2. Duel Love (Groupie Simulator)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3YxRG-52T4 Released on the Nintendo DS in 2008, Duel Love is centred around a female protagonist who makes friends with a group of young men from her high school's boxing class, and the pretence is that it is a dating sim, but in reality, Duel Love is really something a lot more peculiar, even sinister given how all of the character are clearly below the age of consent. Though the overall goal is to start a relationship with one of the boys, the mini-games that define these relationships prove troubling; things start innocently, such as cheering your favourite boys on during matches, before sneaking in and spying on them in the shower, and there's even a mini-game - as viewable above - where you actually rub the sweat off of their bodies. The shower sections of the game actually feature naked young boys, but the genitalia is "censored" by the gap between the two DS screens, but given the creepy, endlessly adoring nature of our protagonist, it's clear that Duel Love isn't so much a dating sim as it is a groupie sim.
Shaun Munro
Contributor
Frequently sleep-deprived film addict and video game obsessive who spends more time than is healthy in darkened London screening rooms. Follow his twitter on @ShaunMunroFilm or e-mail him at shaneo632 [at] gmail.com.
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