Game: Half Past Fate: Romantic Distancing
Genre: Casual, Dating Sim
System: Steam (also available on Nintendo Switch)
Developers | Publishers: Serenity Forge | Way Down Deep
Age Rating: EU 3 | US 10+
Price: EU €4,99 | US $5.99 | UK £4.79
Release Date: February 14th, 2021
Review code used, many thanks to Serenity Forge
Half Past Fate: Romantic Distancing is a stand-alone mini-episode. It is made by the same developers, Serenity Forge, as Half Past Fate that was released on Nintendo Switch last year. Yvonne reviewed Half Past Fate and you can find her review here.
Stephen meets Robin
Half Past Fate: Romantic Distancing is a short and sweet game which lasts for around an hour. You follow the lives of Stephen and Robin and their budding relationship through a situation that has become very familiar to most people, lockdown and social distancing!
Up until a year ago, no one had heard of the words Lockdown and social distancing, so this is an up to date take on what has become the norm for most people.
As the game starts you introduced to Stephen a young guy who lives with his Uncle. Stephen isn’t very technical and his computer is running slow. Stephen goes looking in the town for a store to fix his laptop for him. Unfortunately for Stephen, the clerk at the Geek store is on a break and isn’t available to look at his laptop.
Fix the Broken Laptop
Instead, Robin at the checkout in the Geek store suggests she can take a look at his laptop. And so begins the first stirrings of a romance between the pair. They agree to meet up at a music concert and a date is set.
However, Covid has other ideas and puts a halt to their plans. Lockdown and social distancing come between them and the concert is cancelled, as is their date. Stephen and Robin’s story echoes the difficulties faced by everyone working to stay connected, despite the distances between them. The pair decide to try to stay in touch throughout the internet and frequent FaceTime calls.
Make Choices
You have to make impactful choices that direct the story as Robin and Stephen connect with one another as a couple. So, this allows for some replayability in the game as you can play from both sides of the new relationship and see how each of their lives has changed, picking different answers in your next playthrough of the game. You’ll discover more about each of the characters and side characters and their likes and dislikes as you play through the game.
It’s an entertaining story, watching how the relationship develops through the trials and tribulations of a lockdown situation. I’m sure Covid and lockdowns have affected everyone in some way or another. And Stephen and Robin’s tale of romance is something a lot of folks could relate to.
Visuals and Controls
Half Past Fate: Romantic Distancing is in a 2.5D pixel-art style, the same art style as Half Past Fate. The graphics are very good and I love the details the developers put into the game.
The sprite work is charming and the details to the world add to the charm and the story and helps you feel immersed in their world.
It’s backed up with a lovely soundtrack and appropriate sound effects. I played the game using the keyboard controls, and it all performed as it should.
Conclusion
From the art style to the overall story, Half Past Fate: Romantic Distancing is a short wholesome little rom-com. The game does everything I expected it to and does it well. I haven’t played the first game so it was a delight to be introduced to the Half Past Fate experience through this game.
If you have played the first game I definitely recommend you should download and enjoy this mini-episode too!
Final verdict: I Like It A Lot