Highlights
- Persona 5 Royal has a huge and varied dating pool, but there are other games with great dating mechanics, such as Persona 4 and Hatoful Boyfriend.
- Games like Dragon Age and Cyberpunk 2077 offer memorable and varied romance options, allowing players to choose their romantic partners.
- Some other games with dating mechanics include Akiba's Trip, The Witcher, and Stardew Valley, each offering unique romance experiences with different characters and storylines.
One of the parts that fans love the most about Persona 5 Royal is that not only do you have plenty of quirky characters to befriend, but your dating pool is huge and varied. And while yes, P5R does nail the dating sim aspect of the game, they’re thankfully not the only ones who have.
If you’ve finished Persona 5 Royal and are looking for games in similar veins that offer great opportunities for fleshed-out, interesting dating options, then look no further! We’ve found 15 games with dating mechanics we hope will satisfy the itch after P5R’s credits have rolled.
Updated on August 13, 2023 by Gabrielle Castania: With Persona 5 Royal’s popularity both deserved and unending, it seems, we’ve come back to our list of 15 games with dating mechanics like P5R to touch up our suggestions, photos, and the links in each entry. Happy dating!
15 Persona 4
Persona 4 Golden is considered one of the best JRPGs to have come out on the PlayStation Vita, and has many of the same daily life mechanics as Persona 5. And after the 2023 port to all current-gen consoles, it's never been easier to step into the adventure.
Between dungeons, players can choose to get to know their confidants, and the more time they spend with each, the closer the relationship will grow. There are eight ladies you can choose from in the game and all of them have strikingly different personalities.
14 Hatoful Boyfriend
Because who didn't want the avian dating sim? Hatoful Boyfriend is a visual novel about the usual woes of everyday school life like plenty of other dating sims, but it has strikingly dark, serious undertones throughout.
The birds you can choose to date all have vastly different personalities, so you'll never be without choice for which ridiculous birdie boyfriend you'd like to pursue.
13 Dragon Age
Though you'll have plenty else to do as you play through the games in the Dragon Age series, the medieval-era game series offers memorable datable characters throughout. Each game has a few bachelors and bachelorettes, so you'll never be without choice.
Unfortunately, you seem to be locked out of several options due to your player character's gender, but with so many interesting characters, you'll always find someone to love.
12 Cyberpunk 2077
Despite its rocky launch, Cyberpunk 2077 has come full circle after updates and patches, bringing new life to the neon future setting. You'll meet the game's four romance options through the story missions, required to work through additional missions from the romanceable character to begin dating.
There are two female options and two male as well, so players will have their choice of romantic partners throughout the game.
11 Danganronpa
While romance is tough in the first playthrough of any Danganronpa title while mysteries abound, completing each game unlocks a bonus mode that allows for a more normal everyday life, offering a chance to spend almost unlimited time with the quirky casts of high school characters.
Everyone seems at least partially willing to be your friend, but romantic flavor-text tends to creep in toward the higher levels of your friendships to imply a more sensual connection.
10 Akiba's Trip: Undead & Undressed
If quirky Japanese games are your cup of tea, then Akiba's Trip won't disappoint, with this beat-em-up game sees you exposing vampires that roam Akihabara to the sunlight also featuring several romance options, including but not limited to a pop star and your childhood best friend.
There are five heroines to fall in love with, who reveal their backstory slowly but surely as you choose the best dialogue options. They'll even accompany you into battle!
9 The Witcher
If you're looking for a more serious story that allows you to date, then The Witcher may be for you. Though each Witcher title will feature a few ladies, The Witcher 3's famous decision between Yennifer and Triss is still a hot-button choice for gamers.
The Witcher's gameplay has plenty of action, along with deep storytelling that is certain to keep you entranced. It's arguably the least cartoonish of the games we recommend in this list, but it's worth your time if you like fantasy stories and monster-slaying in your dating life.
8 Rune Factory
If you want a more laid back RPG, then the Rune Factory series is perfect. Rune Factory sees you managing a farm while also going into dungeons to battle and tame the monsters within. You'll learn how to balance out your time spent exploring with tending to your farm, a process that gets easier with time and experience.
Rune Factory also has a strong emphasis on getting married and forming relationships with the townspeople. Most entries in the franchise have multiple romance options to choose from, all with different backstories.
7 Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel
Trails of Cold Steel is a JRPG with strategy-based combat that fans of the series love, with each entry focused on the story and the characters that comprise your party. By using the bonding system, you can grow closer to your friends, and, if you play your cards right, romance will bloom.
Trails of Cold Steel does work on a point-based bonding system - to help raise your bond with a character, simply choose to spend time with them when you're not in battle. Eventually, your bonding level will max out, allowing you to date the girl of your dreams.
6 Conception
The Conception series has a strange story revolving around a hero who is transported to another world to have magic children with the Star Maidens. Much of the game is concentrated on building your relationship with these girls to produce stronger star children to carry with you into battle.
When you're not trying to be romantic, you spend your time dungeon-crawling, using a turn-based battle system in which your star children help you rid the dungeon of enemies.
5 Story of Seasons Games
Story of Seasons, formerly known as Harvest Moon, was one of the earliest farming sim games, with your goal being to tend to your farm, raise livestock, and start a family. Each title has at least a handful of bachelors and bachelorettes, with wildly different personalities abundant.
Thankfully, the romance options throughout the series seem pretty easy to win over, swayed by constant conversation and gift-giving.
4 Catherine
Catherine is another game by Atlus that is based around relationships. In the game, you meet three girls with the same name but different spellings, and each iteration has a different personality. The main character, Vincent, has to choose whether to stay with his current girlfriend, Katherine, go with the fun Catherine, or the more caring Rin.
When you're not trying to pick the right dialogue options to get the best ending, Vincent finds himself in a 3D puzzle where he must climb to the top to survive.
3 Fire Emblem: Awakening
Fire Emblem has become one of Nintendo's most popular series, a top-down strategy RPG that typically pits your army against that of rival nations. The Fire Emblem series has had several different installments, including Awakening, that have an interesting romance system.
And the series has seen some interesting romance tactics, too. In Fire Emblem: Awakening, you can place characters together in battle to help them develop a relationship. If your pair up partners who can have children, then you'll even be able to use their kids in later battles, too.
2 Shining Resonance
Shining Resonance is another JRPG series with a heavy focus on the story, just like Persona. The game allows you to control the different members of your party in battle, but you'll have to grind and kind of study your opponents to hope to defeat them.
The romance options allow you to date both male and female characters. To build up your romance meter, spend time with the characters while in town and talk with them every time you set up camp for the night., and eventually, they will begin to invite you on dates where they will reveal more information about themselves.
1 Stardew Valley
Arguably one of the most beloved farming sims of the 2010s that's still receiving updates today, Stardew Valley is another game that sees players tending to pixel farms, forming relationships, and falling in love with one (or more) of the townsfolk, regardless of anyone's gender identity!
Additionally, marriage is far from the only goal in Stardew Valley, with new islands, unique crops, and a whole separate desert region for you to explore.