Preview: Boyfriend Dungeon Provides the Romance You Need

Boyfriend Dungeon is the upcoming dungeon-crawling, weapon dating sim from Kitfox Games. Combining elements of both genres, Boyfriend Dungeon will be a unique mix of fast-paced gameplay and “go at your own speed” romance. Its graphics are colorful and the music really ties into the beach town, summer vibe.

People may have heard the term “Sword Girlfriends” or have seen the questions “Which one of you is the shield and who’s the sword?” Cool, sleek weapons and a protector/protected dynamic can be fun to explore. Boyfriend Dungeon takes this to the next level by making you the weapon wielder and your beau of choice the weapon. And don’t let the name fool you, as Boyfriend Dungeon is majorly inclusive with both player character and weapon types.

While this game has a lot of plot points, they fit together very nicely in its introduction. It’s summer and you’re new in town. You’re a bit closed off and, while you don’t have any dating experience, you do have a sweet cousin who is just waiting to set you up on all kinds of cute summer dates. In between blind dates, you can explore the dungeon, or dunj, and face your fears while meeting new people…or weapons.

Roguelites keep you moving (in life and in the game), while providing quick gratification. I’m typically not good at them, though. When a majority of gameplay feels undoable, I simply don’t have a reason to do anything but admire the game from afar. Boyfriend Dungeon‘s romance aspects make the game both incredibly fun and very approachable, thanks to the visual novel elements.

In my time with the game, I met three different weapons (and a few other datable people). Each played so incredibly different and fit into vastly unique personality boxes. Yes, characters tick a box, but they’re still fun to talk to and have their own flirty styles. The dating aspect of this game is already really strong even at the outset and feels as important as the dungeon crawling. After a few dunj floors, I was able to easily switch between weapons and still feel comfortable. Plus, the dungeon floors are rather vast and provide plenty of opportunity to learn how to use each weapon.

With dating, the game feels just as intuitive. The different romance paths in Boyfriend Dungeon feel inclusive, with multiple dating options not tied to gender, and allow you to decide if a relationship needs to continue or not. You aren’t forced into a “route” just for the sake of gameplay/narrative progression. I absolutely fell in love with the transformation animations as weapons revealed their human form too. It’s moments like those that really show what Boyfriend Dungeon is about. It’s fun and reminiscent of the kind of fictional settings we often talk about, but rarely see actualized. It suggests positive encounters for the full game.

Boyfriend Dungeon will release in 2021 on the Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam and the Windows Store. It will also be a part of Xbox Game Pass.