Title: New Day
Publisher: Toast Run Games
Mode: Single Player
Genre: Datimg Simulator
Platforms: Browser, PC
If you’ve ever watched anime, you’ve seen characters immersed in the artificial dating world of dating simulations. Mostly a Japanese fad, these dating simulations mimic the normal everyday interactions you would have with your romantic interest. Unfortunately, none of it is real. The popularity of dating sims still grows, however, and fans of the genre will find enjoyment in the new dating sim game New Day.
New Day takes the visual novel style and makes a dating sim with it. Your only task is to romance the lovely individuals you meet and try to win their hearts. Decisions you make in the game will affect how these girls responds to you. Behaving badly can turn them away in disgust, but accidentally offending them despite your best intentions can also happen, so the game is tricky.
Your journey begins in the city of San Helena, where you have just moved into your new apartment. Your first task is to choose a place on your newly-acquired map to visit where, of course, you will meet some new people. Depending on which location you choose and what actions you take, you can get the number of the young woman or man that works there and gradually gain their friendship.
The interface is easy to use and has no lag, but it’s mostly because the graphics are so shoddy. Poorly drawn characters look like it’s Amateur Night on Deviantart. We’ve seen better drawing skills from an 8-year-old with Microsoft Paint. It’s better than nothing, however, as the game would be even more tedious with text only.
The storyline moves along at a faster pace than expected, but at least it’s well-written. The descriptions and conversation are surprisingly good despite the poor illustrations and minimal number of characters. There are two available options to date: Astrid and Ken. This provides female players with the opportunity to experience this type of genre, as these games are typically played by men. This adds an element of equality to the game that gives it a step up over its predecessors.
We have to admit there’s a clever play on words in this game. The plant conservatory girl asked us to stop by so she could teach us how to “propogate succulents.” That’s a botanist pick-up line if we’ve ever heard one. Overall, you won’t find the game amusing for long. It’s short-lived and gives far fewer options for romance than other dating simulators that are out there.
However, it is free. The game runs smoothly and has no glitches, and you can have a lot of fun creating ridiculous characters and scenarios. It’s entertaining to see how your actions affect your relationships with the two love interests. It’s a good game to play on a rainy day when you don’t have much else to do, but it won’t serve as a viable time-killer in the long run.