A Tinder simulator? Perhaps more than that!

So, you scroll down the game list in your app store, come across a game that calls itself a “romance simulator” and your reaction is instantly along the lines of “why should I even bother?” I wouldn’t blame you, for you could not have imagined what really lies under those whopping 5+ GB of data.

Mr. Love is a game that can boast of having a moderately intricate plot not much different from some of the most outlandish role-playing games you see coming out of Japan (though this one comes out of China). It’s a melting pot that fuses fantasy, believable modern-day undertakings, and, what’s more obvious, anime aesthetics to boot.

You even listen to the characters talk about esoteric “abilities” such as “Evol”. But, what is “Evol”? It sounds like a very arcane concept but, in fact, it’s just “love” backwards (duh!) According to the game lore, it’s a power that only a few “super-evolved” people have and which makes you look exceedingly attractive for some reason. It additionally makes a clever wordplay with “evolution”, a finding that almost made my head explode!

On another note, this game is seemingly catered towards females, judging by the monologues, dialogues, and the interface it sports. That doesn’t mean you can’t try enjoying it as a male but, if you’re not interested in boys, it may feel a bit awkward in places (even women could feel slightly uncomfortable with some of the scenes presented here.)

To illustrate: At some point, you come across some doctor dude (whom you’ve met just 2 minutes ago, mind you!) whispering into your ear with a sexy voice! Like, geez, dude, can’t we grab some coffee first? 

Anyways, as the game launches for the first time, you are prompted to choose out of the four attractive guys that you see on the cover and with whom you’ll “bind a Karma” (more on that a bit later). This choice will affect the future events in the story, though you’ll meet all of those guys in due course.

The game then shows a dream scene of an accident that you had when you were five and you seemed to recall a boy saving you and holding you in his arms (whoever it was, I won’t be spoiling that here). 

Anyhow, you’ll then jump back to reality and receive a call. Your assistant has some bad news that could spell bankruptcy for your media studio. In short, one of your main investors is planning to withdraw from the investment agreement alleging that your show “Miracle Finder” (about people with superpowers) was “outdated” and out of touch with modern scientific reasoning.

After you make your second choice in your playthrough - whether to sign the withdrawal or not - the game will ask you to name your character, a moment that may cause genuine amusement if you decide to fool around with the random name generator. The more you shuffle, the weirder it gets: “Horseback Riding Adel”, “Bleak Lacey”… Is this really “random” or the developers’ attempt at trolling their user base? 

Moving on with gameplay, Mr. Love is naturally on the slow side of things. You get some drawn-out dialogues about trivial stuff that might turn off some people not invested in these types of stories. It can likewise feel a bit cheesy in some spots but it’s not a bad story, all things considered.

There are some remarkable details to note, too. The interface is very nicely put together with neat non-essential features like “News” or “Weather” to enhance the experience. I also enjoyed the game’s map visuals. This UI might seem very similar in some aspects to the one found in “Love Nikki” but, regardless, it works, apart from some screens that may seem a bit convoluted.

There’s also the “Karma” system, which can be a little complicated to wrap your head around. This is a system that grants certain gameplay options such as SMS, phone calls, or “Moments” and is essential to progress through all game modes (Main Story, Daily Missions, etc.) These cards can be obtained by combining “Karma shards” with gold, during challenges/events, or via the “Wish Tree” (a gacha-style minigame). 

The Karma cards consist of characters that you meet in the game. They are either experts (whom you hire to perform jobs) or story characters. Each card has a set of colored tags signaling personality traits (Hipster, Extrovert, Rebel, Careful, etc.) and you can upgrade them to obtain new conversation topics. In addition, the rarer the card is, the greater the options you get.

Lastly, your Karma color will define your strongest attribute. If your Karma is displayed as green, for example, your strongest attribute will be “Execution”, whereas pink stands for “Affinity”. It all sounds a bit labyrinthine, but you’ll eventually see how it plays out.

Though it may not be for everyone, Mr. Love: Queen’s Choice is ultimately a game that you shouldn’t miss out on, especially if you crave female-oriented story-driven titles!

You can also voice your feelings about this wonderful game in the commentary box below!