72
All in all, Half Past Fate: Romantic Distancing is a title that doesn’t do anything wrong in its gameplay or story presentation. Truth be told, it is really only hampered by its brief duration. If you’re looking for a shorter diversionary title with an emphasis on romance development that doesn’t ignore the pandemic experience we’ve all been going through, you might want to look into this cute episodic adventure. Like most rom-coms though, don’t expect it to be insanely memorable afterward.
60
Half Past Fate’s pandemic themed addition to its romantic series is a nice little love story, but it doesn’t have much in the way of player interaction and feels like it only scratches the surface of the emotional impact of looking for love in lockdown.
60
The only issue with Half Past Fate: Romantic Distancing is that its runtime is simply not enough. The characters’ relationship feels underdeveloped, and even the themes of “romance during a pandemic” don’t really stick. Still, if you’re looking for a really quick adventure with a comfortable atmosphere and absolutely no complications, it could offer an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon.
5
Half Past Fate: Romantic Distancing - Very affordable at USD ~$5. - Very charming. - Very short. Honestly, it feels more like a proof of concept for Way Down Deep's game engine, which is beautifully detailed while being low poly; the actual story just left me wanting more. Not enough vignettes by far; the pacing is too fast due to just handwaving away passages of time and using a montage instead of fleshing those scenes out. Character dialogue was pretty decent up until the final chapter. It could've used another pass to be more believable; it felt like the writer(s) just wanted to wrap it up fast. And Stephen maybe could have used a few more facial expressions for his portrait art. The few music tracks were quite catchy. Props to Environment Artist Kristin Butcher for those amazing building interiors though. Not a bad game, just way, way too short. I look forward to something longer next time.
Half Past Fate: Romantic Distancing
Released On:
Feb 14, 2021
Metascore
Mixed or Average
55
User score
Available after 4 ratings
tbd
My Score
Drag or tap to give a rating
Hover and click to give a rating
All Platforms
Metascore
Mixed or Average
0% Positive
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
86% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
14% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Mar 5, 2021
72
All in all, Half Past Fate: Romantic Distancing is a title that doesn’t do anything wrong in its gameplay or story presentation. Truth be told, it is really only hampered by its brief duration. If you’re looking for a shorter diversionary title with an emphasis on romance development that doesn’t ignore the pandemic experience we’ve all been going through, you might want to look into this cute episodic adventure. Like most rom-coms though, don’t expect it to be insanely memorable afterward.
Feb 14, 2021
70
I’m not generally a visual novel type of person, but Half Past Fate: Romantic Distancing was a fun little adventure that reinforced my appreciation for not having to wade through the digital dating waters myself. I’m not sure the game did enough to make me want to take a crack at another playthrough for a different ending, but it did make me interested in picking up the full Half Past Fate release that is currently on sale. I’d say that makes Half Past Fate: Romantic Distancing a success.
Feb 23, 2021
60
Half Past Fate’s pandemic themed addition to its romantic series is a nice little love story, but it doesn’t have much in the way of player interaction and feels like it only scratches the surface of the emotional impact of looking for love in lockdown.
Feb 19, 2021
60
The only issue with Half Past Fate: Romantic Distancing is that its runtime is simply not enough. The characters’ relationship feels underdeveloped, and even the themes of “romance during a pandemic” don’t really stick. Still, if you’re looking for a really quick adventure with a comfortable atmosphere and absolutely no complications, it could offer an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon.
Feb 16, 2021
50
In its brief runtime, Half Past Fate: Romantic Distancing tries to tell a charming story of romance amid the pandemic, but it's just a waste of an hour instead. Give the original game a try in lieu of this.
Feb 14, 2021
50
Ultimately, we have to ask ourselves one crucial question when it comes to Half Past Fate: Romantic Distancing: do we really need yet another reminder of the truly awful situation we’re all still in? The story being told here is an uplifting one, but it’s also stuffed with terms we’ve become all too familiar with over the course of the past year: social distancing, flattening the curve, remote meetings… we could go on. Games are – perhaps more than ever – a means of escapism, and Serenity Forge’s new title strays a bit too close to reality for our liking. We’d probably recommend other developers try again in a few years time when the dust has settled.
Feb 16, 2021
40
Ultimately we’re not sure Romantic Distancing is even worth buying at its budget price point, unless you’re desperately after an hour of undemanding and disappointingly lightweight entertainment.
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
SummaryFinding true love is hard enough when it’s in person! Build a relationship through the screen as a couple copes with lockdown life by staying connected online! Will their love be loud and clear, or will their signals fade away?
Platforms:
- PC
- Nintendo Switch
Initial Release Date:Feb 14, 2021
Developer:
Publisher:
