Crush Crush – Dating Sim, a new flash game from Nutaku

Villordsutch on Crush Crush, a new dating sim from Nutaku… 

Never has a game from Nutaku.com made me take a second look at it’s title and scratch my head in wonder whilst thinking, ‘What is this about!?’. This latest flash anime game may appear obvious from the “Dating Sim” tagged on as the subtitle, but I did wonder what Sad Panda Studios and Nutaku were going to be delivering in this latest game from their ever expanding library.

Straight off the bat and without dragging out any long-winded conversations, I can tell you that Crush Crush has been the easiest game to pick up ever from Nutaku. Within five minutes you’ll understand the rules of this game, you’ll be whizzing through the numerous screens selecting hobbies, jobs, atoning and chatting with your latest crush – for which there will be many – and wondering whether you should plough your time into looking suave or being angst! Crush Crush is fantastically easy for any newcomers to this genre to pick up.

Crush Crush is totally free-to-play, nothing is asked for when you register other than your basic details (name, email, age etc.), and no cards are needed to play. We find ourselves as (on appearance) a genderless person in Crush Crush and make the ultimate entrance by accidentally sending our first would be girlfriend – Cassie – straight to Accident & Emergency in a nasty collision. You start the ball rolling by attempting to atone with Cassie, then offering to pay her medical care, you start a hobby to get the skills for a job. As you become more acquainted with Cassie – gifts and dates help – the more you and her get to like each other and atoning becomes chatting.

Life is easy with just one love in your life. 

However the better skilled you become – this and the more jobs you take up – the more women you meet in the process and unfortunately it would appear you’re a bit of a tart as you juggle the many women (plus a grizzly bear!) who each demand attention, chatting, gifts, walks on the beach and so on. Your life becomes extremely busy as you begin to tackle many hobbies for skills, as each new partner informs you they are only attracted to a certain type person, with a certain job.

Attracting other ladies will happen, that and blowing their minds! 

Your goal with each partner is to get from Frenemy to Lover; this is achieved by completing most of the tasks mentioned above. If you’ve got the time and you’re on speaking terms you can begin clicking your current girlfriend for extra hearts. However, if they’re set to Atone, you’ll be met with a disgusted “Poke!”

You’ll soon realise that having a lot of admirers is busy work. 

One of the greatest additions to this anime game from Nutaku is the fact that they’ve introduced idle play, which means that if you’re away from the keyboard, for up to seven days, then Crush Crush will continue earning you the valuable resources -in this case hobbie skills, cash and hearts from the ladies.

Plan your hobbies to fit your jobs. 

Your character, as said above, appears apparently genderless. However within the Stats tab you’ll find some avatar items and you can assign a gender to your character if you fancy making them a wee bit more personal (however, I thought mine looked rather splendid bare!). Also within the tabs you’ll find the achievement screen, and a place to use the hearts you’ve gained. More can be purchased but to be honest, I’ve not seen any need to purchase anymore as yet.

Some of the many achievements you’ll earn. 

One very interesting addition in Crush Crush is the Prestige Boost feature. Here you can reset your entire game for the chance to increase your speed of gaining your resources. I’ve used this once and I’m seriously considering using it again, but at the same time I don’t want to lose the ladies that I’ve managed to court.

Sometimes it’s more about the personality… 

 As I said at the beginning of this review, Nutaku and Sad Panda Studios have delivered a flash game that is so brilliantly easy to pick up, that if you’ve ever considered stepping into the world of anime gaming this really should be your first game. The helpful assistant appears briefly, everything is a click away and there is no fighting system with Attack of Defence points for you to get your head around. All you need to worry about is should you practice using a “Bow & Arrow” or “Dancing” because there are two ladies on the main screen demanding you be both suave and manly at the same time! Crush Crush is set as a game for all ages however there is also an 18+ Hentai (NSFW) version that is also available via the Nutaku.net website.

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