Kobayakawa-san is a Soulslike is a Free Dark Souls-Style Dating Game
A Soulslike dating game is a combination that I think could make for a great game! And a Japanese indie developer decided to turn that idea into an actual game. Titled Kobayakawa-san is a Soulslike, the game mixes visual novel, romance, and mechanics inspired by the famous FromSoftware games.
The game was developed by Hokuto and is available for free on browser through PLiCy, as well as on PC via BOOTH.
The story starts in a relatively simple way. You decide to spend some time after school with Kobayakawa-san, your potential love interest. However, forget about the usual strategy of winning someone over with compliments or romantic lines.
Here, you literally have to fight for the girl’s attention.
Things get even more complicated when Kobayakawa finds out that you were spending time with another girl. At that moment, she transforms into the so-called “Twilight Inquisitor” and starts asking some rather indiscreet questions.
And you only have a few seconds to answer correctly.
Just like in a traditional Soulslike, the player has different actions to try to survive, including light attacks, heavy attacks, well-timed parries, and dodges.
The problem is that choosing the wrong answer means one thing:
YOU DIED.
So you can’t simply pick any option. You need to pay attention to Kobayakawa’s emotions and figure out the correct reaction before time runs out.
And yes, if you get it wrong, you can try again as many times as you want.
Despite the absurd idea, the game seems to have attracted quite a bit of attention. According to the developer, Kobayakawa-san is a Soulslike surpassed 13,000 plays just one day after launch, while some players have already started asking for a sequel. I would personally love to see a bigger game too, since this one is quite short.
The game takes around five minutes to complete, although that time will probably increase quite a bit if you keep getting killed by the girl of your dreams.
Kobayakawa-san is a Soulslike is available for free in Japanese and English for browser and PC.
I have to admit, turning a relationship argument into a boss battle is an idea I never expected to see.