Date A Live: Ren Dystopia review

Armageddon is ubiquitous in modern media, with audiences seemingly obsessed by plot lines that depict the multitude of ways the world might end. But save for a few subversively pessimistic works, humanity typically comes up with a feasible solution to avert natural disaster, a pathogen, or even nuclear war.

Kōshi Tachibana’s Date A Live imagines love as the world-saving catalyst. Sure, the premise might seem incredulous at first. But the series has long accompanied its concept with a richly detailed context, as well as a cast of enchanting lovelies. Given that most harem-driven romps don’t burden you with safeguarding the remnants of humanity, Date A Live is both distinctive and deliciously diverting. And with the release of Date A Live: Ren Dystopia, we get to plumb a bit deeper into the minds of the series’ maidens.

One Small Smooch for Mankind…

2019’s Date A Live: Rio Reincarnation depicted a ‘spacequake’ that devastated Eurasia and left 150 million people dead. But the seismic activity that followed for the next thirty years wasn’t caused by shifting tectonic plates. Rather, the tremors after the great disaster were the result of spirits arriving in our world and their emergence threatened humanity. Responses to their appearance ranged from attempts to eliminate them to seizing their power for nefarious purposes.

However, an otherwise ordinary second-year student named Shido Itsuka was blessed with an amorous alternative: he can seal the destructive power of a spirit with a kiss. And while the infusion of fairy tale-style romance might have seemed at odds with the novel’s world-ending peril, Date A Live masterfully makes it work.

Could be an Uncomfortable First Date

Recent PC release Date A Live: Ren Dystopia begins after the third season of the anime, with Shido awakened from sleep by a transformed Natsumi. Following a playful interlude, the pair are reunited with idol Miku Izayoi and foster-sister Kotori Itsuka as the quartet cooks breakfast together. But if these names are unfamiliar to you, it’s recommended to play through Rio Reincarnation or seek out the Date A Live’s anime, manga, or light novels.

Although Ren Dystopia offers a glossary of events as well as character synopses, these summaries are no match for hours of pulpy exposition. As such, if this is your inroad, expect the novel to feel like attending a party where everyone else is well-acquainted and you’re a first-time guest. I can’t imagine most people enjoying the experience since much of Ren Dystopia’s satisfaction stems from exploring these character’s psyches.

How Pandora Must Have Felt

While there’s a playful prologue, intrigue thickens when the protagonist experiences unusual dreams of a bandaged girl. When he awakens, he discovers a strange box under his pillow adorned with a snake on the lid. Ren Dystopia is a branching novel, with the plot pursuing the consequences of whoever opened the container. A trio of subsequent decisions affect which of the endings you’ll see.

Without divulging what makes Ren rewarding, each person who opens the box comes into contact with the game’s eponymous character and is subsequently offered a trio of wishes. And like the famous parable found in One Thousand and One Nights Dystopia explores each character’s innermost desires and often, a comical lack of carefulness. From one selfish character wanting Shido all to herself to another yearning for tyrannical control, Dystopia explores a multitude of ramifications that rank from the silly to serious, all across nine different routes.

Mild on the Fan-Service Scale

Structurally, all the routes are delightfully concise, each about 45-60 minutes in length. This succinctness means you’re unlikely to feel stuck in the odd, unsatisfying scenario for too long. But this also means that Dystopia’s sub-arcs don’t get to transcend the wish-granting premise to explore other themes and neglect to top some of the twin succubae and magical girl-based hilarity found in Rio Reincarnation’s Ars Install. That said, the gradual piecing of information about Ren before tackling her two dedicated routes offers a slow and satisfying characterization that helps Dystopia deliver a sense of closure.

Date A Live: Ren Dystopia was played with review code provided by the publisher.