Among the more chilling anime tropes is that of the yandere, a girl who displays her love through brutal, obsessive, and frightening behavior. It's a staple in anime, a character type that can be played for laughs or chills. It makes sense that this type of character would make its way into a video game, but it's surprising to see a game in which players themselves take on this role. That's the basis of Yandere Simulator, a social stealth game that puts you in the shoes of a deranged schoolgirl.

Concept

There's no way to put the general concept of this game that isn't at least a bit upsetting. The player takes on the role of a Japanese schoolgirl who has a frightening crush on a male student and who will do anything to ensure he only loves her. This means stalking the love interested and eliminating anyone who is perceived as a rival. It's very much a game about obsession and one in which you're meant to take the role of a deluded and dangerous stalker.

Graphics & Audio

It's clear that a lot of work went into character design here, though most of those designs still feel like generic anime characters. Each one of the girls is distinctive enough to stand out, though NPCs can tend to run together fairly easily. Likewise, the audio seems to have some care put into it - but it's trying to fit into a specific box more than it's trying to do something new.

While a good deal of care went into the big-ticket items, the little things don't look great. The backgrounds are sparse, the animations are fairly basic, and there's a general feeling that there just wasn't enough time or money to put into anything but the main features. As such, the game just generally feels unfinished on a visual level.

Game Play

On a purely mechanical level, the gameplay here feels a lot like that of a Hitman game. You're going to find yourself spending a lot of time tracking your targets, but you're also going to have to spend a lot of time jumping through hoops so that you can reach your preferred end-state. It's not novel by any means, but it is a fairly good entry into that specific genre of play.

With that said, the gameplay isn't nearly as polished or as fun as in those games. The lower budget and team size for this game are incredibly clear when you play, and that's a shame. Worse, though, is the fact that even a perfectly-working session feels a little shallow. Concept aside, it just often feels like this is a demo more than a game.

Conclusion - Replayability

Yandere Simulator is either a darkly humorous social stealth game or a deeply disturbed, derivative murder simulator depending on your tastes. There's certainly not a lot on the market like it, though, and those who are fans of this trope will probably enjoy giving this game a try. It's certainly not for everyone, but it's not surprising that Yandere Simulator has found its audience.

Yandere Simulator puts you in the shoes of an obsessive school girl as you eliminate all the rivals for your crush's affections.