Dating Simulators: One of Japan's More Unique Genres

The "dating game" is a genre that many fans of video games associate with Japan, which has been producing various spins on the dating simulator for many years now. However the popularity of the love game genre has remained popular, and it's lead to a variety of different products that players have to choose from. My Candy Love

"My Candy Love" has been a fairly enduring dating sim that you can play online today if you so desire. This particular kissing game is aimed at girls, who create their character and then enter the world of Candy Love to flirt, date and win as many hearts from the handsome men that populate the game world as possible. The stories are completely interactive, and they change as more and more is added to the world of the game over time. While it's open to anyone, it bears repeating that you can only make female characters.

Babestation

For a love game that's pointed directly at male players, the Japanese-styled "Babestation" is another example of games that are currently online and free to play to your heart's content. This game is set on a space station where you have 100 days to increase your strength, charm and your smarts to impress the various women on the station to try and get a date with as many of them as possible. It's a simple game with a straightforward premise, but as always you need to be careful when you assign your points and to find girls to whom your strengths appeal as you advance.

Always Remember Me

Another dating sim in the same vein as "My Candy Love," "Always Remember Me" has a plot that's straight out of this year's most romantic drama at the box office. In this particular kissing game Amy's boyfriend Aaron has been in a car accident and he's totally lost his memory. He doesn't remember her, or them together, and the question that the game asks you as the player is whether or not they'll be able to rekindle their romance, of if Amy will seek comfort and a new life in the arms of another man? That choice is up to you as the player, and if you go through more than once you can play through all of the different options and endings. Unlike the other games on this list "Always Remember Me" isn't a free game, but once you've purchased it you can play it on nearly any platform.

Lunar Days Sim Date

Yet another game geared towards girls, "Lunar Days Sim Date" is a simple to play, point and click style dating sim game. It has a very "Final Fantasy" aesthetic, with hints of sky pirates and memories of strange, pseudo-cyberpunk places that you need to escape from. In addition to being a love game, "Lunar Days Sim Date" still requires you to go on adventure and to free yourself from the situation that you find yourself in. This game is currently hosted online, and it's free to anyone that wants to give it a try and play.

Laura, dating game fan and Kissing Game developer from London.