Original Release: Silverburst, 2003, Flash
A fondly-remembered “dating sim” from Newgrounds with a little saucy action, SIM is still alive and kicking after two decades
SIM: Day and Night (Flash, Silverburst, 2003)
Where to Buy: Freeware – play online at Newgrounds (18+ login required)
How to Emulate: Flash Emulation Guide
Review by: Master-B
For young lads first venturing onto the unfiltered internet in the early 2000s, Newgrounds was often a source of random unexpected nudie pics that contributed to their sexual awakening (and possibly eventual dysfunction). That’s my best explanation for the nostalgic popularity of SIM, which is fairly well-composed for no-budget Newgrounds amateur stuff but otherwise is a pretty linear and unremarkable life management/strategy game.
So there’s a hot club in town, no doubt the source of countless amorous adventures. Alas, getting access to it is a tall task for our hapless main character. He has no skills, no personality, all of about $100 to his name, and has to go beg for a job at the nearby hotel as a dishwasher at $3 an hour. Aside from his sweet but unfurnished little house in a prime location, he’s really got absolutely nothing going.
So our task is to whip homie into shape, get him through the doors of The Club, and start making time with all the fine foxy ladies. However, it’s pretty much a linear path to doing this. The hotel has more of a 2020s staffing situation than 2003, and getting promoted all the way to the management ranks takes nothing more than a little personality. Unfortunately, we start with 0 and it can only be obtained via $15 to $50 lessons at the local school.
So a good chunk of the early game is simply going to work, going to school, grinding up cash and personality points, and periodically getting promotions (granted automatically when you meet necessary Personality thresholds) with which you can fund your playa lifestyle. Things do get a little more complex when you have to start wooing the ladies, with conversation menus and little side quests plus needing to upgrade your lifestyle components at times. But the core “grind money at work / grind stats at school” loop dominates most of the time, interrupted only by periodic ventures with the ladies and the occasional oddball “arcade sequence” (fighting and driving) that’s more endured that enjoyed.
The “adult content” is limited to random naked pics you’re occasionally rewarded with, and low-detail shadow humping in Hot Coffee style. Is it worth the grind? A lot of kids seemed to think so. As an adult? A true philosophical question.
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