13 Best Dating Sims That Are Available For Free (2024)

Psychological thrillers, point-and-click games, and romantic visual novels may sound like starkly different categories, but they're easily united through their shared connection to dating sims. With the variety that these games offer, there's a dating sim out there for anybody and everybody. This genre doesn't discriminate by gender or sexuality; it's vast and all-encompassing.

Even the most frugal of gamers can find dating sims that fit their needs. Across all platforms, there are free titles just waiting to be played. From gothic vampire-driven plots to game-length fried chicken advertisem*nts, an empty wallet can stretch a long way.

Updated July 21, 2024 by Jacqueline Zalace: While some of the best video games out there will cost money, some free options are just as worthy. We've added a few more of the best free dating sims that you can play to our list, giving you plenty to choose from.

13 Crush Crush

Osu players can rejoice knowing that this game can put their clicking speed to use. The concept behind this game is simple: the more you click, the more money you make; the more money you make, the more gifts and dates you can afford; the more gifts and dates you can afford, the more girls are in your league.

In the end, you can amass a harem of over 60 different girls of varying personalities and (humanoid) species. For gamers more interested in men, there is a spin-off, called Blush Blush, that features the same mechanics but with a much more masculine cast.

12 Ebon Light

Ebon Light takes a Western spin on otome games, providing you with a fleshed-out fantasy world of elves and magic. In Ebon can plan out your character's personality and appearance, paying careful attention to stats and the game-changing decisions that can be made.

Overall, this is a great option if you like to play as your own, unique character. You won't be forced into one option in terms of personality. Additionally, this game provides five love interests for you to get to know, as well as other characters that you can get to know.

11 Helltaker

In this puzzle-adventurer-meets-dating-sim, the object of the game is to recruit a full harem of demon girls. With a bit of problem-solving and smooth-talking, you can take home each and every eligible bachelorette from Hell.

It only takes an hour or so for you to court these demonic ladies and unlock all the possible endings in Helltaker, making this a quick but satisfying story of love and lust.

10 Emily Is Away

Though Emily is Away isn't a visual novel, it is still technically a dating sim. After all, the bulk of the plot exists to explore the relationship between the protagonist and this girl he knows, Emily. Over the course of five in-game years, you use a simulated AOL Instant Messenger to keep in touch with her.

Between chatting about Coldplay and deciding which early 2000s icon is worthy enough to be a profile picture, you will be immersed in Y2K nostalgia as you navigate the relationship between two tech-savvy punk indie music fans on the brink of adulthood. The challenge lies in staying emotionally connected with nothing but an internet connection.

9 Cinderella Phenomenon

One of the few free otome games available on Steam, Cinderella Phenomenon has a surprisingly cohesive storyline. The different routes, while unique and not at all repetitive, feel connected to one another in a way that really ties the story together, which is a level of polish that a lot of other visual novels lack.

Another breath of fresh air that this game offers is its protagonist, Lucette. Unlike the standard, cookie-cutter, faceless women who lead most otome games, Lucette has a fierce and distinctive personality. Over the course of the story, she and the other characters must work together to overcome the Fairy Tale Curses that they were shackled with.

8 Our Life: Beginnings & Always

With a completely free main storyline and a few optional DLCs that only cost a couple of dollars each, the studio behind Our Life: Beginnings & Always is extremely generous toward its player base. Looking at this game's long, nuanced story that follows the characters from childhood to adulthood, it's clear that the developers cut no corners.

You can even create their own characters and watch them grow up with the main cast! As they do, the player is in control of how the protagonist's personality and motives shift and change. Few other dating sims allow for such a player-driven experience, and even fewer give such a complete look into the lives of the NPCs.

7 The Arcana: A Mystic Romance

Magic, mystery, and murder flourish in this mobile dating sim. With art that is almost as vivid and intriguing as its rich plot, The Arcana: A Mystic Romance is a game that is almost impossible to put down. Aside from having the power to smooth-talk this eclectic group of characters, the protagonist has a gift for fortune-telling and an enchanted tarot deck to help bring them down the right path.

Welcoming to players of all gender identities and sexualities, this game has a large, dedicated fan base despite still being in development. For those willing to fight the occasional urge to purchase in-game currency, this is a great free game for just about anybody interested in dating simulators.

6 I Love You, Colonel Sanders! A Finger Lickin’ Good Dating Simulator

The sizzle of frying chicken is nothing compared to the sizzle of true love in this official KFC-branded dating simulator. In it, the protagonist is a student at a competitive culinary school, where they meet the man of their dreams: Colonel Sanders. With rivals in both love and cooking to fend off, the stakes are dangerously high.

With its stylized, high-quality art, absurdist humor, and wacky plot, it's amazing that this game is free at all. In fact, it probably wouldn't be if it wasn't an advertisem*nt for a fast food franchise.

5 Mystic Messenger

Mystic Messenger is a beloved staple in the otome games genre, and it is notorious for its addictive nature and swoon-worthy cast. You get to grow your relationship with characters through real-time texts and calls that occur at set times over the course of about ten days.

With seven routes, dozens of endings, and potential years' worth of playtime, Mystic Messenger offers an immense amount of content at no cost. However, some of the more premium aspects of the game do require splurging on in-app purchases. Even so, the base game is well-designed enough that spending money is highly optional.

4 Doki Doki Literature Club

Doki Doki Literature defies its genre, distorting tropes to instill a heightened sense of horror in its players. Do not be fooled by the cute girls and bubbly music; this game is infamous for its dark themes and shocking plot twists.

It executes these points in the plot flawlessly, making an engaging and thrilling playthrough. For the few people out there who haven't either played it or watched somebody else play it already, it's definitely worth the zero dollar price tag.

3 Katawa Shoujo

Katawa Shoujo is an absolute classic dating sim that is constantly being recommended all across the internet. In this game, you play as Hisao Nakai, who has several major health problems. Due to this, he is transferred to a school for students with disabilities, where he meets the rest of the cast.

This game deals with serious topics such as life with disabilities in a respectful manner. Katawa Shoujo does have sexual content, but interestingly, you can disable scenes like this from the game without missing out on any vital content.

2 XOXO Droplets

Next, we have XOXO Droplets. If this game looks familiar, it's for a good reason; this is another GB Patch Games title, which also made Our Life: Beginnings & Always. Although XOXO Droplets doesn't cover as long of a time-period, it's still packed with a good story and likable characters.

For a free game, it's impressive that XOXO Droplets has a whopping 132,000 words. In these words, you can find several romance options, as well as tons of other characters that you can get to know.

1 Tailor Tales

Last but not least, we have Tailor Tales. While this may look like any other otome game, it also involves fashion design! While romancing the main character, you will be able to design your own clothes. This only makes sense though, as you are a fashion designer with your own boutique.

Tailor Tales is still actively being worked on, which means that there is more content to come. As of publication, you can play through five routes, but there is a total of eight that will eventually become available.