Boyfriend Dungeon (PS5) Review – Having Fun with Bae-Blades

Boyfriend Dungeon Review

Developed by Kitfox Games and released this year on Playstation, Boyfriend Dungeon is like chicken soup for the (troubled) otome soul. Being that person who proudly dates dreamy daddies and birds, we cannot go any lower my friends. Boyfriend Dungeon is the next best thing I’ve encountered, and let me tell you why: I’ve never dated weapons before. Yes, you heard me correctly – we’re dating weapons, everybody! And no, it’s not as weird as it sounds. You’re technically dating people who can turn into weapons and not the other way around. Does that make it better? 

A quick note: While the game looks colorful and silly, Boyfriend Dungeon tackles pretty dark and mature themes. There’s a content warning at the beginning regarding instances of stalking and unwanted affection. However, there is no way to avoid or skip these confrontations because this is actually part of the main plot. If this is something you’re uncomfortable with, Boyfriend Dungeon may not be suitable for you.

Taking a Stab at Dating

Set in the fictional town of Verona Beach, you, the good-looking and very single protagonist arrive for the summer. Your cousin Jesse lives there and he is lending you his place to stay for free! Also, he’s super pumped to set you up on dates with the eligible bachelors in town. Apparently, you’ve never dated before and it’s extra mission-critical that he succeeds. 

Not only is your goal to meet people, but you also have to fight in a dungeon. The dungeon is where you can battle monsters, face your fears, and earn a couple of dollars here and there. The characters affectionately call this the “dunj”, and to defend yourself, you’re going to need weapons. Cue, all the hot single people in Verona Beach who happen to be weapons! While you don’t share this same ability, you can wield them once you get to know them. Do you see where this game is going? 

As the protagonist, you can create your own character as you see fit. Your name, gender, and look can be changed in your bedroom at any time during the game. There aren’t a lot of customization options available as your character is a sprite, but according to everyone else you’re eye candy. 

Increasing a potential lover’s rank, dating them, and fighting with them in the dunj go hand-in-hand, creating a gameplay loop. The more you use a weapon, the quicker your affections increase. Afterward, you can date them outside of the dungeon to rank up your relationship. Then, you go back to the dungeons to fight with them. Once you clear one floor, you have the option to swap weapons and level another one up. And repeat. 

In the dunj, you can pick up recipes and trinkets that you can use to craft items. Depending on what you find, you can make clothes for yourself and gifts for your many biases. Gifting helps with ranking up your chosen favorites, so pay attention to their personality and give appropriately. 

Poly-armour-y is OK

Despite being called Boyfriend Dungeon, you don’t actually have to date boys. You have the choice of building relationships with females, non-binary characters, and a cute cat too! Love isn’t for you? No worries, you can stay friends if you like. It’s a fun and inclusive environment and nobody is forcing you to fall in love – but charming a character is really easy to accomplish. 

As you are new to the dating scene, you’d think your character would be more awkward. However, our protagonist is freakishly good at picking up on cues, flirting back, and making out with multiple people. In short, continuity and believability are out the window. For the purpose of being a dating sim though, it makes complete sense that you are the center of attention. As a result, it is very easy to accidentally court everyone you talk to. Luckily, Boyfriend Dungeon supports polyamory so we don’t have to pick only one happy end. Unluckily for you, you also catch the attention of our game’s antagonist, who is the person the content warning is for. 

Once you entice someone with your charm, it can be unclear if you’re dating or just friends. In Boyfriend Dungeon, the dialogue alters depending on the choices you made prior, but it doesn’t change very much. Sometimes I opt for the flirty options and my weapon will call me “friend”. Other times, I pick the most standard, polite answer and my weapon will blush and tell me they love me. It feels like the actions you choose don’t carry much weight, and even if you’re officially dating someone it doesn’t seem obvious. As a dating sim, it would be nice to see the fruits of my labor. Towards the end, I thought I’d messed up only to realize I was actually in a romantic relationship. 

Overall Boyfriend Dungeon gets a big thumbs up from an entertainment standpoint, but the romance and relationships could be stronger. There were a lot of weapons (er, people) to choose from but not all the side stories were interesting. It was nice that every player’s romantic preference was included though. I came into this fully prepared to date one hot guy, and I ended up with several including a girl! It’s unfortunate the triggering content was unavoidable but as long as you’re comfortable with going through this experience, the story is well-written for such a short game. At the end of the day, Boyfriend Dungeon is a dating sim targeted towards the open-minded and adventurous spirit, and I felt it was executed well in that regard. Now I can add dating blades to my repertoire!

***A PS5 code was provided by the publisher***