Best Friend Forever

« Best Friend Forever has an enjoyable, light-hearted storyline, for an easy relaxed gaming session. Dating Sims can be very hit or miss, and despite being short and having some unfortunate dialogue, I would very much consider this one a hit. The “adopt, don’t shop” message, as well as the inclusion of dog breeds that are considered unpopular only added my enjoyment of the game. Oh, and yes, you can pet the dog. »

« Even though I’m a cat person, spending a couple of hours with your dog in Rainbow Bay is enough to get you invested in its success — and by extension, in the game. The other people were tolerable (okay, a couple tolerable, most were still pretty annoying by the end), but I was really rooting to see my rescue pup become more comfortable around people. That may not mean that Best Friend Forever is a success as a dating game, but if you’re after a pet-raising sim, it’s a nice way to pass a few hours. »

« I went into Best Friend Forever expecting to pet a bunch of dogs and date some cool humans, and in that respect, I was not disappointed. The dogs are good boys and girls who deserve all the love in the world, even when they poop. The humans are a fun and varied bunch whose stories may be on the short side but still have a lot of heart. Sadly, the gameplay did not live up to my expectations, but I would love to see what improvements could be made if Starcolt one day decides to create a sequel. If your love of dogs is stronger than the issues I’ve laid out in this review, then you might want to check out Best Friend Forever. Just do yourself a favor, though, and play it on PC. »

« Everything considered, Best Friend Forever is a joyous treat for dog-lovers and dating-sim enthusiasts alike. Currently, the Nintendo Switch version is a bit unruly, but nothing a trip to the vet and some patches won’t fix. »

« Best Friend Forever is a short and simple visual novel/simulation game, but that doesn’t make it any less fun. The interactions with your furry friend don’t get boring fast, and the interactions you have with the characters are just as engaging. »

« Despite various glitches that are being fixed in updates, overall Best Friend Forever is an accurate take on what life can be like both in the dating scene, and when bringing up a dog. For players who are not dog owners it is an eye-opener to how intense and hands-on having a dog is, with a lot to think about and juggle what aspects of training get priority. All the characters seem available to date, none are cookie-cutter ones as each has complex aspects to their lives which are realistic. Replayability is high with so many romance options available, and learning how to improve stats better to achieve better grades from the adoption centre provides hours of gameplay to be had. »

« If you're looking for a title that is written for the modern romance game fan and/or dog lover in mind, this one is worth fetching. [Issue #49 – November/December 2020, p. 22] »

« It hit me how superficial a lot of the mechanics in Best Friend Forever are. I had thought that, similar to a typical dating sim, you’d have to train specific stats to score points with your lover, but it’s more segregated and mechanical than that. The dog lends a layer of brightness to the game, so it’s not entirely wasted, but from a gameplay standpoint, it’s pointless. From a purely visual novel standpoint, the game is entertaining and well-written, but it fails to make use of the one thing that makes it unique. It has the love it needs, but it will need more training before it can truly be called a "good boy." »

« It has a cute vibe and I love the fact that you also kind of have to train your dog a little bit. The characters are very different and the game doesn't get boring during the first time playing it. The only thing that I think is a negative is that you can't really play it multimple times. Of course you could date different people but your storyline is the same every time and the easy gameplay with the dog is also the same and gets a bit boring. »

« For all it's faults, BFF is definitely charming. The characters are pretty good, though not really close to as fleshed out as the ones in Dream Daddy, which this game definitely heavily takes after. The dog care mechanics do feel somewhat shoehorned in, and are easy to cheese, but I think they're just barely not too intrusive. After doing most of the routes it had me searching if there was some weird true ending where you finally actually solve the mystery of the town, and as far as I can tell, there's not- just a bunch of useless loose threads. But the fact it had me so invested to look into it is maybe good, if you look at it right. »

