Kitty Powers’ Matchmaker Review

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We have all played at least one dating simulation game in our lives. A very bold statement to write for sure, but it’s the truth (The Sims?). Be it an anime sim game dealing with playing the role of a teacher by coming on to your students or playing as a pigeon, this sort of experience will make us feel less alone in the world. These simulations give us an opportunity to explore how our dating techniques fail or succeed. This leads me to Kitty Powers’ Matchmaker, a dating sim that goes above and beyond all this nonsense by having us matching the couples rather than going headfirst into the wilderness of love.

It’s not all that bad.

Kitty Powers’ Matchmaker presentation may be alarming to some, maybe cutesy, but it’s all good fun. The menu screen will show hearts gleaming with glamour and your host, Kitty Powers, looking excited as ever to have you working under her wing. Side note: she is a man but just to make things easier in regard to his/her appearance I will be calling him a woman. Unlike other dating sim games, there is always a story describing who is dating whom – or what – and why, but Kitty Powers’ Matchmaker takes a different route in other regards as well.

Your employer will quickly have you creating your in-game avatar. Now, there is a variety of options and customizations ranging from unique hairstyles to make-up. Once the appearance is taken care of, next comes selecting what zodiac sign the avatar will have and what sex attracts him/her/it the most. Here’s the interesting part about gender roles, the player can be gay, straight, or bisexual which is a unique take in dating sim games. Pick a name for the avatar and the character will be ready to start dating – or so they would think.
Gameplay is genuinely entertaining. At the start of the game, Kitty Powers will show the player around the interface system and make gooey comments with sexual innuendos. After he/his creepy bit the player will have to choose a client to work with. Matching clients who come into the shop with other clients is what the game revolves around. So what is the point in creating an avatar of with your characteristics and personality? Only for your Steam buddies to match up with you. Even though this can be entertaining at times, it still would have been pleasant to be able to date yourself, rather than just matching people up. Also, the game has leaderboards – which could potentially be a thrill – but only if you have others willing to play the game with you.

Well, that’s to the point.

Surprisingly enough, matching the significant other with a partner is challenging. Each client has a specific trait or appearance they would like to see from the other – this can be presented with a certain hairstyle or horoscope. Once the player feels that he/she’s taken the right choice, the couple goes on a date. Apparently there are hidden cameras spread about the restaurant, allowing the player to see how the date turns out. This is when the fun happens as the player decides on the outcome of the date through a series of mini-games. Each mini-game tests your memory and checks how well the player knows about what each of the people like and don’t like. The game switches around certain sequences and phrases, but the player will always receive the Love Handle option throughout each mini-game. The Love Handle feature spins a coin slot machine that provides topics to talk about. It’s up to the player to decide whether they would be interested in talking about that or not. Indeed, there is a way to fail a date, and that is shown through three X’s on the far ends of either side of the screen. If the player fails at a mini game three times then the date is a flop and the clients are mismatched. If the player succeeds then there will be three options to choose from and those are: “Will you go out with me?” “Can we go out again?” And “I think we should just be friends.” Pretty clear what these choices mean but selecting one will present the outcome. Once that’s done, the player is rewarded coins and XP or if it failed the player will get two more chances to match the person up. Failure, however, drives people off of your service.

Graphically, Kitty Powers’ Matchmakers surprised me. I was expecting something crummy with half-assed pixels and poorly constructed animations but was relieved to see 2-D cartoon models. The people the player interacts with seem to have a fun-loving cartoon quality to them. I just don’t understand why Kitty Powers is the only ‘real’ human in the game and not an animated one. The audio is okay. I found it repetitive – to say the least – but only at the opening and selecting the client date or upgrading certain abilities. To explain this better imagine watching the Price is Right show and hearing the 1970’s cheesy celebration music. Now imagine that on loop – see my point?
Kitty Powers’ Matchmaker is an exceptionally entertaining dating simulation game that adds quirkiness and love – especially love from Kitty Powers. Although they player creates a character unplayable in the game itself, and leaderboards seem pointless without friends Kitty Powers’ Matchmakers will make connecting two significant a thrill.