Love, Ghostie Preview

Recently, I had the absolute pleasure of trying out the demo for the adorable — and surprisingly unique — visual novel, Love, Ghostie. In this charming dating sim developed and published by Janbeh Games, you play as a soul who, upon arriving in the afterlife, discovers there's more to being a ghost than floating around and making things go bump in the night. 

Through a brief (and absolutely hilarious) tutorial, the game introduces you to the nuanced idea of "ghost match-making"! Apparently, the afterlife was so boring that they began taking matters into their own hands and started pairing up people instead of haunting them. Unlike most visual novels and dating sims where you try to woo others into liking you, in Love, Ghostie, your only job is to manipulate the living into falling in love with each other. Of course, this is mostly so that the spirits can then go watch how it all unfolds together at a theatre, but we're not here to judge their guilty pleasures!

In order to play ghostly cupid, at the start of every day, you'll have a certain amount of Action Points you can spend to help the relationships along. Whilst at first there are only four available, they are enough to get the ball rolling as you get used to the features, and you eventually unlock a shop that gives you access to a skill tree to increase them, but more on that later.

Janbeh Games does an excellent job at incorporating humour in every aspect of the game, and it's evident in the methods available for you to use to make the living get together. There are two main ways the ghosts manipulate the couples into falling in love: by planting gifts with items you steal from around the house (or buy on eep!bay) and by getting them to go on dates unknowingly... also known as "not-dates".

The present part might sound a bit confusing, but it's simple in-game. Every day, you can use some Action Points to nab lost items inside the manor that you find lying around and either sell them online or drop them in one of the resident's rooms as a present. Although you can give any item as a gift and address it from their to-be lover, each character has a few personality traits you'll want to keep an eye on for maximum results. 

Thankfully, whilst each character has different characteristics, there are no right or wrongs when it comes to love: you can pair up any residents together, regardless of likes, gender, and relationship status. I really appreciate this because this freedom is rare in most dating sims and visual novels. So, although I loved watching some of the cutest couples get together, seeing Calathea — an upbeat, outside-lover plant girl — develop a relationship with the gloomy and philosophical Gerard felt... different. The game encourages you to explore the different couples by offering various scenes unique to each one. When I set up Calathea with Ollin and Noir, their reactions were different after going on a similar non-date, so it's very fun to explore and mix and match.

Thanks to this quirky feature, despite it just being a demo and having only four characters in total, I was able to enjoy and unravel all types of relationships: sensical, nonsensical, straight, queer, polyamorous... the possibilities were fun to explore, and the interactions hilarious and wholesome. 

The full game obviously has more to offer, as the skill tree system allows you to purchase upgrades to the manor, your Ghostie (such as increasing their Action Points), and the matchmaking, which will offer a much longer and more fulfilling experience!

Love, Ghostie's charm and personality are very evident in just the short demo. From the sound design and dialogue to the premise itself, this title is an absolutely hilarious experience that you won't want to miss out on, especially if you're a fan of dating sims! Although there's no current release date for the game, if you'd like to check it out yourself or support the developers, consider having a look at their Twitter or maybe even having a go at the demo available on the Steam page!