Publisher: Janbeh Games
Developer: Janbeh Games
Medium: Digital
Players: 1
Online: No
ESRB: Not Rated
Love, Ghostie is a fine game if you feel like playing something that you don’t need to think about in any way whatsoever.
In that respect, I guess, it’s sort of like the dating shows it emulates. It’s far cozier and more wholesome than your typical trash TV fare, to be sure, but at its core, it’s practically the definition of empty calories.
Ironically, a big part of the reason why it feels so vapid and shallow is precisely because it’s a cozy, wholesome game. Like so many other games from that genre, Love, Ghostie is so preoccupied with being pleasant that it forgets to add in any kind of drama – which, as i understand it, is one of the main draws of dating shows.
In fact, this lack of drama is built into the game’s DNA. You play as a recently dead ghost, and it’s your job to play matchmaker between residents in a house. The problem is that everyone in the house is, deep down, nice and pleasant, so it’s not really a challenge to make whatever two residents you want fall for each other. In Love, Ghostie’s world, “love” is just another word for having any two random house inhabitants send each other presents and going on dates. You’re in charge of the dates and the presents, so there’s really no relationship you can’t force if you just brute-force it into existence.
The weird thing is, Love, Ghostie is so close to being interesting. You have a variety of characters that can come to your house, anthropomorphized animals of all types with the usual varied gender identities. And…well, that’s as far as the game takes it. In theory, you need to make sure the gifts and dates match up with the interests and personalities of each animal, but again, send enough gifts and sent characters on enough dates, and you can make sure to set in motion whatever relationship you want.
You see this in action in the interactions between animals. All the conversations end up being mawkish and dumb, as if they were written to teach 7-year-olds how to be respectful of each other. As worthwhile a goal as that may be, in a game about relationships, it just comes off as boring.
But as I wrote up top, if you just want a game you don’t need to think about, Love, Ghostie will deliver. It’s every bit as shallow as the dating shows that inspired it, so if that’s the kind of game you’re after – and the continued popularity of the genre shows some people are – then this may be right up your alley.
Janbeh Games provided us with a Love, Ghostie PC code for review purposes.