Best Friend Forever

About

"Best Friend Forever" is a dating simulation game with a twist – you're not looking for a romantic partner, but Scouting for a new best friend! Navigate your new life in Rainbow Bay while training and caring for your adorable dog companion, meeting a diverse cast of characters and trying to find your paw-fect match along the way. The game features cute pixel art and visual novel style gameplay, with interactive elements to strengthen your bond with your furry friend.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

71%

Audience ScoreBased on 198 reviews

story14 positive mentions

gameplay10 negative mentions

The game features charming graphics and a delightful art style that enhances the overall experience.
The representation of diverse characters, including LGBTQ+ and disabled individuals, is commendable and adds depth to the narrative.
The combination of dog care mechanics with dating sim elements creates a unique and engaging gameplay experience.

The story feels rushed and lacks depth, with many plot points left unresolved and minimal character development.
The dog training mechanics can be repetitive and unclear, leading to frustration in achieving desired outcomes.
There are numerous bugs and glitches that detract from the overall experience, including issues with character sprites and dialogue options.

story
76 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
78%
4%
The story in the game is generally perceived as simplistic and predictable, lacking depth and emotional engagement, with many players noting that choices have minimal impact on the narrative. While the game features diverse characters and light-hearted humor, it often feels repetitive, with romance routes intertwined in a way that requires extensive replaying to explore different outcomes. Overall, while the game is endearing and enjoyable for casual play, it falls short in delivering a compelling and cohesive storyline.
- “Diverse characters, dialogue that made me laugh out loud, and interesting game elements alongside the story.”
- “I enjoyed the main plot line and felt that it had a nice progression and believable story; a classic rags to riches bent towards a millennial ideal of fulfillment and meaningful work, it left me feeling good about life.”
- “Great characters, cute dogs, and heartwarming storytelling.”
- “While an attempt at exploring the dynamics of friendship and relationships was made, the plot offers no variety and shows little deep insight into queer issues.”
- “The story follows a predictable path, with very few surprises or emotional highlights unless tied to the romantic interests of the player.”
- “The choices the player makes have minimal impact on the outcome, and the story follows the same path no matter what options you choose.”
gameplay
31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
52%
32%
The gameplay has been criticized for its gimmicky mechanics, particularly the dog training and dating elements, which feel underdeveloped and repetitive. While some players appreciate the charming art style and voice acting, many find the overall experience monotonous and lacking in engaging interactions. Despite its potential, the game feels rushed and unfinished, leaving players wanting more depth and variety in gameplay.
- “For half the price, you get 20+ hours of gameplay, and the fun of a welcoming community.”
- “Adorable graphics and dialogue, great voice acting, and interesting gameplay mechanics for a visual novel.”
- “An incredibly charming and wholesome game with a diverse range of characters, some very good doggos, and very clever dog-care mechanics that aren't the run-of-your-mill dating sim.”
- “The mechanics are gimmicky and feel practically useless.”
- “As other reviewers have noted, the game feels a bit rushed and unfinished, leading to both the dating mechanics and the dog raising mechanics to feel underdeveloped and leaving you wishing for something more.”
- “The gameplay is pretty boring, which I can normally forgive in a visual novel, but the characters just aren't likeable enough to make up for it.”
graphics
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
33%
13%
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their charming and cute art style, which many players find appealing and well-suited to the game's wholesome atmosphere. However, some users noted technical issues and jarring character animations that detracted from the overall visual experience. Despite these criticisms, the backgrounds and aesthetic elements are often highlighted as beautifully rendered, contributing positively to the game's vibe.
- “The world feels well thought out and beautifully rendered in a wholesome aesthetic, and locations all have their own charm that adds to the overall vibe of Rainbow Bay.”
- “The art style is very pleasing to look at.”
- “Adorable graphics and dialogue, great voice acting, and interesting gameplay mechanics for a visual novel.”
- “The art style is decent, and the UI is clean, but even those aspects are marred by technical issues.”
- “It goes for a cutesy art style but most of the characters and animations come off as jarring to say the least.”
- “The main pull of this game to me was the art style because that's something I'm very picky about when it comes to visual novels/dating sims; however, it doesn't save the monotonous gameplay.”
emotional
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is characterized by its wholesome and heartwarming themes, particularly through its diverse characters and dog adoption mechanics. While some players found the story predictable and lacking in emotional depth, many appreciated the cute art style and the overall comforting atmosphere, making it a charming experience for those who enjoy dating sims and dogs. Overall, it offers a feel-good experience, especially for queer players and dog lovers, though it could benefit from deeper emotional engagement.
- “A very heartwarming game to play.”
- “Great characters, cute dogs, and heartwarming storytelling.”
- “An incredibly charming and wholesome game with a diverse range of characters, some very good doggos, and very clever dog-care mechanics that aren't the run-of-your-mill dating sim.”
