What’s the Next Hot Spot for Meeting Singles? How About the Retirement Home? - Later Daters Review
I’ve had my fair share of dates—and no, I don't mean your typical Friday night at the movies with the girl next door. I’m a bit more hardcore. I’ve dated demons and gotten it on with Viking villages. I guess you could say I get around. But when it comes to dating and dating simulators, I’m a man that likes to explore all avenues of love!
So when I learned about a game that puts you into the shoes of an eighty-year-old stag and lets you explore the geriatric person dating scene, I was like a kid in a candy shop! Or rather, a granny with a sowing machine. Life is short, especially when you've got a senior citizen’s body mixed with a twenty-something’s lust. But did Later Daters satiate my desire?
The answer is an unequivocal yes! Developed by Bloom Digital Media and originally released on PC in 2020, Later Daters is the game that styles itself as the only elder dating sim and proves age ain’t nothin’ but a number. It’s not a new concept. Plenty of media explores the dating lives of retirees, such as hit TV Shows like The Golden Girls and The Kominsky Method. Still, there does seem to be a lack of representation in the gaming world regarding the love life of the baby boomer generation. Later Daters successfully fills that void.
From the moment I started the game, it managed to get an instant laugh out of me through the catchy song at the title screen. “It doesn't matter how old you get. You want a little action cause you’re not dead yet.” That line pretty much sums up the message of Later Daters, and what follows is a game with fun choices and intriguing characters.
The plot centers around you joining the Ye Olde retirement community, a residential group with a wide range of personalities and drama. You start the game by choosing a character, pet, and personal history. This is where the diversity in Later Daters really shines. From the beginning, you can select a gender from male, female, or nonbinary.
The inclusivity doesn’t stop there. Throughout the game, you’ll meet characters from various walks of life, ethnicities, and backgrounds, including bisexual and transexual characters. One character who I encountered, Mariana, had been married twice—once to a man and once to a woman. She considered herself lucky to have found love in many ways, whereas most people can’t find it at all. I found this to be incredibly poignant and not at all what I was expecting from a game that’s essentially about horny old folks.
The gameplay in Later Daters is centered around dialogue choices that shape your character's path and personality. I’m open-minded myself, maybe to a fault, so it was fun mirroring that in Ye Olde retirement community with my fellow residents and my romantic interests. The jazzy piano music is also incredible. There are scenes where residents in the retirement community are actually performing live songs, and combined with the artwork, it shows you just how much dedication Bloom Digital Media put into Later Daters.
But, what makes Later Daters so special is that it addresses the elephant in the room: OLD PEOPLE ARE HAVING SEX! That’s right! It’s happening, and no one is talking about it! We like to think of old people as these asexual creatures, and I’m guilty of it too—partially because who wants to think of granny getting down? But in reality, we forget these people have emotional and physical needs like the rest of us.
Later Daters brilliantly depicts how, even in the golden years, one can still explore their sexuality and find themselves. Although I’m willing to bet most senior citizens aren’t playing this game, as a millennial, it made me reflect on a future where I will hopefully make it to old age and what relationships and dating might look like when I’m there.
The monetization in Later Daters is fair as well. The first episode is free-to-play and only requires you to watch a few ads, which are depicted like a TV-style commercial break. The clever writing, funny dialogue, and choices convinced me to pay $13 to get the full content, but you can also pick up individual episodes for $2 a pop.
Getting old can be scary, and most people usually dwell on the hair loss and health problems associated with it. With Later Daters, we get a window into how old age can be the most exciting time in a person’s life, full of new possibilities and adventures. And though I’m not quite ready to start making my way through hot seniors IRL, I definitely think Later Daters is worth a second date.
SCORE: 4 STARS OUT OF 5
PLAY IF YOU LIKE:
• Doki Doki Ragnarock. If you liked this badass pillaging-and-plundering dating simulator, you’ll probably appreciate other dating sims with interesting themes. Give Later Daters a try!
• A Story of a Company! If you liked the vast array of choices and pathways that A Story of a Company! Had to offer, you’ll probably enjoy the different dialogues and options offered in Later Daters.
💬 Would you play an old person dating sim like Later Daters? And having moved on from Vikings and demons to old folks, what other dating sims should I take out next? Let me know in the comments!
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