Date Warp Game Review

Date Warp is a unique game that is categorized as a visual novel. It's not really a video game per se, more like an interactive movie much like the recent Heavy Rain for the PS3. As you watch the events unfold in front of you, there are specific moments in the game where you can make the decisions and decide what the character should do next.

Date Warp is a "game" that plays much like this and has a very interesting and intriguing storyline that will hook players the moment they start playing. You assume the role of a young college girl by the name of Janet. She's an innocent girl who is in the middle of her first date with her new boyfriend called Bradley. Things don't go according to plan on their first date as their car breaks down in the middle of the road in the pouring rain. The couple decides to seek help in the nearest house they could fun.

Upon their arrival, they are not received a warm welcome. It is here the first time that the player can decide what Janet can do next. You normally have two or three options to choose from on how Janet should react in the situation she gotten herself into. The first option is that you can choose to be apologetic, or you can demand the person opening the door to let you in as your car broke down and you are soaking wet!

Even though you have options to choose from in Date Warp, you will still have to earn the best option you'd like to choose as this isn't the type of game where you can just point and click. This is done by the way of a puzzle. The puzzle has the option you want in the middle of an electronic circuit board. You objective is to rearrange the wires so the electricity can flow to the option you want Janet to do next. It's not a very hard task to do and it's the only type of real "gameplay" players will experience in Date Warp. The rest of the experience lies within reading the dialogue between the characters and trying to engross yourself into the storyline.

Once Janet finds herself inside the house, she realizes the inhabitants are not as friendly as she thought they were. Although this is not a classic horror story, it does have a story that could lead to a classic murder investigation. There are five young men living at the mansion and Janet's boyfriend has a hunch they are not as nice as they appear to be.

I really loved the way the characters were developed in Date Warp. Bradley (Janet's boyfriend), isn't the type of person she originally thought. Bradley only pretended to be her boyfriend as he wanted to get closer to this mysterious "mansion" as he suspects the five young men kidnapped and killed his sister five years ago. From there, it's up to you (as Janet) to figure out the truth and see who's is telling the truth. The decision you will have to make only gets tougher from there.

Graphically, the anime-style characters are excellently drawn. Not only is this but the story the true star of the show. If the story and characters were boring, I highly doubt it will be the type of game that players would want to continue playing. The story is just as engaging as the one seen in the PlayStation 3's Heavy Rain.

Date Warp is a great visual novel. Although the demo is free-to-play, if you want to know what happens, you will have to pay to find out. Not that this is a bad thing, as the story and the game itself should be worth the price of admission.