Romance can transcend death. All you need is a large dwelling in need of residents, a regular supply of gifts to exchange, and a spirit ready to take on cupid. It sounds like an unfeasible discovery, yet we find all these components in Love, Ghostie.
Playing matchmaker isn’t my regular occupation, but whenever a game provides me with the opportunity to set hearts racing, who am I to stand in love’s way? Unlike the companionship found in other experiences, you’re not the one falling in love but the one setting the mood. Without you, love cannot blossom.
Are you ready for romance in Love, Ghostie?
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Acting as a spectral romance liaison (that’s fancy terminology for matchmaker) is a unique concept. Having immersed myself in many a cosy, wholesome video game world, I thought I’d seen it all. Turns out, I’d never considered the romantic allure of the afterlife.
Your character – our passionate ghostie – begins the game by discovering they’ve shuffled off this mortal coil. Sad though such news should be, Ghostina is on hand to inform you of the benefits death brings; chiefly, setting up adorable meet-cutes.
An entire house is your playground, in which renters looking for a new start will move in and begin making connections. Some are naturally drawn to each other, while other housemates need an additional push. There are 12 residents in total, however, there are 66 romantic possibilities when it comes to making a love match. I feel like Lady Danbury in Bridgerton.
In the beginning, you get to decide which four roomies move in first, though you have little information to help you choose other than their photograph and a brief reason for their move. Once your selection is made, they make a Big Brother-style entrance. Some strut in with confidence, while others try to avoid detection as they shrink into the background. They’re a diverse bunch. This variety is the key spice to creating the perfect romance, though.
Over the course of my spooky matchmaking, I found that some pairings were blindingly obvious (I won’t name names so that you can discover these couples for yourself), whereas others took a lot of effort. This is why gifts are doubly important – the right gift can change the dire course a relationship appears to be on.
What gift will suit which housemate isn’t an exact science, at least not initially anyway. You can get a general sense of what a roommate might like, but as the old saying goes, you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. As a result, gift giving is trial and error while you compile everyone’s likes, dislikes, etc.
On occasion, there’ll be presents that don’t seem to suit anyone. When that happens, one of two options stands before you: you can either choose to save the item for a rainy day or sell it to make money. You may be wondering why a ghost needs money; well, it’s to buy more items. Personally, this was one aspect of the game I rarely utilised, simply because there was usually one present that served as a meet-cute for my unsuspecting housemates.
What does prove extremely useful are RelationChips. These pretty pink coins eventually unlock after you’ve started to hone your craft, with their arrival opening a wide array of customisation options. Not only can you unlock extra rooms so that more characters can move in at any one time, but you can also unlock mini games to help reinforce the connections being made. You can buy darling accessories for your ghostie, too, which is easily the most important feature of the entire game.
Steadily as you make progress, and more happy couples are ready to move on to start a new adventure together, the house that was once neglected will become full of life. Each resident will decorate their room as their happiness increases, but it isn't just their bedrooms that transform, the common areas do as well. That being said, you can always tweak whatever you don’t like, should you be a budding interior designer as well as a cupid wannabe.
Novelty is the main selling point of this experience. Unfortunately, it ultimately acts as its downfall. Once you figure out how everything works, as well as getting to know the characters, you start to default into the routine of checking off your ghost checklist. This wouldn’t be too damaging if more new characters kept turning up, but as Love, Ghostie only has 12, the inspiration well soon runs dry.
Plenty of its in-game elements are executed perfectly, as demonstrated by the depth of each character. Nonetheless, this wholesome journey ends all too soon, with that conclusion mired in predictability.
Pros: Cute aesthetic, unique concept, can customise your ghostie
Cons: Becomes too predictable, needs more characters
For fans of: Witchy Life Story, Calico, The Sims
Score: 7/10: Very Good
Love, Ghostie is available on Steam. A code for review was supplied by the publisher. Find a complete guide to GAMINGbible's review scores here.