« Best Friend Forever is unfortunately a lazy cashgrab, aimed at all the doggo lovers out there (like me!). The bad impression starts with PC controls on a console, meaning your stick replaces the computer mouse, and you need to move a cursor all over the screen. Then there ist the run time of about 2h. I usually don't compare price and playtime, but come on. 17€ for 2h ist just too much. »

« Best Friend Forever a doggo dating sim staring you. You’ve recently moved from the big city to Rainbow Bay, the most dog friendly city in the world. Where the human to dog population is almost 1 to 1. Every human has their doggo and every dog their hooman. You are recently single and have never owned a dog before. Because of a cheesy radio show, you decide to both sign up for Woofr, a dating app exclusive to the city, and adopt a dog. After answering some amusing questions to set up your dating profile, having a friendly encounter, “settling” into your new home, and passing out in despair on the floor. You wake up the next day to adopt your new best friend and take them to their furever home. After you adopt the doggo of your choosing you’re free to encounter your new husbando/waifu inbetween training your dog. You have two goals in BFF. Train your dog well enough to become Valedictorian in training school, and find your next romantic relationship. You have 16 weeks to do this with some weeks consisting of major events and check-ins on your dog’s training. Loving and raising Cardigan was the most fun part of the game. Upon adoption he was the sweetest thing. The game notifies you of every lick, bork, poop, and fart. Sometimes he gets spooked and I have to pet him, other times he’s tugging at his leash and I have to pull him back. Or I can just pet him at will and in reality I’m saying “good boy” as I would do my own good girl. The random training events affect his training and mood, but it also makes me feel a little closer to him. At the end of each week you pick activities for your doggos training. You can choose to train their smarts, manners, trust, fitness, and sociability. Each activity you pick will raise two of these traits or their mood and energy. After training you tend to your loved one with food, grooming, and playtime. Once you and your doggo is exhausted you both snooze and a new week will arrive. As for the characters you have six lovely individuals to choose from. Each person also has their own doggos, interests, and traits. They’re also voice acted! Not fully, you receive a fully voice acted cut screen in the beginning of the game. But the lines and expressions I did receive were A material. THE RED DEATH WILL DESTROY YOU!!! My connection between these characters is something I always look for when playing dating sims. I don’t want to play your game if I’m not into your character(s). I would like for every character to be equally interesting and have the ability to find one that stands out from the rest. I did try to be friendly towards other characters, but I couldn’t get close to them because there’s a glaring flaw in the game’s dating mechanic. It’s far too easy to get close with these characters and earn a date. No, it feels handed to you. I was expecting to win Robin over with the right cues, make her laugh, earn her trust, don’t talk about poop because as medical workers we have to deal with enough **** However after two encounters I had the option for a first date. Weird but ok. At least I had the option to call it a date or not at the end. Why can’t I skip ahead when I don’t want to do anything else for the week and my dog is fine? Why waste time cleaning his spotless ears and depleting his full hunger bar? Games like Person gives you the option to not do anything that day, go home, and skip ahead. The freedom of choice to blow everything and do that is great! In BFF it feels necessary because there’s no point in taking care of my dog and I don’t want to risk seeing the option to date someone I’m not into. Things like this makes me wonder what the hell the delays were for. Maybe it was for the voice acting because the voice work is solid. But what’s with the bugs? Where did the thought go into immersing the player into the game? I suspect there most time and thought went into the dogs and art, as they are the best part of the game. The character designs are attractive, the art/backgrounds are appealing, and the doggos are cute as sin and I want them all. The writing isn’t half bad either and I really would like to get to know the rest of these characters. But the gameplay and bugs are distracting and plummets my experience. I want to love Best Friend Forever more. I want to recommend it to my equally doggo obsessed friends with excitement and not warning. And I will do this when the game is fixed with a simple patch. I also hope the devs will listen to their fans and add more customization options. But for now, 20 bucks is far too great of an asking price. Dear doggo loving reader, wait for a discount and give a good woofer pats while you do. »

« [SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.] »