LoveSick Darlings is a visual novel looking to break the conventions of these types of romance games by giving the heroines you romance as much agency as the player! They all lead their own lives, independent of the player, and are actively chasing their own goals and ambitions. Your relationship(s) with these characters aren't one-way. It's not enough to just like them, but they need to like you back too! Your choices and deeds will help them form their own unique opinions about you as they play. That said, the world does not revolve around you in LoveSick Darlings but you are absolutely a dear friend to each of the heroines. Whether that will still be the case at the end of the story is up to you!
LoveSick Darlings has an extensive demo that covers nearly half of the full game! The content of this demo is canon, and is ends just before the game's halfway point. In this deep demo you can get to know the characters and experience all kinds of scenarios with each of them. Choose who you hang out with, who you help, and what you say to form the relationships you want to form! The demo is roughly five hours long, with tons of replay value and hidden content! It's designed to really immerse players in the rich and grounded setting, with realistic lovable characters - and I hope you enjoy getting drawn into the game when you play! You play as Syd, an Australian boy in tenth grade. The year is coming to a close, and the school dance is coming up. You must navigate the intricacies and conflicting feelings of a quirky group of friends, as you choose who to spend time with. Namely, this involves the three heroines of the story:


The characters have pre-established relationships and bonds you will fully explore, and develop yourself via your choices. None of these character live in a vacuum, and what you say to one or the other can and will be freely communicated amongst them. High school girls like to gossip! The choices you make with will affect everyone in this group of friends, and will dictate the ultimate fate of this group. LoveSick Darlings is a romance visual novel with no "routes." The story is driven by player choice and there are different "ending" scenarios, but the game plays out with every character staying relevant from beginning to end. No one just disappears, and the way your relationships grow with other characters will affect the others too. For example, if you spend time with other Maisy gets jealous. Or Jayda gets depressed. Or Steph goes off and does her own thing. They're all different! The relationships you form in LoveSick Darlings have consequences that go beyond Syd and any one person. There is a "group dynamic" at play, that is the core of the game. The game is heavily inspired by Persona and Danganronpa's "Free Time" systems. This allows you, the player, to have complete control over who you spend time with and how much you get to know each member of this group of friends! The game is developed by just me, a solo dev, with art and music by freelancers I have hired! Check out the full credits on the store page and in-game! Thanks for stopping by and checking this game out during the Steam Games Festival. I hope you're having a great time checking out all the games!