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PC Gamer
PC Gamer
Joshua Wolens

My date with an 'adorable girl who forgives all your awkwardness' went wrong when I realised I was trapped in digital hell

A headshot of Akari, your virtual girlfriend.

Listen up, friends. Here are my top tips for making sure a date goes well: show interest; make eye contact; laugh at their jokes; under no circumstances give voice to your inner burning desire to escape, to flee, to gnaw off your own leg and break out of the bear trap of your life; wear something nice.

All of which, all of which, applies to the dream girl you'll take out on the town in PockeDate! – Pocket Dating Simulator, a new, free game from Ternox, the same dev behind Stonks-9800, my personal GOTY of 2023. PockeDate pitches itself as a digital sweetheart in the Steam description—an "adorable girl who forgives all your awkwardness" whose "every launch brings a new date with unique dialogues! Spend endless hours with your adorable, love-struck virtual girlfriend".

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