If you’ve been into the Date A Live universe for a while, whether through the light novels, anime, or the earlier games, you’ll likely feel right at home with DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia. For those unfamiliar, it’s a visual novel dating sim that follows Date A Live: Rio Reincarnation, offering more content and storylines for fans of this long-standing franchise. And as someone who’s never been the biggest fan of the genre, my experience with this game was… interesting, to say the least.
Starting with the basics: DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia puts you in the shoes of Shido Itsuka, a high schooler tasked with dating spirits (who appear as cute anime girls) to save the world from catastrophic space quakes. Yes, it’s as wild as it sounds, and that’s where a lot of the charm lies for fans of the series. The premise is quirky, and if you’re into the idea of dating supernatural beings to stop global destruction, this game sticks to the tried-and-true formula.
Right from the start, the game’s biggest strength is its accessibility to the Date A Live lore. For those who may not be fully caught up (like me, only having seen the first season and done some minor research), there’s an in-game encyclopedia that helps fill in the gaps. This feature is a welcome touch for newcomers or those who’ve drifted away from the series but want to jump back in.
Now, let’s talk about the gameplay. If you’ve played visual novels before, the structure will be familiar. There’s no real gameplay in the traditional sense—no combat, exploration, or even complicated decision trees. Instead, it boils down to reading dialogue, making the occasional choice, and hoping you get the right outcome. You’ll be making decisions that guide the course of your relationships with different spirit girls, which then determines which ending you unlock. For fans of visual novels, that’s part of the charm, but for someone who might not have the patience for lengthy dialogue-heavy games, this is where the appeal can wane.
I will say that the quality of life features really saved the day for me. The skip dialogue option and save system allowed me to fast-forward through the more repetitive moments. As someone who tends to get impatient with slower-paced games, this made the experience much more bearable, and I even managed to hit 100% completion in just under 7 hours, despite the game boasting around 40-50 hours of content.
But here’s where I struggle with Ren Dystopia: the price tag. At $40, it feels steep for what is essentially a very niche title. While I got the game for free to review (thank you, Idea Factory), it’s hard to recommend at full price unless you’re a diehard Date A Live fan. For a visual novel with minimal interactivity, the price feels more in line with a $10 game, especially considering that outside of answering three questions per route, there’s little to do gameplay-wise.
That being said, if you’re already invested in the Date A Live world, you’ll probably enjoy what’s on offer here. The characters are well-animated and emotive, with enough variety in their stories to keep things interesting. Ren, the new spirit introduced in this game, adds a fresh element to the mix, and her storyline was one of the more intriguing ones to follow. And, of course, for fans of the anime, there’s plenty of humor and heart. I found myself chuckling often, particularly at some of the more absurd moments, like Origami’s overly direct behavior, which is as endearing as it is ridiculous.
The game’s narrative, while predictable in some parts, does have a few nice twists that will keep fans engaged. However, as someone less familiar with the series, I often felt like the game was playing with expectations I didn’t have—many of the emotional beats rely on knowledge from the previous seasons of the anime, so newcomers might feel a bit lost or disconnected.
DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia: All in all, DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia is a game with a very specific audience in mind. If you're already a fan of the series and enjoy visual novels, it’s an easy recommendation. The humor, charm, and well-loved characters will likely resonate with you, and the quality-of-life features make it accessible even to those with less time on their hands. But if you're outside the target audience, the lack of gameplay, high price point, and niche appeal might leave you wondering if this one's really worth the investment. – Tom Henry
