Hooked On You: A Dead by Daylight Dating Sim (opens in new tab) is a present to all the individuals who play Behaviour Interactive’s recreation about horrific killers, however who additionally assume they may deserve a kiss typically. Or on a regular basis, because the staggering waterfall of Useless by Daylight fanart has so explicitly proven. Hooked On You, which is obtainable as we speak on Steam, plucks out 4 of its hottest villains and places them on an island with you. Whilst somebody who hasn’t performed the favored multiplayer recreation it is based mostly on (I’ve seen it performed so much although), it is nonetheless a surprisingly charming style twist that did not should be this good.
Hooked On You is developer Psyop’s return to relationship sims after releasing the Kentucky Fried Hen recreation in 2019. I Love You, Colonel Sanders! A Finger Lickin’ Good Dating Simulator (opens in new tab) acquired criticism when it got here out for being what was basically an elaborate advertising ploy disguised as a relationship sim, a style that is had a protracted historical past as a spot for queer expression that you simply would not discover in loads of mainstream releases. Hooked On You rigorously rides the road between model commercial and honest relationship recreation, however after having completed it twice, I believe its dedication to the bit is basically real. The one factor that is a bit exhausting to get previous is Psyop’s current involvement with NFTs (opens in new tab); a enterprise that damages my enjoyment a bit after the actual fact, though it was led by a unique mission director than the one who labored on this recreation.
Like nearly all relationship sims, Hooked On You drops you right into a scenario the place it is not possible to not fall into the lap of one in all its attractive love pursuits, or killers on this case. You are stranded on a tropical island and are given the chance to speak up the Trapper, the Huntress, the Wraith, and the Spirit. Every of them have their very own distinct needs and open up about their traumatic pasts, which the sport’s self-aware writing underlines by way of the voice of its narrator.
Courting the killers requires you to impress them over drinks, volleyball, and impromptu dates in an deserted, magical lighthouse (it will get bizarre quick). Should you say the flawed factor and piss them off, you may get murdered and requested to retry, however, exterior of 1 small stop-the-spinner minigame, it is easy to lock lips with one of many gruesomely enticing villains by the tip of its one-hour size. If the result wasn’t precisely what you needed or there are different paths you need to pursue, you possibly can reload and skip by way of the dialogue to vary your destiny.
The construction is strictly what you’d count on, however the way in which Hooked On You is ready to acknowledge its absurd premise, the sport it is based mostly on, and the way determined its characters are for a real connection, is magnetic. As soon as I hit the second day, I could not cease clicking by way of the witty conversations to see how I might persuade one of many killers to spend the evening with me. Hooked On You treats everybody, irrespective of how ridiculous and indifferent from their violent function within the multiplayer recreation, like actual folks, and all of it comes by way of within the writing. And for a brief expertise, that is much more than I might have requested for.
Hooked On You embraces its place as an imaginative $10 off-shoot the place the one purpose is to lastly let folks make out with the chopped-up goth woman or the masked himbo. It is surprisingly sincere and a welcome palate cleanser in the event you’ve been knee-deep in a lot greater and far more grim video games this yr.
Hooked On You is obtainable on Steam, and in the event you personal Useless By Daylight, you may earn some in-game goodies for purchasing it too.
