Online dating can feel like a game, so it makes sense that Wales Interactive have fully embraced it. Make a profile for your tragic singleton Vinny, then choose three dates from a possible five ladies. As long as he doesn’t bore them to tears, you’ll whittle the suitors down to two and then one, with the lucky lady getting to enter a long-distance relationship with him. Five Dates is out now on Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS4, PS5, Switch and PC via Steam.
This is a fully acted FMV adventure from Wales Interactive, hot off the heels of Maid of Sker, and the team behind similar games like The Bunker and The Shapeshifting Detective. There are some fantastic actresses giving their all too, with Mandip Gill (Doctor Who) and Marisa Abela (the upcoming Industry on HBO) being absolute standouts.
While it might sound railroaded and a glorified movie, there’s actually far more to it than that. Having played through five times, we’ve still only seen half of the videos that make up this intricate web of choices. You will choose a profile, which the dates will react to, and you’ll have dozens of choices, even within the same date, which will cause your date to react and be more – or less – willing to stick around for another date.
There’s some neat variation in the dates too, with the first being a strictly getting-to-know-you affair, with the second being a game date (Truth or Dare, I Have Never and more), and the third being a dinner date. After that, the sky’s your oyster!
Features include:
- A completely live-action romantic comedy, directed by Paul Rachid (The Complex)
- Entirely conceptualized, filmed and developed during lockdown
- Over 7 hours of filmed footage, the most amount of FMV footage in any game
- Real-time Relationship Status Tracking that influences the story as you play
- Multi-optional storytelling with 10 different outcomes
- Starring Mandip Gill (Doctor Who), Georgia Hirst (Vikings), Sinead Harnett (singer) and Taheen Modak (Two Weeks To Live)
Five Dates is out now on Xbox One and Xbox Series X and starts at £9.99. It’s also out on PS4, PS5, Switch and PC. Read our review of Five Dates on Xbox One too, where we give this endearing adventure a score!
Game Description:
Vinny, a millennial from London, joins a dating app for the first time while living in lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic. With five potential female matches, Vinny must pluck up courage to video date with wildly different personalities, starring Mandip Gill (Doctor Who) and Georgia Hirst (Vikings). The viewer’s choices will define Vinny’s interactions with each date and their interest in seeing him again. Amidst a branching, multi-directional chain of conversation topics and deep-dive questions, Vinny is faced with digital game dates, awkward scenarios and unexpected truths. Five Dates is an exploration of the unpredictable modern dating experience, which follows an average single man as he navigates the world of digital dating. Through his journey, the decisions the viewer makes for him will challenge their own conceptions of attraction and compatibility. From the publishing studio that brought you The Complex, The Bunker and The Shapeshifting Detective.
