Saeko: Giantess Dating Sim - Digital Deluxe Edition

Since it involves minimal actual gameplay and was created by a single developer, the score is based on the story presented to me—and I was quite pleased with it.

Don’t let the title fool you, this is a narrative survival sim that gets pretty dark, but there’s no doubt that there’s nothing quite like it on the eShop

It hooked me hard from the very beginning. It’s so strange, so offputting, but does so in an elegant, almost surgical manner. If you like dating sims, it’s a hot take. If you don’t like dating sims, it takes the piss in a big way. If you’re not sure, you should give it a try.

Crude, salacious, yet surprisingly beautiful, SAEKO: Giantess Dating Sim is a fun short story for those who enjoy a fantastical take on dark romance. However, I sometimes wish it would veer a lot more into the themes and ideas it brings up.

SAEKO: Giantess Dating Sim terrifies not with monsters but with intimacy. A bold, narrative-driven experiment in power, dread, and distorted affection, it transforms a bizarre concept into one of indie gaming's most unforgettable experiences.

There’s a share of good and bad to Saeko: Giantess Dating Sim. It’s certainly one of the more unique horror experiences I’ve experienced, enough that the novelty alone makes it worth consideration even if you aren’t inclined towards the particular kink this game ostensibly is marketed towards. It left me with enough moments to kind of dwell on thinking about how I would respond to this situation. The fact that much of the cast really doesn’t come out at the end of this story looking like a good person might not be for everyone, but it gives it a fairly believable side. The first ending I got was unsettling in a way that was genuinely interesting, one which worked particularly well given what all you do in this game. At the same time, it can be a somewhat tedious experience to play given all the repetition. Though I wouldn’t call it quite an “ironic dating sim” despite it using the genre for means beyond conventional romance, the “dating sim” side of things can feel somewhat more burdensome rather than the neat little twist on the genre it perhaps could have made for. This game offers a memorable experience, though a noticeably flawed one in part due to the relatively small package this giantess dating sim comes in that keeps it from reaching its full potential.