Blush Blush

It never ceases to amaze me the number of ways people express their own romantic and sexual desires artistically. We are all familiar with the more traditional means – i.e., porn and trashy romance novels – video games have opened up a whole new method of expression.

As I’ve extensively documented, there is no shortage of adult video games across the interwebs, and most of them are at least decent. However, there are a few which are critically acclaimed and gain an impressive following among the masses.

Blush, Blush is a fantastic example of this for a huge number of reasons you can read about below.

A Story (Not) As Old as Time – Yaoi Meets Yiffying + Romance Dating

Being the gay version of the famous dating simulator Crush, Crush, this game has several similarities while also incorporating fresh material.

To outline the basics, this game is classified as an idle dating simulator, which means once you set some revenue streams up, you get money regularly. This allows you to spend the majority of your time courting characters.

That sounds like a great fantasy already, right?

Well, the fantasy goes even deeper seeing as the game’s backstory revolves around a bunch of attractive, young men being turned into talking animals. As you romance them, they go from a bestial state into hybrid beings until they finally return to their former, fine appearance.

The Selection of Potential Romances Is as Diverse as It Is Unusual

The main objective of this game is to court the beau of your choosing and free them from the curse, which placed them in an animal state. You have the option to chat up a number of them, but to give you some hints as to what to expect to here are a few community favorites.

Nimh, for example, is the first romance available, doesn’t have stringent criteria to woo, and will level reasonably quickly. His favorite gift is ice cream, unlike, let’s say, the lupine Volks who prefers far more expensive socks. Kelby, the cock (or rooster), is another easy romance and values Healthy suitors, whereas Volks prefers a man with Guts, and Nimh prefers a Smart guy.

Those are just quick rundowns on a few of the more popular characters. Ignoring the DLCs, there are twelve hawties who you can court for hours on end.

The Mechanics Are Simple, Repetitive, and Amazingly Enjoyable

Every part of this game revolves around time and money management. Since it is an idle game, you have to assign time blocks to occupations which supply you with cash at different rates. However, you also need time blocks to go out on dates with characters, which is one of the easiest ways to romance.

So, you’ll have to balance between time block investments and spending money while also being mindful of your hobbies. By investing TBs in those, you’ll be able to improve your appeal to your many characters of affection.

When you do go on dates, you won’t be able to romance any other characters, but that does allow you to switch between which jobs and hobbies you can invest in. The stats which are improved include a few which I’ve mentioned already like Smarts, Guts, Health, along with Confidence, Outgoing, and other admirable traits.

As you get closer to your romances and upgrade your relationship, you get closer to being able to date them, plus the game rewards you with diamond points.

As you are on a 72-hour clock, you’ll have to be quicker than you might imagine. However, there are two nice perks to make things easier. One, even when you click out of the game, you’ll build up money or hobby points depending on what has been invested where. Two, you can buy more game time by playing well or submitting cash to extend the adventure.

One way to accelerate the whole process is by spending diamonds. Every time you improve your relationship with a character, you’re rewarded with a diamond. These allow you to buy gifts instead of using cash or go on dates without spending money or using time blocks. Further, enough diamonds can hyper accelerate, by a factor of eight or ten, the rate at which your hobbies are improved or money-making rate.

You can get more diamonds instantly, but you’ll have to spend real money to get them, which can get pricey quickly.

When It Comes To Looks, This Sim Ain’t Half Bad

As so often the case with hentai games, especially yaoi ones it seems to me, help sell themselves by incorporating expertly crafted character design. The same is true here, and all of the boys are uniquely designed just like their biographies and interests.

Not bad seeing as this game’s art was put together by a single person, right?

There aren’t any animations when it comes to characters, but plenty of shiny or movement effects are added to elements when you play the game well.

The Music and Audio Effects Are Decent for a Game of This Caliber

While there isn’t much variety, the music there is fun and bouncy is perfect for this sort of gaming experience. There are audio cues for every button you click on and every action which takes place. To sum up, this game’s soundscape will suck you into the whole fantasy and is just plain fun to listen to.

At Points, I Wasn’t Sure If I Was Meant to Feel Aroused or Awkward

It was a little repetitive, and the sliding scale drags the gameplay out longer, I found this game to be oddly fun, almost addicting.

Still, as I continued playing, I couldn’t help but feel a little weird going on virtual dates with talking critters. Further, some of them have voiceover reactions to your actions, which include groans, sighs, coos, and moans. Some of them particularly weirded me out considering the game’s aesthetics.

I don’t know; instead of going after the yiffing community, the devs at Sad Panda Studios were trying to capture the talking animal Disney-inspired trope.

Cut or Uncut? That Is the Key Question

No, that’s not a sexual euphemism, but it was meant to be funny. Anyway, the original version has all of the content I’ve described but is fairly tame relative to most other games we talk about. There are some risque parts in the form of suggestive language, but nothing terribly explicit.

(I suppose you could argue that they are naked when they revert to their animal forms but does that really count?)

If you want to take this flirty interactive experience into the erotic level, get the Uncut version. Unlike the original, it will cost some coin running you something like $6.99, but there are entirely uncensored cock shots.

There Are New Additions and Expansions Being Added All the Time

If you know anything about the high-end games which have been released or, in this case, promoted by Nutaku, often have Limited Time Events. These temporary challenges allow you to acquire new items if you participate. These can be a little hard to track if you watch Sad Panda’s website or social media pages.

However, if you keep up with Nutaku’s LTE page or periodically check the Blush, Blush Steam page, you should stay in the loop.

Besides those nice additions, Sad Panda is still adding more add-ons to this sim. Just consider this review, for instance, is on the Uncut edition, which comes with extra sexy goodness. Besides that, there are more DLCs you can get for free as well.

Right now, there have been additions made to the Phone Flings feature unlockable characters who are new to the game or have only a small part in the original campaign. Some of the DLCs, like the Speed Dating addition, will cost you some money, but it includes another character with a new way to play the game.

The System Requirements Allow Nearly Anyone to Play

Most games are compatible with any machine and operating system manufactured and programmed since about 2010. But this game can run on systems that are positively ancient.

For instance, it is recommended that you use a Windows 10, but this game can run just fine on a Win 7 that has a couple of gigs of memory. Mac OSs only need a single gigabyte of RAM, and the same is the same with Ubuntu-based machines.

If you prefer to game on your mobile phone, you’re in luck so long as you have a Steam account and an Android.

Some People Will Like This; Others Might Be Put Off

With so much going for it, I’m not going to rag on this game too hard. Rather, I will point out that it has a lot going for it, but it’s no for everyone. Clearly, this game is intended for guys who like guys and the women who love them.

However, I should bring up the fact that there are some straight guys, like the famous vlogger, Markiplier, who do enjoy games like this if only for the lulz.

(Speaking of that YouTuber, there is a character who looks a lot like him.)

The one aspect which some people might find to be too weird is the fact that a yiffing/animal transformation thing.

If you didn’t read the whole review, there is no actual zoophilia, but from a personal perceptive, you’ll never feel the same after going on a virtual date with a talking rabbit.

As a game, this simulator has an intricate while silly plot, excellently presented artwork an animations, and a structure that allows you to play hour after hour. Out of five hands, I’ll give Blush, Blush five, and go even further to say that you should give it a go.

Either you’ll swoon or split your sides with laughter. No matter what happens, you’re sure to have a great time.