Day 20 - Just Be Yourself

Dating Sim, WTF, Nightmare Fuel · 20 May 2024

Sam’s Take:

My dude wilbefast, creator of Just Be Yourself, is trying to do something, a thing we’ve seen many times before. My buddy, that’s widefast in case you forgot, is attempting to create the “satirical game”.

We look at the description:

We see that the game has you clicking unreadable dialogue options in response to unreadable dialogue, and the joke is clear, dating is an impossible game of random chance where you always lose.

This is an easy game to write a one line joke about, and I almost did. However, Skeeter has been carrying the last few reviews due to my busy schedule, and I feel like this game deserves a closer look from at least one of us for a couple reasons. First, this isn’t a totally brain-dead no-thought game, my good friend (widefast, he doesn’t capitalize it so neither will I!) had something they wanted to say, and the message is fairly clear. In that way, this game is a success and is deserving of semi-real criticism, more than the Family Guy quiz (joke game made for a friend’s birthday) or Plumber (mobile trash obviously made for marketing over gameplay).

I want to give this the most charitable read possible. If we were to assume the worst, we could view the woman in this game as an antagonist, that the women we date in this game are the ones setting us up for failure, but I don’t think that’s the intention here. I really think the only point is that dating is hard. I don’t think this game is a satirical failure due to any kind of malice. I think it’s a satirical failure because this isn’t a universal truth: it’s a cry for help.

I’ve said in the past that I enjoy games where you can see the artist(s) inside of it, where you feel like (justified or not) you know them a little bit better after the experience. I like a bit of the person left in their piece, it’s one of the ways we connect with each other. I feel like this game was made to punish me for ever saying that. It’s hard for me to express just how uncomfortable this game makes me. Not because it’s being edgy, or mean spirited, it’s just the biggest self-report I think I’ve ever seen. I’ve dated before, and not once have I ever felt like we weren’t speaking the same language. Obviously this game is an exaggeration, but my buddy, my pal (widefast, remember them?), has felt this feeling so much that he made a game where every date is an indecipherable nightmare that ends in polite rejection. This is already kind of weird, but I’m not here to judge anyone’s personal dating experience. It’s harder for some people than it is for others, and that’s totally fine… but this goes that extra mile.

That title, the classic dating advice “just be yourself” combined with that description, “A simulation which accurately models the experience of dating”… My childhood best friend of all time, seriously we go wayyy back (widefast) is convinced that this is how dating is for EVERYONE. They imagine us playing and saying “haha, yea my bud, you really nailed that one right on the head”. This is the saddest thing I’ve ever thought about and I have a stomach ache just imagining living in this headspace.

So, because we are such good pals, I’d like to post an open letter here. My friend (widefast), it’s alright that you’re having a tough time dating, hey we’ve all been there at times. But… if you’re feeling like every romantic connection you’ve ever tried to make is like talking to an alien… then I think it’s time to rethink your personal definition of romance and maybe talk to some friends. All of them. We’re all here, they’re helping me write this.

Shhh shhh, it’s okay widefast, let it all out. It’s going to get better. You’ll make it through this. It’s going to be alright. Everyone’s here for you. You are loved.

But like… not romantically loved. Obviously.

Recommend: Up to you friend

Replay Percentage Chance: 1.1%

Time Played: 7 Minutes