A Date with Death Beyond the Bet DLC Makes the Dating Sim Even More Appealing

A Date with Death is one of the best free games I’ve gotten to play, and the Beyond the Bet DLC makes this dating sim about pursuing a Grim Reaper even better. This add-on really enhances the relationship we build with Grim throughout the story. I’d even say it makes the bond seem stronger,  like we really did form an unbreakable connection over our short period of time with the otherworldly love interest.

The title of the add-on does a pretty good job of teasing what to expect. A Date with Death Beyond the Bet DLC extends the story by taking it from a seven-day love story to one that lasts 10 days. It picks up with events basically happening at the close of the fifth day, then leading into an alternate path that makes the story last 10 days and result in four more endings. 

First, Two and a Half Studios does a fantastic job of implementing this extra Beyond the Bet story into the dating sim, as it essentially slips into A Date with Death perfectly at an existing dialogue option point in the free version of the game. As with other DLC options, such as ones in the previous Expansion DLC from December 2023, there’s an in-game notation letting you know that you’ll be going off the beaten path if you select that line in-game. You can also enable it in options. Plus, there’s an option to go ahead and jump directly to the scene that lets you hop onto that route once you purchase the DLC. So there are a lot of ways to naturally happen upon the additional content or go directly to it if you just picked it up and want to experience that moment now.

Once this additional story begins, it completely fits in with everything we experience in the first few days with Grim. The personalities remain consistent. So do our possible responses for our character. There’s playful banter. There are heartfelt moments. There are actual revelations about the Grim Reaper system and what could happen for our character and Grim. I was a bit worried that perhaps things might feel a bit rushed, since the topics covered in this additional story help build up general lore for the world in addition to the relationship between the two characters. But things are handed quite well, to the point that I felt like if it had stretched out to say 14 days, it might have been too much.

Because these additional moments come after Grim and a player character established a connection and feelings for each other, it also means the A Date with Death Beyond the Bet DLC gets to further explore that relationship. We get to see how they react to each other when the cards are on the table. There are plans made. Right at the branching point before this additional storyline begins, we are seeing the first major motions from Grim regarding his accepting how he feels about our avatars and we’re able to make choices that reciprocate in an even more genuine way. So with this extra time, there’s even more of a commitment with such fantastic pay-offs.

Now, I’m going to avoid spoilers for the new endings, but I will say I appreciated all of the different futures they present for Grim and a player. Each one sort of offers a different perspective on how things could go. What is especially great is that  Two and a Half Studios makes all of them feel in-character and plausible based on decisions both a player might choose or Grim’s personality. I even loved that there’s an option that isn’t so happy.

While A Date with Death is a free dating sim and you’d have a totally fine and wonderful time just playing that, I consider the Beyond the Bet DLC essential. It’s an exemplary extra route with multiple endings that all seem to make sense and “work,” depending on who you’ve built up your protagonist to be and how you interact with your Grim Reaper during the story. It’s so well done, and Two and a Half Studios did a fantastic job of developer a character, relationship, and world.

A Date with Death and its Beyond the Bet DLC are available now for PCs.