Sucker for Love: Date to Die For review - A 'love'craftian story of comedy

Sucker for Love: Date to Die For is a game that definitely took me by surprise. It has a cheesy and goofy approach to the Lovecraftian horror genre, which is not a commonly occurring theme in games in this category. Combine that with a retro anime art style and you have one of the quirkiest horror adventures that you can embark on.

But how does Sucker for Love: Date to Die For perform as a conventional method of video game storytelling, and what uniqueness it brings to the table of an already crowded genre of Dating sims? Let us dive into this review of the game and find out what.

Sucker for Love: Date to Die For: The good, the bad, and the campy romantic experience

Sucker For Love: Date to Die For can provide a fun Visual Novel experience (Image via Akabaka)

Starting with the positive things, I have to say the game is surprisingly fun. It provides a balance between tense horror sequences and those that are goofy.

You receive an urgent letter from your family, forcing you to return to your hometown, which is plagued with strange disappearances. On returning to your home, you find the reason behind the townsfolk's going missing; A benevolent Eldritch Goddess who is looking for something. But is that something love?

The developers promised to put Love in Lovecraftian horror and they quite successfully delivered on it. On one hand, you need to charm the characters, and on the other, avoid cultists and creepy creatures that roam the dark. The chase in particular can bring back your memories of escaping the Flood in the Library sequence of Halo CE, with the ominous music playing in the background.

Let us dive deeper into what Sucker For Love: Date to Die For does well and on which part the game kind of fumbles in my opinion.

The art style is magnificent

The 90's anime aesthetic nails the eerie atmosphere of the game (Image via Akabaka)

Games with anime aesthetics have become quite popular recently, but you cannot see many diverting from modern characters or art design. Akabaka, on the other hand, used the 90's anime art style in Date to Die For just like its predecessor, First Date. However, the biggest change you will notice is how radically different both games' color palettes are.

First Date takes a cheerful vibrant color scheme, whereas Date to Die For's palette is a mixture of dark colors, namely black, green, and grey. Combine that with the spooky ambient soundtrack and crawling through each room can get tense even when there are no dangers around.

The dating simulation part helps in balancing out the action

Do you fancy yourself a consort of an Eldritch Goddess? (Image via Akabaka)

You might wonder how on earth charming characters will help you when there are literal murderers hot on your heels. Well, think of it as safe rooms that you can find in horror games. But instead of just providing you an opportunity to catch a breath, Sucker For Love: Date to Die For allows you also to charm your beloved.

Well, after talking and fooling around with your favorite nightmarish Eldritch creature, you can return to investigate the mystery that is unfolding in your hometown.

Other positive elements

Sucker for Love: Date to Die For has plenty of surprises awaiting you in the Black Woods (Image via Akabaka)

There are a few noteworthy elements that add on top to an already fantastic horror-comedy experience.

The voice acting is quite good given it is an indie title.
Learning through trial and error keeps you engaged in the game.
The eerie background music adds to the tense atmosphere.
The jumpscares are well done and can legitimately scare you.

Not everything is perfect

There are no perfect games in Ba Sing Se (Image via Akabaka)

No game can be perfect, and despite the high praises I have sung till now, I do have a few gripes with Sucker For Love: Date to Die For. The first issue that I often encountered was the game freezing and crashing. I tested the game on two devices, one is a gaming laptop and a PC. Here are my machine specifications for your better understanding:

Laptop:

Processor: AMD Ryzen 3550h
GPU: Nvidia 1650 super
RAM: 16 GB DDR4 (8GB x2)

PC:

Processor: Intel i5 12600k
GPU: 3060ti
RAM: 16GB 3200mhz DDR4 (8GB x2)

The story also can be a huge hit or miss depending on what people are looking for. If you enjoy cheeky takes on the horror genre and something packed with mystery, quirky characters, and romance, you are bound to enjoy this game. If you want a dark atmospheric story with mystery and none of that rom-com part, Sucker For Love: Date to Die For might not be the game for you.

In Conclusion

Sucker For Love: Date to Die For is a great offering in the Visual Novel catalog of games. The developer, Akabaka brings the horror elements of the title to life using a well-drawn 90's anime art style, which also compliments the eerie environment of the Black Woods.

My favorite part of the game is probably the tense horror sequences where you must carefully navigate the environment, while maintaining pace, or else you will end up dead at the hands of the cultists or some Eldritch abomination. The dating simulation part provided a much-needed breath of fresh air among the intense cat-and-mouse chase that you partake in.

Despite a few performance issues that I have faced, namely the game crashing often, it is one of the best indie offerings of 2024.