Many hot, new indie titles were unveiled during the first day of the Guerrilla Collective showcase. Perhaps one of the most interesting titles shown was Kitfox Games' dungeon-crawling/dating sim hybrid, Boyfriend Dungeon.
Kitfox Games is an independent developer and publisher based out of Montreal. Its team has released several titles including Shattered Planet, a turn-based RPG about exploring a dangerous planet. Its publishing team will also be handling the upcoming release of Dwarf Fortress on Steam.
With Boyfriend Dungeon, the team at Kitfox Games seems to be taking a very different approach. Set in Verona Beach, players will be able to explore the dunj, a seemingly changing mall-like dungeon, where they will face down enemies modeled after real life objects like cellphones and TV's. Players will be able to find new weapons with unique play styles. If that wasn't enough, each weapon has their own non-weapon form with a distinct personality and occupation.
When players leave the dunj, they will then have the opportunity to spend time, and even date their weapons. It should be worth noting that unlike some dating sims, the gender chosen by the player will not affect which weapons they can date. The roster of weapons includes male, female, and non-binary options for players to get to know. Spending this extra time with these weapons will give the players extra abilities when exploring the dunj, not unlike Social Links in Persona 5.
Boyfriend Dungeon looks like a wonderful mashup of genres that hasn't been explored before. Dungeon crawlers have seen an uptick in activity since the launch of Minecraft Dungeons, and dating sims have improved dramatically over the past few years. And while there currently isn't a confirmed release date, hopefully Kitfox Games will be able to marry these ideas when Boyfriend Dungeon launches later this year.
Boyfriend Dungeon releases in 2020 on Steam and Nintendo Switch.
Source: Kitfox Games