Purrfect Date is a cat lover's dream dating simulator
Feline fancy.
Move over Dream Daddy, there's a new dating simulator in town and it's considerably... furrier.
Purrfect Date is the adorable new six-chapter title from Bossa Studios' Bae Team encompassing a visual novel, dating simulator and dark British comedy all in one meow-nificent game.
You play as a human who has been hired to conduct research on the mysterious Cat Island, alongside the eccentric Professor Pawpur. It's not long before you realise there is much more to the island, and its feline residents, than meets the eye. You can check out the trailer, and it's insanely catchy theme song, below:
Eurogamer caught up with the Bae Team at EGX and played the 20 minute demo of Purrfect Date.
The demo drops the player in the beginning of the game, introducing you to Cat Island and it's inhabitants (potential suitors), as well as some of the island's history. It turns out the cats can speak and are in need of your help. After playing through some story establishment, the demo skips to a date with one of the aforementioned felines.
There are six dateable cats in total: five available from the beginning and one secret cat. Cats include intellectual Floofybutt, stuck-up Snootybutt, grumps Kibbles, excitable Trixie or badboy McMurphy.
After some serious consideration I chose to go on a date with the chubby, fluffy, ginger Persian cat Floofybutt. However, the date was not as creepy as I thought. In reality, the game is quite sweet and the premise is less sexual - it is more about getting to know the cats and establishing an intimate relationship.
As you can imagine, Bae Team is made up of cat lovers... but they don't love cats like that. Making sure the game was less sexual and more about intimacy was something which the team was very aware of. "We didn't want it to be just beastiality", said Ruby May Roberts, writer for Bae Team. "We wanted it to be more getting to know the cats than hitting on the cats." It's worth making clear - the game does not include sexual relations with its cats but rather, erm, heavy petting - nuzzling and snuggling.
Roberts is one of just three members of Bae Team. She works alongside her boyfriend, coder Oliver Hindle, who you may recognise as YouTuber Superpowerless AKA Oliver Age 24, as well as artist Dan Lish.
Purrfect Date's writing has a dry British wit reminiscent of shows like Blackadder and Father Ted. The game which could immediately be labelled as a creepy cat dating game, which is how I originally perceived it, has more layers than first appears. The story is certainly unique and well written, with adorable visuals.
Purrfect Date will be available on Steam this winter. For cat lovers, it's something which may... get its claws in you.