When the theme running through each route is in some way ‘relationships’, and your primary way of interacting with them is by forming relationships, it’s impossible for them to not feel heavy handed. For all Sunder is pitched as the ‘bad boy’, it’s an incredibly gentle (and heavily foreshadowed) breakup. He’s learned about emotional maturity, and that he simply doesn’t have enough of it to commit. Even Sunder, who earns repeated warning texts about how ‘bad’ and ‘dangerous’ he is, thoughtfully sits you down at the end of your journey to let you know: it’s not you, it’s him. You support Isaac to set boundaries with his father Sawyer to be more independent Valerie to trust other people with her past.īoyfriend Dungeon is about its own meaning far above any emotional stakes. Each route, whether pursued romantically or platonically, feels like a thesis about healthy relationships. Neither Eric, nor any other character, are allowed more depth than the purpose of their arc. It’s a little didactic, made more stark by the brevity of the game. In the ending, after defeating the construct, Eric finally finds his humility and apologises, confessing that he could work on himself in therapy. Unable to bear rejection, he creates an ideal construct made of stolen pieces of the weapons you date, and literally powered by his self-loathing. Like the rest of Boyfriend Dungeon, he’s a moral about healthy intimacy.Įric is a dark reflection of what happens if you can’t embrace vulnerability. In sending unwanted gifts, appearing at events uninvited, and intruding on your dates, Eric is a list of red flags in character form, but that’s also quite literally all he is. To be clear, this isn’t to dismiss that some people found its content triggering – triggers simply are, and that’s not a judgement of execution, or taste. Boyfriend Dungeon isn’t challenging, but I don’t think it ever set out to be. The discourse was polarising, with some calling for his storyline to be made optional, and others coming to the defense of messy, difficult art, but having finished the game by the time the controversy was firmly framed as a matter of two opposing ‘sides’, I found myself on neither of them. The weapon dating sim was met with a slew of criticism when it first came out, particularly regarding the handling of its stalker antagonist, Eric. Boyfriend Dungeon aims to be an all-inclusive dating sim and dungeon crawler that is opened to people from all walks of life in a safe and healthy dating atmosphere, with the exception of the monster-filled dunj.I want to come to the defense of challenging art, but I found Boyfriend Dungeon to feel too safe. Unlike games like Fire Emblem: Three Houses, these choices do not affect the relationships players can have nor bar them from any choices they can make: players can be who they want to be with the people they want to be within Boyfriend Dungeon. The best part is the vast customization options for wielders - from their appearance to their pronouns. As the story evolves, the player will work to solve who is leaving these beautiful blades damaged and in dungeons, growing stronger bonds with all their found weapons along the way. The solution is clearing creatures they find in "the dunj." Helping them clear the dunj are weapon-people, individuals who have the ability to transform into weapons, many of whom are looking for romance too. Unfortunately, they have never even been on a date. In Boyfriend Dungeon, the player character moves into their cousin's old apartment in Verona Beach, looking to meet people, make a little money and possibly even find love.
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