First Date: Late to Date

About

First Date: Late to Date is a single player casual simulation game with romance, comedy and erotic themes. It was developed by Digital Fossil and was released on August 19, 2022. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

First Date: Late To Date is a romantic-comedy interactive cinematic (FMV) game in which the audience determines the progress of the movie with the options that appear every minute. Erdem must make Derya forgive him in this late first meeting, or their relationship will end before it ever started. Erdem will be dragged along different paths with the decisions he will make, and he will be able to ex…

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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79%

Audience ScoreBased on 42 reviews

humor12 positive mentions

stability3 negative mentions

Charming and funny romantic comedy with relatable awkward first date scenarios.
Good replayability with over a dozen branching endings and amusing outcomes.
Authentic full-motion video presentation with well-acted performances and decent cinematography.

English subtitles are very poor with bad translations, timing issues, and covering choice text in some resolutions.
Gameplay issues include very short timed choices without pause, buggy skipping mechanic, lack of save/load or chapter selection options.
Short overall length with limited content and occasional bugs affecting achievements and scene accessibility.

story
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
68%
16%
The story is a lighthearted, humorous interactive experience centered on a date filled with misunderstandings and multiple branching endings, presented through full-motion video that adds immediacy. While accessible and enjoyable for casual players, it features a somewhat silly plot with weak character development, forced memes that disrupt immersion, and minor usability issues like poor subtitle visibility and limited navigation options. Overall, it's a fun but simple narrative best suited for those seeking playful storytelling rather than deep or complex plots.
- “The story revolves around Erdem, who’s late to meet Derya, his date, and must navigate a gauntlet of misunderstandings, mishaps, and emotional landmines to keep the evening from spiraling out of control.”
- “The use of full-motion video gives the story an immediacy that traditional animation or text-based visual novels can’t replicate.”
- “Each decision you make slightly alters the direction of the narrative, creating a sense of personal involvement in how the story unfolds.”
- “The story lasts about 20 minutes, you can skip the scenes viewed and the English subtitles are a little bad.”
- “Also, it has some forced memes that do not go with the story and break all the immersion you might have had while playing.”
- “After 10 hours of playing, I would recommend that those who bought this game spend less time trying to understand the plot, as the story fails to explain how the lead roles become familiar.”
humor
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its light, playful humor and exaggerated performances that create an awkward, charming tone. While some scenes feel cringe-worthy to a few, the overall story is considered funny, well-acted, and filled with humorous moments and multiple comedic endings. Reviewers appreciate its unique, interactive film style and hope for improvements like chapter selection to enhance the enjoyment of its humor.
- “Presented more like an interactive film than a conventional video game, it thrives on its humor, personality, and the universal anxiety that comes from trying to make a good first impression when everything seems to go wrong.”
- “The performances are intentionally exaggerated, amplifying the awkward humor that defines the tone.”
- “Overall, I can't praise this game enough from a new studio that has a lot of passion built into this FMV with high production, funny dialogues, and lovable characters; I hope it isn’t the last we see of them.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including buggy scene skipping and poor subtitle handling. Lack of features like timed choice toggles, pausing, and proper saving further detract from the experience, making it feel unfinished and frustrating despite its low price.
- “Space skips already seen scenes but it's very buggy.”
- “A simple timed choices toggle (or just allowing pause there as well), better handling of subtitles (at least minimal proofreading and timing), saving on exit or at least keeping the second date checkpoint, and fixing the buggy scene skip would have made it an okay purchase for 3 bucks.”
- “The lack of scene selection and numerous bugs prevent it from being a satisfying experience.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The game is well-optimized, running smoothly even on modest hardware, with polished real-world environments and natural lighting enhancing the experience. Its technical performance supports the indie film-like presentation without compromising responsiveness.
- “Technical performance is smooth, and the game runs well even on modest hardware.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The game offers high replayability through multiple branching paths and numerous endings, encouraging players to explore different variations even after completing one storyline. Its relatively short length also makes revisiting the game to discover all endings enjoyable and accessible.
- “The replayability of its branching paths ensures that even after seeing one ending, there’s always another variation worth exploring.”
- “Thankfully, the game is short and there's a lot of replay value to getting 12 endings and that's not including the ones where you don't get a second date.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game offers a blend of heartfelt and humorous experiences, as players navigate Erdem's challenging date night filled with misunderstandings and unforeseen mishaps. Choices can evoke touching moments or lead to comedic chaos, creating a dynamic and engaging emotional journey.
- “The story revolves around Erdem, who’s late to meet Derya, his date, and must navigate a gauntlet of misunderstandings, mishaps, and emotional landmines to keep the evening from spiraling out of control.”
- “Some choices lead to surprisingly heartwarming moments, while others descend into comedic disasters.”
gameplay
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The gameplay is simple and accessible, focusing on choice-based interactions without challenging puzzles or complex mechanics. It emphasizes playful experimentation and humor over deep storytelling or intricate systems.
- “The choice-based gameplay, while accessible, offers little challenge or complexity—there are no puzzles to solve or systems to master.”
- “It’s not a game for those seeking deep mechanics or complex storytelling, but rather a playful experiment in interactivity and humor.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music features a light, playful score that effectively complements the romantic and comedic moments, enhancing the overall mood without being overpowering. Users generally find the music enjoyable and fitting.
- “The music complements the romantic and comedic moments nicely, with a light, playful score that enhances the mood without overpowering it.”
- “Good music.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding is generally enjoyable due to the short runtime of each playthrough, preventing the process from feeling tedious.
graphics
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features brilliantly designed FMV graphics with smooth cut scenes and stunning, high-quality visuals.
- “It is a brilliantly designed FMV game with smooth cut scenes and gorgeous visuals.”