Review: Love, Ghostie Makes You a Relationship Mastermind

There are a lot of games that incorporate love as of late. Whether it’s the focal point of the title or extra feature, connecting with virtual love interests became a whole thing. Love, Ghostie is a different sort of dating sim, as the cozy relationship game casts you as a matchmaker for other characters. While it’s a really relaxed and low-stakes affair, it’s also quite a pleasant one.

You’re dead. But that doesn’t mean you’re gone. You’re just a ghost. Turns out when you pass the time in the afterlife, one of the things you do is help other people find friendship or love. Your mentor Ghostina sets you up in a manor, puts up signs saying rent is free, and tasks you with ensuring its residents become friends or lovers with the other people who move in. (And they were roommates!) 

Since you’re a ghost, you’re basically a puppetmaster influencing characters lives and relationships in this dating sim. This is primarily managed in two ways. One is to steal items left around the home. You then either “gift” them to someone by leaving it at their room and saying some other, living resident did it, or sell them online to get coins to buy other items online to use as gifts. The other method is to manipulate the house’s chore board to send a pair of characters off on a task that totally, 100% isn’t a date. 

In both situations, the relationship is guaranteed to go up. How much varies. In the case of a gift, it depends on the quality of the gift and if the tags associated with it are ones the recipient values. Even if a character doesn’t “love” the item, the quality can still help it leave a good impression. In the case of the dates, tags and characters used matter most. The ideal situation involves both of the people on the date having the same tags. Special situations can also trigger that involve more unique dialogue. (Dialogue will otherwise be the same for all characters, regardless of pairing.) Even if it is an awkward date, it isn’t like the two people who went will hate each other after.

It’s all exceptionally cute. The character designs are fantastic. The dialogue is clever. It’s a little tedious when you realize certain scripted date events won’t change regardless of who is on it. (For example, Ami playing a board game with BEEP0 is identical to Chamel and Wobbles’ dialogue for that interaction.) But I generally enjoyed all the interactions.

Honestly, if I have one complaint about Love, Ghostie, it is that it is too easy. It’s to the point where whole gameplay elements seem unnecessary. For example, you can purchase the ability to use songs to make characters happy or boost relationships. I didn’t need it. You can invest in perks to add 10% increases to actions. I didn’t need that either. There are minigames you can unlock for extra money, relationship growth, happiness boost and such. I purchased the one to get more money, saw it was a randomized Mad Libs, and never played it again.

I don’t think this will be an issue for folks, though. People who will be picking up Love, Ghostie will likely be looking for a relaxed relationship sim and cozy game where you make characters fall in love or become better friends. It’s about taking your time and enjoying the stories you unlock. Combine that with how quickly and pleasantly it all goes, and it’s a totally fine experience. 

Love, Ghostie is basically a game for folks who play games like Fire Emblem or The Sims because they want to pair characters up in relationships. It’s incredibly compelling! I beat it in a single sitting over the course of a few hours. It’s relaxing! There’s no pressure. It’s also got a ton of replay value, even though there are only 12 characters, since they can all get together.

Love, Ghostie will come to PCs via Steam on August 14, 2024.