“Are you tired of being sad and alone? Sick of living in squalor with no friends?” Cheeseball the dog asks. “Play Best Friend Forever.” Welcome to the announcement trailer for Best Friend Forever, the dog care/dating sim hybrid coming to the Nintendo Switch on Valentine’s Day 2020. It’s adorable, it’s quirky, and it’s absolutely going to steer humanity away from impending extinction.
Starcolt and Alliance games have crafted what may be the world’s first pet care and dating sim hybrid, an impressive but baffling feat – how did this not exist already when it’s everything I need? In Best Friend Forever, you’ll head to Rainbow Bay, the world’s most dog-friendly town, and care for your own furever friend while meeting local dog-loving hotties. The marries typical tend and befriend mechanics, letting you adopt your own furbaby after creating a dating profile. Once you’ve picked a pup, you can enjoy the benefits of living in a hip, young neighborhood full of cool singles that love animals as much as you do. Where is this place IRL?
Best Friend Forever was developed by a small, diverse team, so expect the game to reflect that. Calliope Ryder tells Nintendo Insider (opens in new tab) that, “Every person on the core team belongs in the LGBTQ+ community, so being inclusive in Best Friend Forever’s design was paramount. We needed to ensure that everyone is able to play the game however they want to.” You can even unwind at the end of a long day of dating with an optional endless sandbox mode filled with puppy hangs.
Plus, find me any other game in the universe that gives you a combo streak for repeatedly patting a pup? You can’t. And as the trailer says, “you are obligated” to pet the dog. So pet the damn dog. And maybe delete your Tinder profile, because this is going to be way more fun than navigating that inbox.
Best Friend Forever will drop on the Nintendo Switch on February 14, 2020.
If this doesn’t satisfy you, maybe nothing can. But maybe our list of the best Nintendo Switch games (opens in new tab) will help.