness determines your social standing.

I really enjoyed the first half of this game, even though the translation was a little iffy and there were questionable grammatical choices and typos throughout. I can get past things like that when I’m interested enough.

The protagonist is an ugly nerd who never had sex before being teleported to Crystal City through sex. He switches with a version of himself in this city that has a wife (a version of the woman he previously slept with) but still seems to be deemed unattractive in general.

What I like the most about the game is just how much the protagonist thinks about the world. He’s constantly telling you his thoughts about what’s going on, and explains why he thinks the way he does. His reactions are natural for the most part and interesting to read.

This is a tentative recommendation, however, because about ¾ths of the way in the translation gets somehow worse and the whole ending is pretty obtuse and hard to follow. But if you just want something silly and interesting to read, and aren’t too bothered by the lack of a coherent ending, then check it out on sale.