Tender: Creature Comforts
- May 28, 2021
- Jie En Lee
Get on Steam"Tender: Creative Comforts" is a narrative-driven game that explores connection and rejection in the digital age of swipe culture. You'll swipe through hundreds of intergalactic profiles, chat with matches, and go on dates, all while navigating branching storylines and the possibility of rejection. The game contains mature themes and is written by Gideon Lazarus, with art by Jie En Lee and programming by Kenny Sun. CW: Toxic relationships.
iPad
iPhone
Phone
Mobile Platform
Tablet
Reviews
- Tender: Creature Comforts offers a unique and realistic portrayal of modern dating, capturing the emotional highs and lows of online interactions.
- The writing is well-crafted, with engaging characters that feel authentic and relatable, making players emotionally invested in their stories.
- The art style is cute and appealing, enhancing the overall experience and immersing players in the game's quirky world.
- The gameplay can feel repetitive and shallow, with limited character interactions and a lack of depth in the dating experience.
- Some players found the game to be anxiety-inducing, as it mirrors the frustrations of real-life dating apps, leading to feelings of hopelessness.
- There are technical issues, such as clunky interfaces and minor grammatical errors, which detract from the overall polish of the game.
- emotional12 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game elicits a wide range of emotions, blending humor with heartache and offering players a sense of recognition and validation through its relatable scenarios. Many reviewers noted that it can be both touching and tragic, leading to genuine emotional investment in the characters and their stories. While it may require emotional labor from players, the depth of character development and the overall wholesome experience make it a memorable journey.
“It's hilarious, painful, and heartwarming.”
“It has this really touching 'I see you' energy from the devs, that makes people who have been through these scenarios feel seen and laugh about it.”
“For a game I bought on a whim expecting a few Tinder-esque giggles, this has a surprising amount of character depth and made me feel some very non-fictional emotions about fictional characters.”
- humor7 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised for being hilarious, well-written, and heartwarming, with many users noting that it elicits frequent laughter through its cute artwork and compelling stories. Players appreciate the funny situations encountered throughout the gameplay, making it a highly recommended experience for those seeking a lighthearted and entertaining adventure.
“It's hilarious, painful, and heartwarming.”
“Fully recommended, funny, well-written little gem.”
“Humorous and compelling stories that make you want to find out more.”
- gameplay6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The gameplay is centered around an original concept of swiping through profiles and engaging in various interactions, which creates a fun and dynamic experience. While it lacks a traditional narrative, players encounter a variety of scenarios that feel authentic due to the natural texting and response mechanics. Overall, the gameplay offers a unique blend of social simulation and unexpected twists.
“A really original concept and gameplay; I enjoyed the different appearances and interactions, so I had fun.”
“The texting and response mechanics were surprisingly natural feeling, making it feel like I was actually having conversations with the characters.”
“The gameplay consists of you simply looking through various profiles and swiping left or right.”
“Due to the gameplay, this game doesn't really have a story but has a ton of small different scenarios with each individual you can talk with.”
“Somehow I got gaslighted, ghosted, and pulled into a pyramid scheme within 45 minutes of gameplay.”
- story6 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game lacks a cohesive overarching story, instead offering a series of small scenarios centered around various characters, which some players feel could benefit from deeper development. While the gameplay allows for emotional investment in individual storylines, particularly through dating interactions, the overall narrative experience is minimal and largely dependent on player choices.
“I got emotionally invested in a particular storyline with a match and actually ended up dating her second and ending the game with her even though I had like twelve other dates ready to go, haha.”
“Due to the gameplay, this game doesn't really have a story but has a ton of small different scenarios with each individual you can talk with.”
“Not going into spoiler territory, but was it really necessary to let her storyline play out like that?”
“If they made fewer characters and fleshed those out, there would actually be a story worth reading.”
- graphics6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game feature a charming and cute art style, which users appreciate; however, the lack of visual representation during dates, relying instead on a text-based interface, is seen as a significant disappointment.
“Not to mention how nice the art style is.”
“The artwork is super cute though, and I encountered a few funny situations during my time with it.”
“The art style is really cute to be honest.”
“One of the most disappointing things is that you don't see any visuals for your dates, and you are instead going on each date via a text-based interface.”
- music4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music aspect of the game features minimal background music, primarily consisting of light spacey tunes that play during dates, while other audio elements include typing sounds and notification alerts. Overall, while the ambient music is appreciated, the lack of a more robust soundtrack has been noted.
“Art is great, writing is great, and the ambient music is fantastic. I want to bring attention to a few specifics.”
“The audio and music elements are well-crafted and enhance the overall experience.”
“The light spacey music during dates adds a unique atmosphere to the game.”
“There's no background music (BGM), just options for typing, receiving notifications, and some light spacey music only during dates.”
“There's no background music (BGM), just options for typing, receiving notifications, and some light spacey music only during dates.”
- character development2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Character development is praised for its beautiful and authentic dialogue, complemented by charming character designs. However, some users feel that certain characters, like [spoiler]Carmen[/spoiler], are underutilized and serve merely as filler, detracting from the potential depth of the game's character roster.
“Beautiful and realistic dialogue paired with charming character designs.”
“The character profiles are well-developed, with unique designs that enhance the overall experience.”
“It seems like there are a few profiles with full character designs like [spoiler]Carmen[/spoiler] that are there only to refill the pool if you run out of people to swipe right on, and I wish they didn't waste such fun designs on something so utilitarian.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The overall performance of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players praising its smooth gameplay and efficient resource management, while others report issues such as frame rate drops and long loading times. Overall, optimization appears to be a significant area for improvement.
