Sucker for Love: Date to Die For
Developer: Akabaka
Publisher: Dread XP
Platform: PC
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $12.99 USD – Available Here
Overview
Generally when someone thinks of a visual novel, they tend to either think of lengthy story focused games with static progression or some different routes as well as dating sims where players aim to date one of the heroines. As such when Sucker for Love: First Date dropped in 2022 and served to put an eldritch and comedic spin on the dating genre, it made quite a name for itself despite some flaws. Now Akabaka and DreadXP have returned with another entry in the Sucker for Love series with Sucker for Love: Date to Die For that focuses the target down to only a single eldritch being but expands beyond visual novel to that of a horror exploration game.
Story
Our protagonist awakens in the middle of a bookstore, seemingly fallen asleep while reading one of the many books available at the store and is quickly greeted by the store owner that hands her the books she picked out and hurries her out of the shop. After years away from her hometown, a letter from her family had drawn her back to Sacramen-cho only to find that the countryside town has undergone massive changes with countless people gone missing and many residents seeming to have been possessed by some type of cult as evidenced by their glowing eyes that has been called the “Sacramen-cho stare.” After seemingly getting lost in her hometown and seeing that the note from her family has transformed into a shopping receipt she happens to run right into one such cultist that begins to chase them and call upon countless others. In a panic, she runs and somehow manages to not only lose the group but stumble across her childhood home, only to find that, while it still remains similar to the home she remembers, has twisted in various ways and her own room has become the root of the problem, the summoning area for Shub-Niggurath, The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young.
Discovering an odd book of rituals in her belongings, she performs the first one and manages to summon the eldritch being right in front of her only to be greeted by an angry eldritch being with numerous tentacles adored with mouths and eyes attached to a humanoid goat form. Despite staring at the eldritch goddess of desire, the protagonist manages to stand true and prepares her plan to banish the god from this realm which only happens to delight the eldritch goddess. In fact, Rhok’zan is more than happy to help for she has found herself bound to the world by the actions of her previous summoner and, while she adores all of her followers, is tired of her woods and powers being used to summon the innocent to their possible demise. It is through Rhok’zan that we learn that our character is named Stardust as the two begin to undergo rituals that not only bring the pair closer together, but separate them forever by undoing the cult of a thousand.
Sucker for Love: Date to Die For tells a more focused narrative than the first as it focuses solely on Rhok’zan, Stardust, and their interactions with the few named members of the Cult of the Thousand. This is both a benefit and a hindrance however in the long run since, as players progress through the story and experience the different chapters, learning more about Rhok’zan and the way the world and her cult works, it reveals that some of the best characters aren’t actually even the main two but some of the side cast. It doesn’t help that, unlike the first game, there is a shockingly limited amount of interactions players can make with Rhok’zan who only talks to Stardust during plot moments and has a few lines when players select her as she rests in Stardust’s room. This leads to a relatively limited romance, though given that Stardust is “Ace” it does make sense romantically even if the two eventually do form a strong enough connection beyond that. In fact, a number of their interactions are downright sweet and better than those found in the first game, even with the heavier horror aspect that this entry carries.
It also reveals that Date to Die For is an incredibly short visual novel that clocks in at an even smaller size than the original release. Some of this may come down to luck and the times players may die during exploration, but it is easy to see all true endings in less than four hours, which makes isn’t bad for a bite sized visual novel with a unique blend of genre like this, but more options and variations of routes would have been nice to see, especially compared to the original that saw various routes and unique interactions only happening if players replayed routes after obtaining other endings and messing around with both Ln’eta and Estir in First Date. That isn’t to say that Rhok’zan and Stardust’s storyline doesn’t make for an engaging and thoughtful story, especially in the latter half, we just wish there were more interactions and more of it.
Gameplay
Unlike the first game that saw players only within the apartment building of a playboy, Sucker for Love: Date to Die For places players in the large home of Stardust that has been filled with various intractable objects that players will need to hunt down for rituals or examine for unique descriptions all while trying to avoid the potential death that awaits them should a cultist or something worse happens to see them. Rituals are mostly performed the same way, though they are far simpler than before as players barely have to fiddle with the sigils drawn on the chalkboard and only occasionally need to pay attention to the color of the candles they have lit. In fact, even the items called for in some rituals seem vague enough to let players use a variety of items instead.
While the rituals themselves have gotten easier, the exploration has been given a significant upgrade. As mentioned before, players now will find themselves navigating Stardust’s home and each chapter will see new threats and changes to the home that players will have to deal with. Initially players can freely open doors and travel between rooms but eventually they’ll need to slowly peek into rooms, closing doors quietly to avoid drawing suspicion from a cult member. Other times they may need to deal with someone or something directly hunting the player down or requiring the player to make certain actions or go to a certain spot in the house to avoid dying. This creates a bit of a unique element of horror where jumpscares can happen during exploration as well as through the story.
Speaking of which, it is worth noting that there really aren’t any choices to be made in Date to Die For as each chapter only has a Good and True ending depending on the actions players take. This is simple and also contributes a bit to the fact that we’d like to see more of Stardust and Rhok’zan’s interactions having more to do with the endings. That being said, there are some fun moments here and there that players can trigger involving a water sprayer to help cool down the horned goat woman they’ve summoned, though whether players want to let Rhok’zan flirt to their hearts content or spray her down doesn’t play a role in the endings.
Audio & Visuals
One of the best elements from Akabaka’s games is that they use a retro anime art style and this works perfectly here. Not only does it help add some dread to exploring the various rooms of Stardust’s home but also allows for some wonderful character designs. Rhok’zan, as a goddess that amplifies a person’s greatest desire, exudes erotic energy especially when flirting with Stardust and has plenty of great expressions when surprised by Stardust’s reactions or when sprayed down. Even Stardust has a great design, though it would have been nice to see it more, especially in later chapters where she undergoes certain changes. As for the other characters, they are also handled quite well and there are a number of scary creatures as well, though this mostly happens in the last chapter as well.
The entirety of Date to Die For, with the exception of Stardust, is voiced with Rhok’zan and a few of the other allies players make along the way sounding perfect in their roles. It is also nice to note that the game makes great use of atmospheric sounds to increase tension and warn players that danger may be nearby. This also includes a great set of background music that works to provide a great ambiance to the dangerous halls players will explore, including a fully voiced one.
Overall
Akabaka continues to succeed with their unique take of H.P. Lovecraft’s eldritch beings and placing them into an even more unique feeling game. Sure, the romance is a bit more simple this time around and we wish there were more interactions between Stardust and Rhok’zan but what is shown is great and there is plenty of horror to be had alongside some rather “horny” humor. With its great aesthetic and solid storyline, Sucker for Love: Date to Die For may be a bit more limited in romantic options, routes, and extra endings, but it’s expanded gameplay elements and strong writing for the paths that are there make this short length more horror focused entry in the Sucker for Love series an impressive offering.
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