This Valentine’s Day, I’m sure many of us will be spending the day playing a new game we bought to drown the crushing noise of endless happy couples showing off just how happy and in love they can be. Gross! But, if you are one of the few who have decided not to write off love this year, then Matchmaker Agency could be the game for you. Instead of being alone and bored this year, you can be alone and create happy fake couples who can be happy and in love! Wait, this might be double gross.

Matchmaker Agency is MelonCat’s first game and appears to be a true passion project. MelonCat is a team of two who worked together with a group of people they outsourced to in an effort to collaborate with a large and diverse group of people. Niji games are some of these co-creators, with the pair finding each other during a Game Jam over the various lockdowns limiting in-person meetings. Matchmaker Agency is due to release on PC and Switch on Valentine’s Day, working well on Steam Deck for those who want a more portable experience.

The story of Matchmaker Agency has more layers than one might think when initially loading up the game. You, the player, are asked to enter a name you will be referred to for the remainder of the playthrough. You can also name your Matchmaking agency; I went with Married at First Site (Married like married but also like my name, Mari. And a site like a website. You get it, I’m very funny), and all the characters will use this name as they talk about your matchmaking agency throughout. It adds a great amount of customization and lets you feel really involved and invested in the story from the start, as you have already poured some of yourself into it.

The game opens with some exposition. Your grandparents have recently passed away and have chosen to leave their matchmaker agency to the player. There are some strings attached; the lease for the building the agency is hosted in has not been fully paid off, meaning you have one year to pay off a debt of 25000. To make the game feel more universal, I assume there is not a currency given. Instead, there is simply a symbol for the total owed. This is, again, an immersive feature done in a really subtle yet effective way. Those of us who don’t live in the US may not have related to dollars, for example.

The money is owed to the Landlord, a character who is definitely introduced in a semi-villainous role when you first meet him. He is dismissive and rude and even mean to poor Charles. Charles is a delightful addition to the cast of fun and exciting characters. He is a small black cat who talks not only to you but to other characters, too. This is a little odd as one of the dialogue options upon seeing him is to be surprised at a talking cat, yet everyone else takes his appearance in their stride. Charles acts as a tutorial, telling you what to do throughout Matchmaker Agency and introducing new mechanics.

This is the basic premise of the story. Run the agency, make money to pay off the Landlord, and hang out with your cool cat. There are some additional characters, however, that come with their own stories. This includes the likes of Thomas Moore, a shy young man who has spent a lot of time being unlucky in love for a long time. He needs a lot of help and encouragement from both you and Charles as he navigates the scary world of dating.

Some of the other characters will also reveal they work at a local business, and after a successful date, they can offer new date locations or opportunities to get more new clients to find matches. Despite the lack of voice actors, the characters have a lot of personality in what they are saying, as shown at the bottom of the screen while they talk.

The gameplay of Matchmaker Agency seems very simple to begin with. The dialogue is scrolled across the screen at the bottom. As said, there are no voice actors, but the option to have the text run through automatically allows for more immersion as you keep up with the characters. This is also a log of all the text that has happened thus far in the scene, which is very helpful if you miss something that has been said. You also have a few dialogue options as the player, although these do not make a huge difference. Usually, it is just a chance to insult the Landlord when he comes in.

When it comes to matching people up, you have to look at the information you have for what each person is like and what they are looking for in their ideal partner. Using this information, you can decide which couple goes together best and pick a location for their date. This can also affect how well a date goes as a quieter couple may prefer the library or coffee date, maybe even a trip to the observatory to gaze at the stars together. A more flashy couple, however, may like to have a dinner date at a glitzy restaurant, or maybe an outdoorsy couple will be looking for a hike in the nearby mountains.

Each location comes with tags that relate to the character descriptions found on each person's profile. For the first set of dates you arrange, this is the extent of the gameplay needed. Pick the correct people and the right location, done and dusted. You may play this bit alone and be very confused as to what all the fuss is about. However, Charles is lucky to inform you that this is only a part of the overall gameplay that will be added to, layer on layer. The first pairings are, understandably, very easy to help you find your feet, and then they start to get a little harder as time goes on.

It should also be noted that this first date is very easy on story mode. However, Matchmaker Agency has multiple difficulties, and each difference is noticeable. Once the layers are added, this jump in difficulty can still be noticed more. However, this is not a bad thing, as it means there is far more replayability in this game than originally anticipated.

Anyway, Charles jumps in to inform you that some of the characters don’t fully fill out their matchmaking form, so it is up to you to interview them and find out the additional information missing from them. The interviews all work the same way. The client says a short statement that will give you an indication of the type of person they are, and you have three options to choose from to encourage them to share a little about themselves.