humor
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
91%
9%
The humor in the game is described as a mix of tongue-in-cheek wit and corny, over-the-top jokes, which can be hit or miss for players. While some appreciate the funny and charming writing, diverse characters, and laugh-out-loud moments, others find certain aspects, like the character Fox and the reliance on puns, to be cringy or unfunny. Overall, the humor adds a light-hearted touch to the game, but its effectiveness varies widely among players.
- “Then, I fell in love with the game and its very tongue-in-cheek humor.”
- “Diverse characters, dialogue that made me laugh out loud, and interesting game elements alongside the story.”
- “The dialogue and humor feels super natural.”
- “Fox is the worst character; she's insufferable, extremely unfunny, and very mean.”
- “Maybe someday I'll come back and try again, but the jokes are so bad and unfunny.”
stability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, the game's stability has been a mixed experience for players, with many reporting minor glitches and bugs that can disrupt gameplay, such as missing characters and freezing issues. While some users noted that these problems are not game-breaking and can often be resolved with a restart, others expressed frustration with persistent issues that hinder their ability to progress. Despite ongoing bug fixes from the developers, the game still feels somewhat rushed and lacks polish in certain areas.
- “I want to recommend this game because it looks very cute, but unfortunately I can't even play it. The game freezes as I'm about to get off the bus, and I have no idea what to do to fix that. It seems that I'm not the only one facing this issue, and the problem still continues without being fixed.”
- “It's a fun short playthrough, and it could just be my copy somehow, but this game literally glitches on me so much.”
- “The ending feels slightly rushed, and at times the game can be a bit buggy. It's not a big issue, but it can be jarring when characters completely disappear or when your dog licks or barks at someone who's no longer there.”
replayability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
25%
50%
Overall, the game exhibits a significant lack of replayability, particularly disappointing for a visual novel genre typically known for its branching narratives. While some elements, like dog training management and character interactions, offer a degree of replay value, many players feel that the overall experience does not encourage multiple playthroughs.
- “I enjoy the dog training management of the game as it gives more replayability and is pretty challenging.”
- “The characters are all great, the date system is also really fun and the replayability is good; you'll want to get all the badges.”
- “All in all, this game lacks replay value.”
- “I don’t know how a visual novel—a genre known for its replayability and branching stories—manages to fail this spectacularly.”
- “By far the worst part is that the replayability is awful.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, often requiring repetitive clicking through unskippable dialogue and tasks that yield nearly identical outcomes. While some enjoy the character routes and stat-raising mechanics, many agree that the lack of variety and the necessity for multiple playthroughs make the experience feel monotonous and frustrating.
- “It's so tedious that I had to resort to an auto-clicker to get through the endless, pointless dialogue.”
- “Although, if you want to read all routes or just grind, it gets repetitive really quickly.”
- “Cons: you can't skip through dialogue you've already read... you have to click through each time, which is super tedious.”
music
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The music in the game is generally well-received, described as chipper and amazing, with a strong pairing alongside the art style. However, some users report technical issues, such as music cutting off unexpectedly and glitches affecting character sprites. Overall, while the soundtrack enhances the experience, it is marred by occasional inconsistencies.
- “The art looks nice, the dogs are adorable, and the music is chipper.”
- “Music is also amazing; I had the pause menu up while I had to do something else, and I didn't want to close the game—it was *chef's kiss*.”
- “Strong art style with great accompanying music; character dialogue is generally well written.”
- “The background music occasionally cuts off for no reason, and character sprites sometimes fail to load entirely, leaving you staring at an empty background.”
- “The music can get glitchy; at one point, sprites were not showing up, and the music keeps turning back on every time I launch the game despite it being set to 'off'.”
character development
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
20%
20%
Character development in the game is critiqued for its superficial execution, particularly in how it objectifies love interests by making the player's involvement seem essential to their growth. While the character designs are praised for their diversity and cuteness, the overall depth of character development is viewed as lacking, with some players appreciating the vibrant art but feeling it does not compensate for the narrative shortcomings.
- “The art was fun and bright, and the character design was great.”
- “It's got very cute character designs, and even the minor characters have amazing designs.”
- “The game itself isn't bad; it's cute, and the character designs are all great and diverse.”
- “The game implies an interesting argument about how dating sims objectify love interests by making your presence crucial to their character development, which is very poorly executed and might be a happy coincidence.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by a generally wholesome and pleasant art style, contributing to an inviting and aesthetically pleasing experience for players.
- “The art style is generally wholesome and creates a pleasant atmosphere.”
- “The aesthetics of the game contribute significantly to its immersive atmosphere.”
- “The overall atmosphere is inviting and beautifully crafted.”