The Dating Games: Episode 03: Hustle Cat

hey this isn't nekopara >:(

This music is way too intense for me.

this music just doesn't stop

EDM music doesn't match the scenery

Oh boy... this one was a mess.

I just want to say I enjoy this feature very much, keep em coming!

NERD ALERT

Ben Pack's womanly(?) falsetto versus Brad Shoemaker's schoolmarm! It's the battle of the century! Who will win? Now taking all bets!

Wow! Ben's improv experience helps so much in this series! It's great hearing the random character's he comes up with on the spot... and sad. ;)

Man. Ben and Abby are two of my very favorites and I enjoy a good dating sim but for some reason this series just really isn't doing it for me at all and I have no idea why. It seems so perfect on paper.

the artwork in this game is real sloppy

This is very silly.

The ARTWORK itself is perfectly fine. The ANIMATION is what's sloppy -- just sliding still pieces forward and backwards without any change in pose. :b

Is Bramblepelt a MBMBAM reference?

I adored Hustle Cat when I played it - very cute and genuine with some nice emotional beats in the later routes. Also cool to be able to play as an nb protag and the game stays consistent with it.

s'that alllllllllllllllllll

I actually wish theyd do a full playthrough of these games

Worth noting that a catspaw is a pawn or, alternately, an assassin

"Have you ever met a woman, Ben?"

I am sorry but this series is just bad. Ben and Abby have talent that would be better used elsewhere. I get that they need to practice on something but how about something bit more produced?

@theshrubber said:

I think any use of that word/name anywhere on the internet in the past 3 or 4 years is a guaranteed MBMBaM reference.

I hope these never stop.

Reese is lowkey dressed like Colossus.

This series is growing on me. Probably the only way I'll realistically consume these games! Good job Abby & Ben.

Also kind of into this game?

This series is really good. I enjoy the asymmetrical difficulty level between Abby and Ben, and the improv is... "improv"ing as time goes on!

Wow the body horror in this game is horrifying. This is the worst.

Love this series, good times are always had.

I do wonder though if we are going to see any more Japanese VNs in it.... it seems strange that for a genre where 99% of the output comes from Japan that the only game so far to be played from there is a parody game with pigeon boyfriends. I know the series is leaning a bit more towards comedy than not but I think it would be cool to see some of the best dating games from the people who pioneered the genre.

Watching this at work was very tough, funny as hell!

This soundtrack.

Ben did v good work.

@kid_gloves: Most of the games we have been playing were suggested by Gita Jackson (thank you, Gita!), but I have also been looking into Japanese titles for the feature. Unfortunately, the problem I keep coming across with those games is that they are far too long to even get off their feet. Even if we don't finish the western ones, we are able to delve pretty deeply into them in a relatively short amount of time.

Props to Abby and Ben for this feature and for trying something new. The game selection so far has been on point though if Gita Jackson was involved, that's not surprising.

Much prefer this format of shorter, mostly lighthearted western games as an intro to the genre instead of trying to crunch through some 30 hour multi-route JP releases for the sake of 'authenticity'. I can't imagine that being very entertaining to record or watch.

Can I also add that this series is at the pinnacle of background-watching what with all the dialogue being read aloud!

Shoutouts to all the Lovers out there ;)

My cat totally has heterochromia.

@ybbaaabby: hoping the series ends on doki doki literature club

@dauntasa: It wont. It doesn't really fit the tone of this feature.

@mackj: I thought the same thing about Reese!

I am loving this series. Ben's voices, Abbey going for the quickest lay. I will say this game was quite poor. I've read erotic fiction that had more well written dialogue.

love this series, the haters are lame

HOO YES

I gave this series a shot, and y'know what, it's not my thing. But you do you Ben and Abby! The Sims feature is dope so far!

I would have gutted graves the moment he showed himself. This plot is unbelievably frustrating.

OK, skipping to the ending, to answer Abby's question, "A cat is fine too".

Wow this is so weird, im not sure how i feel about this.

An issue that isn’t addressed in this: if the main character starts transforming into a cat when he’s not at the cafe, that going to lead to him trapped either inside of or outside of his apartment, and in either case I suspect mochi starves to death. I just feel like the writers didn’t think this plot through.

Ladies and gentlemen, the goofiness that Hatoful Boyfriend was spoofing.

Should be marking homework rather than watching this, but Ben's voice-acting is just too damn captivating.

Is it just me or did anyone else get a really rapey vibe from the whole being involuntarily turned into a cat thing?

This series just isn’t very good.