SUCKER FOR LOVE: DATE TO DIE FOR
Sucker for Love: Date to Die For is the sequel to Sucker for Love: First Date. Having had the privilege of playing the game before PAX and playing it during the event itself, I can confidently say that this upcoming installment is set to exceed all expectations.
This time, the game introduces us to a new protagonist, Stardust, who is trapped in a town besieged by an eerie cult. This sinister group worships an enigmatic, Lovecraftian deity known as Rhok'zan, The Black Goat of the Woods. Unlike the previous game, which featured different Lovecraftian characters, Sucker For Love: Date to Die For focuses primarily on Rhok'zan herself.
During my interview, the game's developer, Akabaka, explained that while the first game explored the theme of lust, Sucker for Love: Date to Die For dives further into the intricacies of love in the context of Lovecraftian horror. According to their Steam page, his game is all about "putting the 'love' in 'Lovecraftian horror’"
While the first game was set in a small apartment, Sucker for Love: Date to Die For has an even more expansive setting. The narrative is set in the rustic hometown of the protagonist, Sacramen-Cho, and opens up a captivating game hub in the form of a mysterious house to explore. Here, players encounter puzzles to solve and enigmas to unravel, all of which promise to immerse them further into the game's intriguing storyline.
Sucker for Love: Date to Die For features 90’s anime aesthetics, dating sim elements, a hint of horror (though the developer assures it's just a hint), and the true essence of Lovecraftian storytelling. Beyond romantic interests, the game explores the psyche of people who worship Rhok'zan, revealing the depths they're willing to reach, whether she desires it or not.
For those whose curiosity has been piqued, I strongly recommend adding this game to your Steam wishlist. If you haven't already, I recommend playing the first installment, Sucker for Love: First Date. The experience is truly worth every moment, and it sets the stage for what promises to be an even more captivating journey in Sucker for Love: Date to Die For. Don't miss out on this thrilling blend of love, horror, and cosmic dread.
Sam: This is Sam with Game Raven Review here at PAX West 2023. I am with a wonderful developer here with Dread XP. Can you introduce yourself to the fans?
Joseph: Sure. I'm Joseph Hunter or Akabaka. I am the lead developer for Sucker for Love, represented by Dread XP.
Sam: All right, now I played the first one. I played a demo for the second one. It seems to be a little bit different than the first one: the first one had, let's say, several characters that you could interact with while the second one here kind of seems more myopic in a way. Is that on purpose?
Joseph: So the sort of idea going into Sucker for Love 2 is to help flesh out sort of what Sucker for Love can be. So, while we spent Sucker for Love 1 with the human embodiment of lust — because he was just after a smooch, going for it with as many goddesses as possible.
Sam: (laughs) Right.
Joseph: This character is more like, if the first character was lust incarnate then this character is love incarnate.
Sam: Okay.
Joseph: And as I was developing the character and started working with the story and figuring out what the conflicts are, it felt less natural to kind of have this character jumping between gods like the first character did. And so I thought it'd be a nice take on the original IP to go from short blurbs of dates with a bunch of different gods as opposed to one nice, slow-burn fleshed-out, in-depth relationship with just one.
Sam: Okay.
Joseph: And so with this one, while there aren't as many romance interests this time, the one that you do have is far more in-depth, far more expanded upon and way more emotionally impactful because it's got more time to do so.
Sam: Right.
Joseph: And so this was sort of a personal design element that I hate doing the same thing twice. And so even if you look at Sucker for Love: First Date, the chapter where Esther appears is so different from the first one because now you've got two gods to juggle in two books. And now you can also get killed if you mess up a ritual or if you have them both in the room at the same time.
Sam: Right (laughs).
Joseph: And then once you get to Nyanlathotep’s chapter, it again changes dramatically again where now it's like a straight-up boss battle — it's barely a dating sim. And so I basically wanted to go into Sucker for Love 2 and catch the players just as off-guard as they were for the first time they opened up Sucker for Love: First Date.
Sam: I can honestly say when I played the demo — again, part two — it is different. Like it's just, you're in a town. Like there really wasn't a town in the first one, really.
Joseph: Yeah, you’re just in a room.
Sam: Right. And now there's a town, there’s people going out to try and get you, there is… cultists?
Joseph: Yes.
Sam: (laughs) You know there's a lot of going on in the second one. Like you said: it's just a different game. Like it is strands of the first and what you're trying to do. But again, like you said, this is a different idea than what the first one is, man.
