So here’s a post I didn’t expect to be writing like… ever. I’ll just say that I’ve never been happier to have my Xbox Game Pass for PC than now.
It started with the announcement of indies coming to the Switch this week. I eyeballed the list and noted this Boyfriend Dungeon had just been released. I then looked it up and saw it on Steam, where I read more about it. I dropped it on my wishlist just for the heck of it, but didn’t expect to try it anytime soon.
Much to my surprise, I decided to browse my Xbox Game Pass yesterday, and there it was – Boyfriend Dungeon! I think this is the first time I’ve seen a game that I’d wanted to try this close to its launch pop up on Game Pass, and I’m very happy for it.
About Boyfriend Dungeon
It’s a quirky dating sim rougelike dungeon crawler. Yeah. There might be some more of these out there, but it’s the first time I’ve run across this blend. While I’m not totally on the dating sim bandwagon, I will play them if they seem to have a hook. This one had me curious, so here we are!
This one is not your typical dating sim. Though it takes place in a modern age – and makes good use of texting features on your phone – this world is a little odd. Still, it does a good job of easing you into the strangeness of the lore.
You’ve got a group of people who can turn into – wait for it – weapons. Yep. Like swords, daggers, scythes, that sort of thing.
Then you have a group of people known as Wielders who can use these weapons. The most common use is to take on dungeons (known as dunjs by the locals) which have monsters that are are interesting manifestations of your own internal fears.
As you work through the levels of the dungeons, you not just level up as a Wielder and earn items used for crafting new stuff, but you also establish stronger bonds with your weapon of choice. This unlocks new types of attacks and that sort of thing.
This is where the dating sim aspect comes into place. You’re spending the summer at your cousin’s apartment and he’s bound and determined to hook you up with someone – apparently you haven’t dated before. So you’re going through the normal dating sim steps of meeting individuals (some are weapons, some aren’t), choosing from dialogue options and offering gifts from time to time.
The game stresses that relationships with these weapons don’t have to be romantic, though anytime you interact with these individuals outside of the dungeon, it’s always labeled “date.” The game does a good job of trying to make things diverse as possible for folks of all types, which should hopefully make people happy.
So far, I’ve only unlocked 2 male and 1 female weapon, though I know there are more from just seeing the character art. Battle in the dungeon is pretty intuitive though it took me a bit of time to get used to the character fighting in the direction that your mouse is aimed (you can turn this off).
I’ve only spent a solid hour or so with this game, though I’ve heard folks note that they say that it feels on the short side. What I’ve seen so far has me wanting to play more – I especially want to unlock more weapons and meet more personalities – so this game is going to be a keeper that I’ll work on here and there when I have time to play.
Again, I’m so happy this is on Game Pass. I really should be playing a lot more than I do with my sub, but it’s times like this that it makes it worth it to me to have.