I love an obscure dating simulator, so you can safely assume the ritual performing, eldritch abomination courting experience of Sucker for Love is dear to me. I spent hours on end flirting with L’neta in the first game, and more time than I like to admit running through the house in an attempt to satisfy Rhok’zan in the second.
But while I was met with a lot of failed dates and had my soul consumed by horrors in more ways than one, there’s something about the characters that keeps you coming back. Which also applies to the demo of the series’ newest game: Sucker for Love: Crush Landing.
Once you’ve sacrificed your hand though, you’ll meet Hheily—a shapeshifting, somewhat human character who serves as this game’s love interest, and is as charming as the other games’ romantic interests, despite the fact she can’t communicate with the protagonist as seamlessly and seems a bit confused as to what’s going on.
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Luckily, you’ve got some conveniently coloured items around your house, like purple grapes, red gifts, a green plant, and some blue crawfish. But the second Hheily consumes what you give her, you won’t be able to feed her any other items of that colour, significantly reducing the items you can use later down the line.
I was brazen enough to think I could just throw whatever I had in whatever order into the fire, especially since it’s basically the beginning. I was quickly shown that this isn’t the case, and you actually need to put a bit of thought into what you’re doing.
As you frantically rush around the apartment deciding which items you’re willing to part ways with, you’re met with intermittent knocking at your front door too. After all, the entire city saw the meteorite crash into your specific apartment so it’s no surprise people want to come and have a look. Some of these interactions can be helpful, such as a girl named Flora who offers to get you some coloured flowers to feed the flame, which is definitely an interaction worth savouring as it can help you gather any missing colours from your list. However, some of these interactions are also unsavoury, such as a man who tries to scam you. But, you’ve always got the option to slam the door in their face, which I particularly enjoyed.
Between answering the door and keeping the flame alive, Sucker for Love: Crush Landing already feels like a more hands-on addition to the series. I was impressed with A Date to Die For’s implementation of an entire house to run around, rather than being limited to just the apartment of the first game. However, even though the demo has only shown in and around the apartment, the mechanics of the game itself are already more engaging, and offer a lot more to balance outside of the actual dating to keep you well and truly on your toes.
Just as you start to get into the groove of things and overcome the colossal task of tracking down at least one item of each colour, the demo wraps up. With no release date yet, who knows when we’ll be able to continue our dating endeavours with Hheily. I guarantee by the time the game does release though, I will have discovered every negative ending the demo has to offer, given how I spent most of my time already.
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