Depending on the person, each line will have a different effect on them. They will either close themselves off because you have made them very uncomfortable, give half answers because they don’t like your vibe, or get along with you well and tell you all the information you need to complete a fully completed form. However, these interview sections have an issue, as some of the dialogue doesn’t quite fit together.

It seems as though the replies that the characters can give are all randomly selected, with just the basic meaning being the same. You can either be very enthusiastic and over the top, asking the client to spill on the type of person they are after. Or you can have a more gentle approach that is in the middle. Ask about them as a person and hint towards the dating side of what they are looking for. The final option is the gentlest, offering as much time as they need, maybe even asking if they need a drink before they open up. The dialogue within each of these options is limited, and because of this, it doesn’t always make sense.

For example, clients may say something about themselves, expressing how others see them. If they are a little shy, the correct response will be the more encouraging, gentler one, yet it may make no sense whatsoever. The response may be, “And what else do you want in a partner?” even if they have not said an initial thing, so adding what else does not make a lot of sense once you have a good idea of how the interviews work, always go for the answer that suits that person. It is very easy to get as much information as possible, and it is just a shame there appears to be some translation or continuity issues.

There are up to 3 interview slots each week, and doing all three will end the week, so make sure you set up all the dates you want to do before you interview your new clients. You also can’t interview the clients a second time, so it is vital to ensure you learn as much as possible in these interviews, as they are very important. The interview slots are very important as there are also some random events that can pop up and will take up the slots. However, these events can open up new opportunities, such as a fair at a local college to find more potential clients to add to the roster.

Advertising for new clients becomes a big part of running your Matchmaker Agency as, without your singles, there is no one to set up. There are a lot of options in the advertising list; this can include handing out brochures, going to pop-up events, paying for an ad on a TV or radio show, or even getting a celebrity endorsement later in the game. While it is sensible to invest in your business, a loan looming over your head needs to be paid off in installments.

Having to juggle investing in the agency while also saving to pay off the Landlord is a fun part of the gameplay, as the temptation to keep adding clients is very tempting. The longer a client is in the agency while not being sent on a date, the less happy they will be, and the lower the agency rating will go. Another fun metre to keep an eye on right there. This means if a person has been on the list for a while, it becomes ever more tempting to bring in as many clients as possible just to find them Mr or Mrs Right and stop them lowering the rating.

The final part of the gameplay is on the actual dates. A little way into the story, Charles announces that you also have the ability to play Cupid. This means you can go on dates with the clients without them knowing and hint at what they should do over a series of unlikely situations. Each one of these is explained in a sentence with four options to solve it. These have a similar problem to the dialogue where some situations and solutions are a little unclear, although not to the same extent. These sections also have a timer, which is very unforgiving. There is a lot of information to take in, so only having a little bit of time makes it very difficult.

The gameplay ends up being far more complex in Matchmaker Agency than originally expected. It is a lot of fun. Despite the issues in the dialogue and written options, there is a lot of good in the gameplay. This is a great game for anyone who likes having to search for information. At times, I was reminded of Papers, Please, as I cross-referenced every section before making a single decision to send anyone on a date. I also loved the experience of playing this on the Steam Deck, as I could take the heartwarming stories with me to a coffee shop. If you have the chance to play on the Steamdeck of a Switch, I would recommend it every time.

The art style of Matchmaker Agency is very cute and matches the overall vibe of the game. The characters have a variety of expressions they can move between; although they are not animated, they feel as though they are as they switch through the various sprites in a way that matches the mood of what they are saying. It is all very cute and makes the cozy experience of the game shine through still further.

There is no voice acting in Matchmaker Agency; while not a problem, it does mean the music has to stand on its own. The music is by no means bad, although it does loop very frequently, making it lack a little to be constantly entertaining and fresh. However, there are some that will love this. The repeated calm music and having it go over and over might create a little bubble that allows the player to get lost in the wholesome little world.

While Matchmaker Agency has a few issues with the dialogue not matching up fully, the intent is still very clear. The gameplay is fun and builds in a way that keeps variety for players and makes it very fun to continue to move through the story. The characters are sweet, and the meters are fun to track as you learn more about the agency. Using the paperwork to match the clients together will certainly scratch an itch for those who like simulators such as Papers, Please, or Lil’ Guardsman. A very fun date for any gamer this Valentine’s Day.
 

Mariella Deadman (@MariellaDead)
Editor, NoobFeed