Joseph: Yeah.
Sam: So with this game, what originally got you into wanting to make even the first game?
Joseph: So, the first game was actually for the Dread X Collection, which was a gamejam-like product that Dread XP had started itself on where they invited a list of about 10 developers to make a horror game for them in about 10 days or so.
Sam: You made that in 10 days?
Joseph: Yeah, the original Sucker for Love: Prelude, yes.
Sam: Really! Okay, okay.
Joseph: And so what we had to do was we had to make a game that met the theme of love crafting, which is part Lovecraftian Horror, part love mechanics, and part crafting mechanics. And there were other games involved with that like Squirrel Stapler, or Charlotte's Exile. In my case, it was Sucker for Love which is now free on Steam for Sucker for Love: Prelude. And because I'm coming from an anime background, I make like VNs, RPGs, and stuff like that. And so when we had to make a game with crafting mechanics in 10 days I was like, “So that's not happening… What's close enough to crafting mechanics?” and like, making items and then using them as kind of like crafting, and then a game genre that has both that kind of crafting and love mechanics is like a dating sim.
Sam: Right.
Joseph: And that's pretty close to my wheelhouse. And then the only missing piece of the puzzle was Lovecraftian Horror. And so at that point, it just became a dating sim but with Lovecraftian Horror. So that was the sort of the natural path to pursue. The Dread X Collection, Sucker for Love: Prelude version did really well and so I was invited back to make the trilogy, which is what I'm working on now.
Sam: Okay, okay. For this game in particular, if you want to tell the audience something that you want them to get out of it.
Joseph: Out of this one?
Sam: Yeah.
Joseph: So, out of this one… This is, in a way, almost a little bit more of a true romp through Lovecraftian Horror.
Sam: Okay.
Joseph: The first one was just straight up, you know, these are anime girls based on gods from the mythos and it has lore accurate with each of the gods as possible. But this time around, I wanted to sort of — now that we've sort of, you know, stuck our toes in the wading pool of the sorts of Lovecraftian Horror — this time, I wanted to actually put the player through a story that feels very Lovecraftian. And so this one is kind of similar to Shadow Over Innsmouth where you are trapped in a town surrounded by a bunch of other cultists that no you're not one of them at a glance. And so with this one, I want to show a couple of things: number one, a romp through, you know, old school anime, a romp through dating sims, and then a romp through like a really true Lovecraftian experience — sort of as a fun experience of all three.
Sam: Okay.
Joseph: And so, I'm hoping that players will come into this. I know that people have, you know, expectations like, “Oh, we're gonna play as D again, from the first one, and there’s just gonna be a harem of girls waiting for me.” It’s like well, that's not exactly what this story is trying to do.
Sam: (laughs) No.
Joseph: As long as people give it a shot, I think they'll be really impressed with how far we've come on the second one.
Sam: Okay.
Joseph: Like, you've given it a shot so you've probably seen like how the house is way bigger instead of just being a one room and now there's a whole like building.
Sam: There’s navigation you have to do now.
Joseph: There’s navigation now. So it's everything the first one had and like, leagues more.
Sam: If you could go back and tell yourself day one, something that you know now, what would that be?
Joseph: Scope down, scope down! (laughs)
Sam: (laughs)
Joseph: So the original, original, original Dread X Collection build, I was originally going to have Luneta, Roxanne, and then Astrid (who is the girl for the next game) all involved in one project.
Sam: Okay.
Joseph: And I was like, “This seems crazy. I'm gonna scope down to just Luneta.” And that did well. And Sucker for Love 1 went really well. So it was like, “You know what? I can I bet I could go even harder.” And here I am about two years into the dev cycle for the second and I was like, “I should have just stayed small.” (laughs)
Sam: (laughs)
Joseph: I'm very glad with what the finished result looks like. Since we're about a month and a half from release.
Sam: Okay.
Joseph: But if I had one thing to pass on it would be to scope down a little bit (laughs).
Sam: (laughs) And for my last question, which I kind of hinted on already, the release window or date, if you have one?
Joseph: Yeah, so that should be coming mid to late October or to mid, early November.
Sam: Okay, around the spooky months kind of.
Joseph: Yes, exactly.
Sam: All right, man. Again, this has been Sam with the Game Raven Review here at PAX. Thank you so much again, man. I appreciate it.
Joseph: You too, yeah.
