There just isn't enough in it to keep people interested for long periods of time. Unless you're into voyeurism...
At first glance, the game seems like a rip-off of The Sims 2, which is something I had heard so many times before and that made me very reluctant about buying it, especially considering this title was released shortly after TS2. But to me the game can be defined as a Sims RPG, since your characters will actually gain experience, levels and skill points.
There is one major difference between the Singles and TS2 that I feel compelled to point out: full nudity and anatomically correct characters. No sir, there's no censorship blurs here, and they're not Barbie and Ken either, but very realistic 3D models.
With that out of the way, let me tell you about the gameplay.
You begin by choosing a couple of characters, one male, one female, from a pre-set group of ready-made "singles". Each of these characters has his/her own personality traits and a career already picked out for them.
Unfortunately, the gameplay becomes this monotony of work all week and socialize only on the weekends. Since there isn't much time left after a character returns from work, you are stuck with fulfilling their basic needs (hygiene, hunger and energy) and then cleaning up after yourself.
If you're familiar with the mechanics in The Sims, Singles will be a breeze to pick up and play. There's a twist though. You don't limit yourself to study to gain a cooking point. All the activities and interactions you do throughout the day (including go to work) give you experience points, which in turn make your characters gain levels. Each level you gain a skill point that you can use to raise any of your skills.
I recommend raising your career level first so you can afford better furniture and other goodies, then raise the slacker skill so you can work few hours and still be paid the same. At the same time, have one of the characters learn cooking and another learn repairs so they can split house tasks between them.
The game lacks in interaction, decoration and clothing options. Yes, you do unlock new interactions according to how well your relationship is going, but it's just not enough. Seeing my characters wearing the same outfits all the time became boring fast, so I decided to play around with some of the textures in the game to alter their colors. Better, but not enough customization there.
The same happened to the paintings, major makeover there, I re-textured them all. Finding them on the catalog was the problem, since I had only altered their final appearance and not the catalog image. Still, it made me warm up the apartment more than with the original paintings that came in the game.
In sum, variety is not the Singles strong point.
Once your singles get in bed and have sex with each other, that's it. But until they do, and if you're playing just to see this event happening, there is a long hard (no pun intended) path to follow. A relationship takes time to build, and it will take a lot of talking and flirting to have them finally walk around each other in a towel or in their underwear.
While the concept of the game is innovative there just isn't enough in it to keep people interested for long periods of time. Unless you're into voyeurism, but that's a completely different matter.
Review text part of Grrlgamer.com