A New Sucker For Love And Its To Die For

This week, we will be introduced to a new installment of a series called Sucker for Love. For those who are unfamiliar, it is a visual novel game in which you can interact with the surroundings to advance the story. There are multiple different endings based on your decisions taken throughout the game.

Sucker for Love will be released today, April 23, 2024, after being delayed for two months because it did not meet the highest standards. It is unfortunate that the fans were unable to spend their Valentine’s Day with the ghostly god. However, the wait is coming to an end, as this horror dating game will be available soon.

You start off the game as Stardust, an asexual girl investigating disappearances in your hometown (Sacramen-cho). Unfortunately, you are also a victim, and you have to find a way to escape. 

After a series of walks and runs, you eventually arrive at a familiar location and summon the Rhok’zan using a ritual book you discovered. She is an anthropomorphic goat who, just like you, wants to escape.

However, she is the one who is responsible for what has happened, particularly because her worshippers turned into corrupt beings after falling for her charm. She did not plan that to happen, but it unfortunately did. The plot thickens after the second ritual, as her worshippers, known as The Thousands, attempt to capture both you and her.

At this point, you can see that the Lovecraftian horror element is more prominent than the romance, which distinguishes DTDF from the previous First Date series. The developer also stated that: 

“The only points of contention will be the playable main character, the story, and possibly the love interest — some will prefer First Date over Date to Die for in these regards, and that just boils down to matter of taste.  Do you like comedy (First Date) or horror (DTDF) more?”

Indeed, you may notice that the developer describes the game as “No horror elements this time, we swear. Come on, trust us haha!” Well, this is not entirely true. Even at the start of the game, you will be introduced to a shocking opening with a few unexpected twists.

There will be multiple dateable entities introduced in the game, one of them is Rhok’zan. She will be the first character who is friendly to you and will accompany you on your escape from Sacramen-cho. After a while of playing, you can see the smooch meter, indicating that you can definitely date Rhok’zan. Though there seems to be no indication that additional dateable entities are available, the developer themselves confirmed that there will be multiple of them that you can choose from.

In First Date, all three entities you can smooch show up in the promotional image on Steam page. However, the promotional thumbnail in DTDF only features a single character, Rhok’zan. This might confuse the fans that you can only have one dateable character in DTDF. Luckily, the rumor has been dismissed by the developer, making sure the players will get what they want.

Even so, the developer mentions that they will surprise us by including the previous character from First Date. 

“There’s going to be a return of a certain fan-favorite character in DTDF ;)”

Compared to First Date, DTDF will have a much bigger world, thanks to the increased budget and longer work timeline for the developer team. Take one example from the first area you can investigate. There are roughly 20 rooms to explore, each with a different function, such as bedroom, kitchen, living room, bathroom, and so on. You need to revisit those rooms in order to obtain materials for future rituals. In addition to the increased world size, the chapter has also been added an extra. First Date had only three chapters, while DTDF will have four chapters to play. Everything has been meticulously designed to maximize the available budget, which is limited for most indie developers.

“DTDF is humungous compared to First Date, especially in terms of raw size of the map.  We went from 3 rooms to more than 20.  We also went from 3 chapters to 4.”

It is common for a game developer to include a previous character or environment asset into their next game. However, DTDF includes many new features, such as hand-drawn 2D environments and 360-degree views. This, however, does not imply that you will explore the game in the same way that you would in a 3D game. Instead, you will interact with the world through 360-degree views. You can explore the room as if you were in the center and try to investigate your surroundings.  

If you think this game appears to be quite old, then you are right. The game’s art style is inspired by 90s anime, and this includes music, sound effects, and promotional songs. It is intended to appear classic and nostalgic. The developer also mentions that Sucker for Love is a love letter to 90s anime.  

“I’d like to remind people that at the end of the day, Sucker for Love is a love letter to 90s anime, dating sims, and Lovecraftian horror more than anything else.”

Some fans misunderstand the developer’s intention with the Sucker for Love series. They believe that the game is a parody or criticism of Lovecraftian horror. However, the developer prefers to stay true to the essence of Lovecraftian horror. 

“Some folks sort of see Sucker for Love and assume that I’m taking swings at the Lovecraftian horror genre when I’m really not — I’m trying to be as faithful as possible.”

There will be other opportunities for fans to get DTDF merchandise, just like the one for First Date. Perhaps there will be additional items, such as plushies or dakimakuras. It all depends on how the fans react and value the game.

“There’ll likely be more opportunities akin to the first ones that we’ve had — shirts, plushies, maybe dakimakuras, haha!”

People are deeply invested in the First Date story and eagerly await the release of the DTDF dating sim. People expect DTDF to provide the same experience as the previous game, which focused more on the romantic and humorous sides of the spectrum. However, based on the beta video game release, it does not seem to be happening. 

Even some reviewers who prefer a more romantic or comedic tone to the story were unimpressed with First Date because it is considered a horror rather than a romance. Yet, the developer has stated that the story will take a more horror-oriented tone. 

Another thing that fans anticipate is the return of Ln’eta. In the previous series, the relationship with Ln’eta was truly unforgettable. That is why many players hope to see her again in the upcoming series. The developer intends to bring one of the three entities back into the game. However, we have no idea who will appear in the game.

 After some teasers and beta gameplay, fans are getting more excited to play the game. The cliffhanger after completing the second ritual is particularly intriguing. Nobody knows what will happen next, which is why fans cannot wait for the release of the game.

If you have seen the beta gameplay, you will notice that the reversal theme keeps appearing. In First Date, the main character has a massive amount of lust, and the goddess just can’t control you. Meanwhile, in DTDF, the main character has no lust, so the fertility goddess aura does not affect you. Your main character has also changed from a male to female, and the comedic theme has been shifted slightly to the horror side. This contrast is hilarious, and this feels like an easter egg from the game developer. However, we won’t know how this theme continues throughout the game until the end.

The Sucker for Love series has a large fan base globally and decent ratings. This only happened because of the fans buying the game and merchandise. As a result, the developer is able to continue the series with more revamped features and experiences in DTDF. Despite the challenges of writing jokes that people will enjoy, creating a new world and characters, and maintaining the operation while keeping the budget in check, the developer is finally able to release the game this month. 

“I’m really grateful that Sucker for Love was as well received as it was so far  — it has opened up a lot of possibilities for me in terms of game development as a career, and it helped keep the lights on for a couple of years. Making a funny game is really scary, because I can write a joke that I think is the funniest joke in the world, but if I tell it and nobody laughs, now it’s actually the worst joke in the world.  So much of the game’s value rests solely with the players, so I’m glad that it was received in a way that made the grind worthwhile. The game is just much bigger this time around, and trying to get this silly visual novel dating sim out before it escapes from its own budget is a lot of work, haha.”

To conclude this article, there is a piece of advice coming from the developer to remind you to surround yourself with positive people who you want to be like, as there are many negative people around. If you are an indie game developer, you should think about taking your game to a convention.

“I’d say my best advice is to surround yourself with devs that you want to end up like.  There’s a lot of spaces on the internet for indie devs full of negativity and unhelpful advice, and it’s best in the long run to steer clear of those communities.  This is one of the reasons that one of the best things you can do for your indie game is take it to a convention.”