Not a major dating sim player but this game pushes the bar and excels in giving an immersive romantic adventure.

User Rating: 9.5 | Katawa Shoujo Act 1 PC
I have not often played dating sims, often passing them by as simple games with no story or atmosphere. After seeing the reception Katawa Shoujo was receiving I decided to test it out. Never have I seen both story and immersion delivered so well with nothing more than a few pictures and text. Often it feels like a long read but the characters are so well defined it almost feels worth it just to get to better understand the world and characters around you. If there are any negative points that I were to give to this game it would be as follows: (1) No voice audio for characters, this would help in defining the characters a little more as a voice can often do wonders in showing personality simply through the way someone talks. (2) It's quite short, the total amount of time spent playing may total to less than a day which can leave you feeling empty at the end. Other than the two reasons I just mentioned, this game is a definite step up to the dating sim genre as a whole and a must play for veterans and newcomers alike.