ValiDate: Struggling Singles in your Area is a Visual Novel Dating Sim by Veritable Joy Studios, an all-BIPOC team. Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, Volume 1 released on Xbox Series X|S, Steam (store page here
) and on itch.io on September 29th, 2022, with a Nintendo Switch release on October 19th of the same year.
Set in the Jercy City area, thirteen struggling singles in their twenties navigate through the trying ordeals of capitalism to find meaning in their lives. Includes a hint of love, cosplay, and even mediocre mixtapes in the mix.
Tropes:
- Amicable Exes: Although they had some trouble in the past, Malik and Alice are on remarkably good terms, especially when compared to the rollercoaster of emotional turmoil of Noor and Emhari, the other two exes of Volume 1.
- Animal Motifs: Yolanda is heavily associated with fish- she wears a fish necklace and a goldfish bandana, and as Malik discovers she keeps a ton of fish as pets. Her icon is also a fish, and all of the names of Malik's endings with her reference fish in some way. Malik at one point also has a line about "hooking" her and "reeling." Her zodiac sign is also Pisces, which is represented by two fish.
- Another Side, Another Story: Each volume of the ValiDate series will have different members of the core 13 cast as playable characters dating the rest of the cast. In Volume 1, the playable characters are Malik, Inaya, Isabelle, and Emhari.
- Bland-Name Product: Emhari takes "Cryvanse," a clear stand-in for Vyvanse.
- Bunnies for Cuteness: Malik's little daughter Rhea has a bunny patch on her overalls.
- Content Warnings: Before your pursue a romantic route, its title card warns you of potentially disturbing content such as drugs, NSFW scenes, misogynoir (the discrimination against black women), and conspiracy theories.
- Control Freak: Emhari has a desperate need to control everything, something she's well-aware of but finds difficult to manage. In her route with Bigs, something as small as him offering to take a photo instead of her is enough to set her off.
- The Cynic: The in-game profile for Ahiri Cooper, marriage councilor, claims he believes marriage is a scam and romance is dead...but he still yearns for love.
- Expressive Accessory: The expression of Yolanda's goldfish bandana changes to mirror hers.
- Fictional Counterpart:
- One location visited in-game is "Bopeye's", inspired by "Popeye's", the American multinational chain of fried chicken fast food restaurants.
- Bigs works for "PUS," a stand-in for the United Parcel Service, the American shipping company typically shortened to "UPS."
- Inaya is an "Instaglam" influencer, a stand-in for Instagram.
- Likewise, "Bitter" is the game's equivalent of Twitter.
- "Bikbok" is the game's stand-in for Tiktok.
- One location visited in-game is "Bopeye's
- Gamer Chick: Ashlie's in-game listed career is "professional gamer".
- Hands-On Approach: When Malik finds himself a lot more stiff than he expected during a routine stretch, Alonso helps him out. Malik, who is currently in the middle of a sexual identity crisis, is very aware of the other man, even noting how good he smells.
- I Call It "Vera": Malik's car is named Gina.
- Multiple Endings: Every possible date can result in a Good, Bad, or "Just Friends" ending, with achievements tied to every single possible outcome.
- No Communities Were Harmed: The story's main setting of Jercy City, as the name indicates, is influenced by Jersey City, New Jersey.
- Queer Colors: Among the many pins Inaya wears on her overalls, one of them is a bisexual pride flag pin. She also has a bi pride phone case.
- Short Title: Long, Elaborate Subtitle: The game's full title is Validate: Struggling Singles in Your Area.
- Shout-Out:
- Token White: Keaton is the only Caucasian main character, and is the result of a Kickstarter stretch goal being met with everyone else being a person of color that was meant to be included from the start.
- Tsundere: In one of Ehmari's routes it's mentioned how Anoki taught him the word "tsundere" and he now keeps associating it with Ahiri.
