Review of Boyfriend Dungeon Switch: they refer to me as the "sword smoocher"
Our Verdict
A great dating-sim, dungeon-crawler hybrid that takes you on a journey of self-acceptance, love, and facing your fears - all while smooching some cute swords. It’s a short but sweet tale that will leave you wanting more.
Alright, I will admit it without fear: Boyfriend Dungeon is my obsession. I started this game with the intention of merely enjoying it "ironically," but I quickly found myself savoring the overall positive sentiments that were offered at every step. Boyfriend Dungeon is much more than just a relationship simulation with dungeon crawler components, despite appearances to the contrary. It's a journey about learning to embrace who you are, confronting your anxieties, appreciating limits and consent, and appreciating the value of love, both romantic and platonic.
Your cousin Jesse welcomes you to your new town and seems to be just interested in setting you up on a date. He is determined to change the fact that you have never been fortunate in love. Where is the greatest location to meet new people, then? Why, the mall, naturally. There is a problem, though: monsters have taken over the mall and transformed it into a dunj. Oh, and the majority of your possible suitors have one thing in common: they have the ability to change into weapons, sometimes referred to as "Bae Blades," which is a hilariously brilliant move on its own.
Every Bae Blade has a distinct personality, and their weapon shape reflects it. Your combat technique reflects the personality of your chosen partner, whether you're slicing about with Sunder, the wild talawar, or managing Isaac, the prim and proper estoc. Because of this attention to detail, the gameplay seems dynamic and distinct, entangling you in the bonds you form.
Fighting is a lot of fun. Isometric Dunj levels with special foes and secret vaults provide the setting for battles. You enter two distinct, 12-level dungeons where the adversaries you face are incarnations of your doubts and worries. In the first, you'll be slicing away at sentient vintage equipment, such flip phones and TVs that spew static, all dependent on your fear of change. at the second, you fight through sentient drinks and kissy lips at a nightclub inspired by a dread of intimacy. It's an incredibly powerful endeavor, particularly with the encouraging words of your allies who never stop checking in on you throughout the battle.
Your bond with your significant other grows as you go through a dungeon, and as they level up, dating options become available. There are rest locations scattered all around the dunj, including abandoned VIP sections and arcades, where you may spend some time hanging out with your friend and have a meaningful break from combat. You may level many characters at once by switching weapons between levels if you max a bae's level while clearing a dunj. If you end up dying while dungeoning, there aren't really any consequences; you can find remedies along the road and recover yourself while you're at it, but if you pass away, you just wake up the next day comfortably in bed, having lost nothing except a shred of your dignity. This gives you the freedom to experiment and push yourself in combat, with no time restriction until you die. I saw a significant improvement in my abilities and excitement as a result.
That's not to say that fighting is perfect or without its challenges; you must always be tactical with your movements since you often find yourself surrounded, and aiming may sometimes be a touch hit or miss. However, fighting my way down never seemed like a chore because to the snappy button input, simple control system, and lots of incentives to enjoy. In fact, I often discovered that I enjoyed returning to a finished dunj. You may also activate the goddess shield from the menu at any moment, which lowers damage by 50%, if you're more of a lover than a warrior.
You're in luck if, like me, you find it difficult to dedicate yourself to a single online connection and find yourself yearning for polyamory. You have so much more space to investigate the character storylines when you can romance as many cuties as you want at the same time (except from the cat, you weirdo). This is vital when you have so many options. Who wouldn't like to get 10 SMS a day complimenting them on their beauty and uniqueness, anyway? As Kitfox so well put it, "platonic love is real love too," so if you're not really into the romantic stuff, you can stick to just leveling up your friendship with the characters. Sister, preach!
I usually listen to emo songs from the early 2000s on my playlists, but this game's electro-pop and acoustic lo-fi soundtrack had me nodding my head in no time. Every song released by Marksye and McQueen is a great bop, perfectly complementing the overall enthusiasm of the game. They have done an incredible job of conveying the sensations of a romantic summer. After listening, I even looked for the OST so I could listen to it while at work, and I heartily suggest it. Here is a link to listen to it on Spotify.
The primary story is brief and rather straightforward; it almost follows the structure of a vintage Scooby-Doo episode. However, it serves as the unifying theme that ties the other tales together and has some very interesting parts. But take note of the warning about stalkers—Eric is a real creep. But the tales of each particular bae blades are where the narrative really shines. The subplots are captivating, whether you're coaching a college student in cooking without setting fire to their dorm, helping a gentleman confront his violent father, or learning the dark secrets of the enigmatic and alluring nightclub owner. Even though I'm not a huge romance reader, I found myself completely engrossed in these tales and thought I was reading a collection of individual short stories.
In other words,The character conversation is generally authentic and true to each character's personality, albeit sometimes a touch corny. Dialogue in rest areas in dungeons repeats if you visit the same kind of site with the same character, and your dialogue selections don't appear to have much of an effect on the path of the discussion (albeit some get a more favorable reaction than others). However, the attention to detail is astounding. For instance, after telling a character that I was vegan, they only ever offered me vegan food, which really gives the impression that you are being heard.
I have many requests for future additions to the game. I want more, that's for sure. More boyfriends, more dungeons, and in the words of my character, "more dates, please." Boyfriend Dungeon is a lot of fun and serves as a good reminder that games should be enjoyed, but the primary plot is somewhat weak, and you will run out of things to do pretty fast if you lack the resolve to level up everyone's love levels. Additionally, there are only two 12-level dungeons, which I ended up running many times since I'm a dungeon diver. I would have wanted to see further exploration of this, especially with the novel notion of embracing your fears. There was a suggestion of a third dungeon and two more cuties (I'm quite thrilled about Jonah, the sensitive surfer bro) in the Kickstarter, and I think these additions would greatly enhance the game.
Less restrictive dating choices and more incentives to hang out with your already-maxed-out boos would also be amazing. To make it seem more valuable, maybe include a free play option where you could choose to remain beyond summer and just stroll around lovely Verona beach with your hotties, or let the player visit their customary haunts for a brief talk with their crushes. Likewise, it seems pointless to take another run through the dunj with your bae blades after you've maxed them up in order to get a powerful ability.
All things considered, Boyfriend Dungeon really captured my heart—and my heartstone—and my only gripe is that I wish there had been more. Which is actually a rather flattering criticism, in my opinion.