Breaking up is never easy. But in Sweetheart, ending a relationship that began in childhood turns into something considerably more terrifying.
Revealed during Future Games Show Live, Sweetheart is a first-person, narrative-driven horror game from Genie Boy Games that describes itself as a “horror breakup simulator”. It’s coming next year to Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Windows PC, Mac and Linux via Steam.
And judging by the first details, this isn’t your average story about heartbreak.
At a Glance
- Sweetheart is a first-person narrative-driven horror game
- Described as a “horror breakup simulator”
- Coming next year to Xbox Series X|S, PS5, Nintendo Switch and PC
- Also launching on Mac and Linux via Steam
- Explore a warped Hollywood Hills mansion filled with shifting horrors
When Childhood Sweethearts Become Something Else
Sweetheart follows Skylar Maxine and Gabe, a couple who have been together since they were 12 years old. Fifteen years later, their lives look very different.
Skylar is now an A-list pop star living in a huge mansion in the Hollywood Hills. But when Gabe decides he can no longer continue their relationship, the breakup triggers a nightmare that begins to warp the world around them.
Players will explore the couple’s dream home as their relationship falls apart, navigating distorted rooms, ruined memories and increasingly surreal spaces while attempting to survive what follows.
A Horror Story About More Than Monsters
As Skylar’s psychological state deteriorates, the mansion – and Skylar herself – begins to change. Gabe will need to sneak, hide and survive as reality becomes increasingly difficult to understand.
The developers describe Sweetheart as mixing horror and comedy while telling a more serious story about dependent identities, abuse within relationships and the pressures surrounding fame and childhood stardom.
There’s also an early-2000s influence running through the game’s premise, particularly in its examination of the era when young performers were pushed into becoming major television and pop culture stars.
Remember, Escape, Repeat
Sweetheart is promising a surreal, narrative-led experience where players will gradually uncover darker truths about Skylar, Gabe and the world they inhabit.
The combination of a glamorous Hollywood mansion, a collapsing long-term relationship and shifting psychological horror certainly gives Genie Boy Games something a little different to work with. And while the phrase “horror breakup simulator” might initially raise a smile, the game appears to be aiming for something considerably more unsettling…
Sweetheart will launch next year for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Windows PC, Mac and Linux via Steam. This is one relationship we’re not sure anyone is going to escape without some emotional baggage. For now, give the trailer a gaze.
