I grew up gaming in the late ‘90s and early 2000s. Consequently, I spent years watching this industry take itselfwaytoo seriously. I’ve taken my share of flak in my younger years for preferring sims to shooters, but the rise of indie gaming in the last decade has given life to plenty of titles that feel more my speed; games that might not have ever gotten made when I was a kid. One standout comes along every few years that shakes things up for casual gamers like me, and this year, that’sDate Everything!
In this oddball dating sim, you’re given a pair of sunglasses that allow you to see your home furnishings as super-hunky humans, most of whom are chomping at the bit to date you. There are 100 singles in the Date-a-Dex, and everyone has their own goings-on around the house, so you’ll need to help these fabulous furnishings complete their goals to win their heart. You’ve got memorable characters like Jean-Loo Pissoir the musical toilet challenging you to a “crap” (cool rap) battle, Scandalabra the gossiping candlestick who simply needs you to spill some lighthearted tea, Curt and Rod the window curtains who throw shade at the neighbors, and 97 more punny honeys just waiting for your affection.
Cornering The Silly Dating Sim Market
Date Everything! isn’t the first visual novel dating sim of its ilk to take the genre by storm. The game (and the reaction to it) feels reminiscent of previous titan titles like Dream Daddy and Hatoful Boyfriend - games that dare you to eschew the roster of cute anime girls typical of the genre and get wild with your digital dating.
We don’t get titles like this too often, which makes it even more special when we do, but this one came with a bonus: the cast is made up entirely of veteran voice actors, with tens of thousands of IMDb credits between them. Sassy Chap Games is the brainchild of actors Ray Chase, Robbie Daymond, and Max Mittelman, and between the three enjoying tenured careers in some fairly iconic roles, they were able toassemble an all-star castfor the project. No matter what show or game you call your favorite, you’ll almost certainly recognize someone from Date Everything!’s impressive cast list.
I spoke with the Chaps twice during the development of Date Everything! – oncejust after the game’s announcement, and then again 11 months later, justa few days before its launch. Both times, I asked how they felt people were responding to the game, and both times, they responded with hopeful optimism. They shared that they’d gotten mixed responses during the casting process, with industry pals coming aboard as either enthusiastic yeses who loved the idea, or as a clear favor to friends, with very few people in between. Ahead of launch, they were just hopeful that fans would “get it” when the game came out.
And oh man, people have gotten it. At the time of writing, Date Everything! is number 35 on theSteam Top Sellers in the US, it’s gotalmost 3,000 very positive reviewson the platform, and there are over 2,800 people following the game on Twitch. Like plenty of other sites, our own Santi Leguizagave Date Everything! a perfect scorein his review.
Everyone Has Been Dating Everything - And Loving It
We’ve got enough shooters and battle royales and platformers – it’s been high time for the dating sim genre to get a new game that makes waves like this, and the response has been wildly positive so far. Given the impressive launch of the game, it’s no surprise to see that Date Everything! has taken on a life of its own, both online and in real life.
The voice cast have been enjoying themselves with their roles, with a few of them even trying to date their own characters. Ben Starr (the voice of the bodyguard-like door Dorian)did a video with Gamespotplaying through Date Everything!, looking to chat with himself above all others, while Anne Yatco (who plays Florence, your floor that has a crush on your ceiling) entertained her Twitch viewers in similar fashion the week after launch.
Others, meanwhile, have been leaning into their characters online. Your ultra-sassy lamp Lux is voiced by Michael Lorz, who’s both played into and apologized for the character on social media. Producer Ray Chase did the voice of Scandalabra – it was one of the first castings confirmed for the game, he told me in our June 2025 interview – and has doneplenty of videosperforming as the foppish flame for the Date Everything! social media pages.
And with so much love behind the game, it’s no surprise to see that there’s been so much loveforit. The Chaps (who may also be briefly dateable in the game if you try to romance the credit sequence) were already seeing cosplay of the characters at conventions leading up to launch, much to their collective surprise.The game’s official Instagramconsistently shares posts to its story showcasing the array of cosplays that have emerged since, with people pouring just as much heart into dressing as their favorites as into dating them - including but not limited to the game’s voice cast. Marisha Ray attended the Date Everything! Launch party dressed from head to toe as her character Beverly your enthusiastic minibar. Meanwhile, Kiera Please plays Prissy Plastique, the plastic plant locked away in your attic, desperate to be Flirtilized, and she’s done plenty of appearances since the game’s launch in an adorably thorough Prissy cosplay.
The game lends itself to both solo and group play, too. While not technically multiplayer, it’s been easy for groups to gather ‘round the Dateviators and take turns choosing who to woo. You’ll learn a lot about your friends based on which characters they want to date – I adored the fiveextreme sport himbosthat called themselves The Hanks, my partner was keen on cute and bookish Gaia the globe, while my best friend fell hard and fast for the shadow who introduced himself as xxXShadowl0rd420Xxx. We’ve enjoyed a few group game nights playing Date Everything! in this fashion, and I know we’re definitely not the only group of friends to do so.
Be it the all-star cast, the sheer amount of content lending to individual first playthroughs and endless replayability, or the heart that went into the game, I’m not sure exactly what made Date Everything! take off the way it has. But as someone who’s always loved taking a break from dark, grizzly realist games with a light-hearted breath of fresh air, I’m glad to have gotten so much enjoyment out of the latest weird dating sim to take over the internet.
