Dating of the Future imagines a society of hot mess robot girlies

Don’t let the Steam store page fool you—sex is not the main attraction here. In a post-human society of former sex robots, they’re all a bit busier figuring out what it means to be sentient, and how to maintain healthy relationships with others.

In 🔞 Dating of the Future, you play as Vee, a camerawoman turned pornographic actress who’s trying to get her new career off the ground.

The first half of the game feels like a slice-of-life story about you hanging out with your friends and shooting new videos. And mostly just the hanging out with friends part. If you’re seeking titillation, go somewhere else. It’s here and it’s good, but it’s not the focus of the game.

I will admit that while I found the author endearing, the art immaculate, and the soundtrack next level… It wasn’t exactly a page turner for me yet. Everything changed in the latter half of the game, though.

Here’s a vague description: a new character shows up, and the stakes are immediately raised. The entire tone of the game shifts. This is when I locked the fuck in on finishing the game. After that arc ends, there’s some really heavy relationship drama with the last two character arcs. It’s juicy shit, and where the tears started pouring for me.

Mel’s arc is just… deeply upsetting. Her problems feel too real. And the way your extended friend group handles it is just perfect.

Callie’s route is—well, fucked up. It’s an interesting philosophical question, I suppose. The way she handles things (very poorly) makes it worse (in a good way). It’s mess. If you love mess, you’ll be eating good.

I saw something of myself in Vee—her empathy and selflessness (to a reckless degree). And it made her part of the story stick with me, despite my initial assumption that she was going to be more of a vehicle for other people’s stories.

Now go listen to the soundtrack!

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