Later Daters reinforces the natural desire for companionship, even at an older age. The game is just silly enough at times that it makes for a funny dating sim, without making its characters out to be a joke. There is a ton of media that focuses on trying to normalize elderly relationships, and I think Later Daters is highly effective—and most importantly fun.
With only 3 episodes coming out at around 2 or 3 hours of total gameplay max, we’re a bit disappointed that such a short experience has been split into 2 separate releases. There’s potential here, but the ending really sneaks up on you; just when you feel you’re starting to get to know the characters, it’s over, and we were left feeling rather deflated by the experience as a result. Aside from watching events play out and roughly moulding the story to suit your goals, there’s little else to do in Later Daters, and we feel the experience might have been greatly enhanced with some mini-games to flesh out the overall length. Nevertheless, it’s a cute little tale with likeable characters, pleasant visuals, and an excellent, catchy title theme song.
I finished Later Daters in less than two hours and wasn’t sure that I experienced the entire game. After doing some follow-up research I discovered that this release is only the first half of the full experience. It’s good to know more is coming later, but this content is just too brief and the chapters offered don’t come to any strong conclusions. Unfortunately, this brevity hurts Later Daters in its current iteration. I suspect a full review of the entire game would be positive, but this ambitious visual novel simply feels incomplete at the moment — I suggest anyone interested wait until later this year when they’re able to experience the narrative in its entirety.
SummaryWelcome to Ye OLDE! Your new retirement paradise. Date as an octogenarian and find somebody to love, or just get your kicks in while the getting is good. Remember, if the chairs are rockin', don’t come a-knockin. Part One out now!