History Main / DatingSim

The Dating Sim is a type of game designed to set up goals, usually in the forms of schedules and stats corresponding to social skills, which must be achieved to discover a story focused entirely around the CharacterDevelopment of the player's chosen girl/guy, get [[HGame into his/her pants]], or both. This leads to MultipleEndings, though some [[http://www.datingsims.net/ Dating Sims]] make it possible to see several of these "endings" in a single playthrough.

In recent years, there have been many {{Role Playing Game}}s that incorporate [[http://www.datingsims.net/dating-games/ dating sim]] elements. These dating sim elements are often referred to as {{Romance Sidequest}}s in the RPG genre.

* VideoGame/TheSims series: You can devote all, none, or some of your gameplay towards romance subplots.
* VideoGame/TheSims2
* VideoGame/TheSims3

* VideoGame/HyperdimensionIdolNeptuniaPP - It's a minor feature, but present.

* VideoGame/RuneFactory
** VideoGame/RuneFactoryFrontier
** VideoGame/RuneFactory2
** VideoGame/RuneFactory3
** VideoGame/RuneFactory4
** RuneFactoryOceans

* VideoGame/RivieraThePromisedLand contains some DatingSim subplots.

* ''Manga/NoMatterHowILookAtItItsYouGuysFaultImNotPopular'' also makes focus on {{Dating Sim}} tactics (particularly of the ''Otome'' variety), but unlike the above example it gets played in a CringeComedy setting akin to ''WelcomeToTheNHK''.

* VideoGame/MassEffect2: Legion, a robot, purchased a dating sim based on a blockbuster romance film between two different aliens. His score is 15 (hopeless), humorously contrasted with the rest of his game scores (that consist of a million sniper kills on a generic FPS, et cetera).

The Dating Sim is a type of game designed to set up goals, usually in the forms of schedules and stats corresponding to social skills, which must be achieved to discover a story focused entirely around the CharacterDevelopment of the player's chosen girl/guy, get [[{{H-game}} into his/her pants]], or both. This leads to MultipleEndings, though some [[http://www.datingsims.net/ Dating Sims]] make it possible to see several of these "endings" in a single playthrough.

Some Dating Sims have been made into {{harem|Genre}} anime, though the result is usually nothing special due to [[BleachedUnderpants the removal of sex]] and the fact that the narrative can no longer focus on any single character.

Because there is almost no market for true Dating Sim games outside of Japan, it's a frequent misunderstanding among western gamers that "Dating Sim" is the general term for all [[RenaiGame ren'ai (romantic love) games]]. In fact, many romance games are {{Visual Novel}}s, which is a much different game style. (See for example, the difference between the ''VisualNovel/AceAttorney'' series, which is very close to a VisualNovel style of gameplay, and the [[VideoGame/DeadOrAlive DOA]] Xtreme series, which is the closest thing to a true Dating Sim with mass-market appeal in the US.) If the game plays out like a ChooseYourOwnAdventure, that's a VisualNovel. If it feels like you're playing an RPG, trying to keep track of everyone's feelings about you and giving out presents, that's a Dating Sim.

* VideoGame/Sweet33

* MatchesAndMatrimony: A Pride And Prejudice Tale

** TokimekiMemorialGirlsSide is its otome variant.

* HourglassOfSummer

* ''Manga/NoMatterHowILookAtItItsYouGuysFaultImNotPopular'' also makes focus on DatingSims (particularly of the ''Otome'' variety), but unlike the above example it gets played in a CringeComedy setting akin to ''WelcomeToTheNHK''.

** DatingSim elements are creeping into Western games more and more -- see Bioware's ''MassEffect'' and ''Franchise/DragonAge'', and ''TheWitcher'' before that.

* ''VideoGame/{{Dandelion}}''