Games You Might Have Missed: Speed Dating For Ghosts

Speed Dating for Ghosts is a new take on relationships and the afterlife from Copychaser Games. It was released on February, 13th 2018.

You play as a ghost who’s looking for company, so naturally, you decide to check out speed dating. Head over to the local scene and choose between three rooms to meet some spooky cuties.

Speed Dating for Ghosts is paced differently than a lot of other dating sims. Instead of choosing the ghost you like best, and following down their romance path, you speak to all three ghosts in a room twice in the speed dating rounds and then go on a singular date with the one you liked most. After your first date from a room, you can hit up the others after speed dating has wrapped up for the night.

Even though you spend a relatively short amount of time with them, the ghosts have fully fleshed-out personalities, and histories that range from horrific to kind of wacky. Despite the variety of stories, all of them bring up questions about the nature of life and death in thoughtful ways that never feel too navel gaze-y. I kept finding myself surprised at the issues that were being raised, and the problems I was being asked to think about while hanging with my chosen phantasm. Each date also provides snippets of lore on how ghosts function in and interact with the world.

The art and design elements, like backgrounds and fonts, are simple, but effective in conveying the overall style and differentiating the ghosts. Each has their own aesthetic to match their histories, and individual background colors to distinguish them during speed dating rounds. Different fonts also convey personalities, and the game’s wry, fourth wall-breaking humor. These elements are heightened by the variety of voices and music. A high-pitched, static-y voice helps characterize one character with extreme anxiety issues, and dramatic, jarring music solidifies the mood when one ghost’s past turns dark.

For an insightful and fun take on dating sims, be sure to check out Speed Dating for Ghosts. It’s available on Steam and itch.io for $9.99.

All other images courtesy of Copychaser Games.