Among the strangest games I’ve previewed, SAEKO: Giantess Dating Sim plunges players into a tense, uncomfortable relationship with a giant woman. In this odd survival horror game, every decision you make decides whether you make it through the day, and the game excels at testing you in surprising ways. Developed by SAFE HAVN STUDIO and published by HYPER REAL, SAEKO: Giantess Dating Sim combines horror and romance to create a unique experience.
Starting in an ample enclosed space, players realize quickly that the massive landmarks in the room are all objects that should fit in the palm of their hand. A peanut, an MP3 player, a spinning top—all of them paint the reality that the player has been shrunk down to an inch or two in height.
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Before they can dwell on it for too long, they’re approached by another person, a woman named Momo. After this and a few introductions to the other inhabitants, the bizarre scenario seems to be starting to feel a little more normal. Despite the strange personalities and circumstances, Momo and the others are all stuck in the same situation, so that’s a small comfort to cling to.
After some back and forth, you’re instructed by another person, Taki, that you have been placed in charge by Saeko, the woman who put everyone in this situation. This includes distributing food or entertainment, with the spinning top and a peanut used in a few examples.
Some stat improvements are tied to each action, with Momo taking more of a liking to you after you give her a peanut. At this point in the preview, it felt like SAEKO: Giantess Dating Sim would follow a familiar loop, with the player managing each character’s needs and mood to promote a harmonious cohabitation. In any other game that might have been the case, but the peace was quickly upended by the thunderous approach of the titular giantess.
Saeko appeared, opening the drawer to which you and your fellow captives are confined. After some words, she plucked Momo out of the drawer and devoured her without a second thought. Taki and Saeko alluded to the peanut you gave Momo as the reason she was chosen, but Saeko also killed Taki for withholding information from you. It’s unclear whether she ate him as well. These developments seem massive, and they might be in the long run, but they also take place in the first ten minutes of gameplay, quickly dissuading players from any notions that they might be aware of what will happen next.
SAEKO: Giantess Dating Sim sports a pixel art style, with environments and characters drawn in scratchy, uneven lines. The art calls to mind other indie titles that come across as cute or cozy, but combined with a dark and sparse color palette, it lends itself to the dread that Saeko exudes. A few red pixels between her fingers, when she crushed Taki, feels almost as grim as more overtly violent acts in other games. Naturally, as a giantess towering over you, Saeko’s sprite is much more detailed, making her feel more fully realized than your companions. Even the idle tapping of her massive, detailed fingers on her desk contributes to my unease in her presence.
After the horrific events of the day, Saeko sat at her desk, speaking to me about human nature and my opinions on people’s ability to change. I absent-mindedly responded ‘yeah’ each time the prompt came up because I thought it would be best to agree with whatever she had to say, especially given how easily she could crush me. Surprisingly, she called out my behavior, telling me not to blindly and repeatedly agree with her. I tried to change tactics, telling her I thought she was wrong about a person’s inability to change. She responded by crushing me to death, it was an insightful debate.
I reloaded the conversation and responded to her when the prompt came up while her dialogue was still scrolling. Once again, I was surprised when she told me not to interrupt her and to let her finish talking before responding. When I noticed an option to fast-forward the conversation, she also got upset that I was rushing her. Over the subsequent few attempts, she crushed me repeatedly, and each time, it was for something that I, the player, had done.
While this was a little frustrating, I was ultimately intrigued by the experience; it truly felt like I was at the whim of a massive and temperamental person who no longer saw me as a human and would discard me as soon as I annoyed her. It’s hard to blame her since I entered the preview and saw her as a two-dimensional character in a game instead of a person with feelings, simulated or not. In my time with SAEKO: Giantess Dating Sim, I never saw any aspects of ‘dating’ Saeko, so I’m unsure if ‘not being killed’ will be considered a successful courting attempt, but I was only looking at a small sliver of the story.
Regardless, I’m curious to see how your relationship with Saeko will develop, especially given the obvious and literal power imbalance. At a glance, the game may seem like a goofy and risque visual novel, but after some time with it, SAEKO: Giantess Dating Sim appears to have a lot to say, and it’ll make you sit and listen to it.
SAEKO: Giantess Dating Sim releases on PC in 2024.
