Campaign Ends: March 15
Platform: Windows and macOS. Consoles may be possible in the future, but nothing is confirmed.
Sometime last year I had a dream where I was playing a Pokémon dating sim; though our main characters are considerably larger, Kaichu: A Kaiju Dating Sim feels like the closest thing yet. A short and adorable game, Kaichu follows the love lives of a pastel-colored array of giant monsters, featuring charming Pokémon-inspired designs and a narrative filtered through two plucky news anchors eager to spill all manner of kaiju secrets.
You play as Gigachu, a giant pink lizard with heart-shaped accents and a passion for destroying historical landmarks; a hobby more practical than it seems, as demolishing buildings happens to be a popular way for kaiju to show off to potential mates. How romantic! Travel across the world in a non-linear quest for love, with 24 real-world locations for you to smash and seven delightful and destructive love interests. Although the game is short, each kaiju you meet has its own distinct storyline and ending, encouraging multiple playthroughs.
As kaiju aren’t known for being very chatty, our abovementioned pair of news reporters interpret and comment on your dating adventures, analyzing the creatures you’ll meet. You’ll need to pay close attention to what the reporters say about your potential mate’s preferences, as you’ll be presented with a relationship quiz later on. Depending on whether or not your answers match up with that of your love interest, your bond will either improve or weaken. Will your date end up stomping on your heart in addition to all those historical landmarks? Let’s hope not!
All things considered, Kaichu looks to be an adorable and unique edition to the dating sim genre, and a great choice for fans of cute monsters. Put on a bowtie and grab some roses (or perhaps an entire tree, in this case); giant-sized romance awaits!
Disclaimer: While it’s possible some of us at RPGFan may be backers of the games mentioned in these articles, this does not influence our coverage or our featured game choices. We make our selections simply based on the active campaigns we feel our readers might find interesting, and we are not given special access or perks by the developers.
tl;dr: We think these games show potential and want to share them with you.
