Do you ever wonder why we’re here? It’s one of life’s greatest mysteries. Do you also ever wonder if our relationships, both platonic and romantic, are organised by a ghost? Yes? Fantastic! Now it’s your chance to pull the strings and make some matches in Love, Ghostie. Developed by American-based team Janbeh Games, Love, Ghostie is the newest wholesome cosy game that puts you in such a great mood. In it, you play as a ghost who’s tasked to match all the residents of the manor up by giving them gifts, making them go on dates and playing little songs for them. There are 12 characters, and all are shippable (seriously, there are 66 possible matches!), each with their storylines and arcs. Is Love, Ghostie doomed to have 5 fanfics written about it? Or will it be the greatest love story ever told?

So, you’re dead. That sucks. But hey, it’s not the end of the world, because you can now have a ghost job as a matchmaker! It’s a pretty simple plot, and one that doesn’t warrant watching a 10-hour-long video essay to understand. But that’s what makes Love, Ghostie pretty fun to play and indulge yourself in. The silly plot allows you to create some funny stories with the characters you get to match up throughout your time as a ghost. In the beginning, you’ll meet your mentor, Ghostina, who helps you understand the game and the mechanics. So you’re not entirely left out, and besides, there’s a computer with helpful hints if you’re ever lost or skip things.

Ghostina introduces you to the manor, which is pretty vacant at the moment, but soon you’ll be able to fill it up with hot new singles in your area. But, first, Ghostina will teach you about the gift economy. It’s a similar concept to gift-giving in dating sims. In certain areas of the manor, you’ll find items that you can gift to a resident. But, there are traits attached to the items that need to match the giftee. A character will either gain a large bonus or no bonus at all to the relationship with the character who gifted the item, depending on the traits it matches. If there are no items around the manor you don’t like, there’s a computer in the attic where you can buy more or even sell what you have. Gifts bought will arrive the following day (talk about express shipping!). It’s a very simple mechanic, but it’s cute when you see the characters filling up their room with the gifts. Makes the residents feel more human, almost.

However, when you pick up a gift or give a gift, it uses action points. Which is a similar concept to most if not all RPGs and TTRPGs. You only get 4 a day, so choose wisely. But the good thing is that you can get more points throughout your playthrough. As after every third day, Ghostina will come in and check on you to see your progress. She’ll tally up the points you’ve received (relationship level, happiness levels, etc.) and you’ll be able to buy upgrades from her shop. Upgrades such as more action points, the ability to sing a tune, play mini-games or customising your ghost. The customisation is simple, but adorable, as you can give your ghost something for its head (ears or a hat), and even what trails behind them (hearts or clouds).

Just before you start to play, you’re thrust into choosing 4 residents to move in. Love, Ghostie features 12 characters, each with their own aesthetic, personality and romance arcs. Each character can pair up, for a total of 66 pairs. But you won’t get to see every relationship, which does offer replayability value. Many could see the ability to match every character together as a negative, since in the real world, not everyone shares the same values, interests, etc. But hey, it’s fun to see people fall in love, especially if they’re complete opposites! The goth sheep, Noir, and the emo giraffe, Gerard, are my two favourite characters. Gerard even makes references to many emo/rock bands of the mid-2000s. I couldn’t help but cackle at the Story of the Year mention.

To progress through the game, you’ll have to use the Chore Board. You get to dictate what four of your residents can do for that day. By either sending two characters out on a date, one to do some self-care and/or someone to help around the house. This will use up between 1 and 3 action points, depending on how many residents you’ve chosen. Similar to the trait matching mechanic when gift giving, you’ll need to do the same thing with chores. Picking two residents to go on a date who don’t have the traits required will create an awkward date. Whereas, picking two residents who match the required traits will create an amazing date. This can either increase the relationship by a little or a lot. At least you’re not penalised for creating an awkward atmosphere, and hey, even getting an awkward date is fun to see! Obviously, getting that fantastic date feels like you’ve just won.

The other 2 chores that your residents can do are the Self-Care chore and the House Helper chore. Self-care will increase their happiness, which will then upgrade their bedroom to look nicer. And the House Helper chore can increase their relationships with the other characters by a small amount. If you don’t match traits to the chores, you won’t receive many points, and this goes double for mini-games. The chores themselves are simple, and initially don’t offer much engagement. But once you’ve bought the upgrades from Ghostina, you’re able to play the mini-games associated with them. The House Helper chore is played out like a crossover with Plinko, Pachinko and a Galton board. The Self-Care chore involves flipping tiles to find the one with the resident’s face on it.

Once you’ve matched up all the characters, and they’re off on their own adventures, is when you say goodbye to everyone. But, Love, Ghostie offers New Game + where you can carry over some elements from your previous save, which is pretty interesting. At least it gives you a way to match up different couples this time. There are even two more save slots, so you can replay the game to your heart’s content.

Love, Ghostie is gorgeous. The art style is adorable, and each character’s aesthetics are evident. Noir and Gerard like the more darker styles, whereas Mina the cat and Ollin the frog prince, are lighter in tone. The sound design is neat too. The background music feels light, and then when certain moments happen, the sounds evolve to match the scene. Characters also speak almost, Animalese, where they sound like they’re speaking in Morse code. Each character also sounds different to one another, which is pretty neat.

Love, Ghostie is such a fun little romp. It’s something that is really easy to just slip in and have a quick play session of 30 minutes. There’s a lot of attention to detail in the game and it’s not that hard to fall in love with it, from the score to the way each character interacts differently with one another. With a cute art style and an interesting premise. It’s great to see another indie game hit big with fans of the cosy wholesome genre.