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DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia

DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia

Idea Factory, Compile Heart, Sting · released Sep 5, 2024

CasualSimulation

Play as Shido and unravel the secrets of the mysterious spirit Ren in the visual novel follow-up to DATE A LIVE: Rio Reincarnation, based on the acclaimed light novel and anime series.

87
VGC Score
·No trend datamedium confidence
84%
At launch
96%
Steam all-time
77%
Press
100%
Recent sentiment

Screenshots & trailers

Review sentiment over time

Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.

How this score was computed

The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.

ComponentPositiveQuality (0-100)Weight (pseudo-reviews)
Press reviews (OpenCritic)7716
All-time Steam reviews96%91223
Metacritic user ratings0
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)100%975
Calibration prior (typical game)7250

Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 15 reviews sampled · 10 total reviews in window · weighted 9.3 up / 0 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →

Press & Creators reviews (10)

Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.

  • 82
    trust 65Sep 5, 2024

    Date A Live: Ren Dystopia continues the Date A Live series with another veritable banger of a visual novel. It features artwork from Idea Factory’s legendary former illustrator and now freelance artist Tsunako, as well as amazing voice work from some of the industry’s finest talents. While the story certainly isn’t friendly to newcomers, despite the game’s claims, it does carry on the spirit of the series very well. In fact, there’s so many routes and endings to go for in this game that you could very well just learn as you go.

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    trust 64May 17, 2026

    DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia offers entertaining gameplay and, despite its name, doesn’t really have a negative overall tone. The numerous characters are all unique and provide plenty of humour. The many individual routes and their varying lengths mean it’s also well suited to shorter sessions.

    read full review ↗
  • 85
    trust 62Sep 5, 2024

    DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia is a visual novel that fully manages to transpose the atmosphere of the series, offering an original game that fans will surely appreciate.

    read full review ↗
  • 68
    trust 62Sep 8, 2024

    DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia is just like any other visual novel. You should get this if you are a fan of Date A Live in general to see where the story goes. If you are interested in playing this game, you should give it a chance; however, you may want to start watching the anime or play something with a wider appeal to a wider audience first.

    read full review ↗
  • 70
    trust 61Sep 23, 2024

    DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia presents several intriguing tales about what someone would do with three wishes. Multiple routes and endings provide different perspectives and lots of replay value. Unfortunately, this series assumes you have existing knowledge of the franchise, and ending routes can be unclear. Otherwise, it’s a great visual novel that provides hours of enjoyment.

    read full review ↗
  • 40
    trust 60Sep 20, 2024

    DATE A LIVE: Ren Dystopia is a truly head-scratching game. A game that looks and plays no different from its predecessors. All the while presenting fans with very underdeveloped and uninspired routes. While the Live2D models look great and the voice acting is phenomenal, it just can’t carry the weight that is everything else. Even the True Ending, which is some of the writing team’s best work, can’t save this. Ren deserves better. The reader deserves better. Especially when the company is asking for the same amount of money as the triple pack that came before it. If you do happen to own this title, please work your way to the true ending to get your money’s worth. The fact that only 9% of readers, at the time of writing, have seen it drives me insane. Otherwise consider waiting for a sale.

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    trust 60Sep 5, 2024

    Date A Live: Ren Dystopia is an engaging visual novel that series fans will enjoy. What Date A Live fan wouldn’t want to experience hijinks with their favorite characters and meet a new one who could potentially become a favorite? The game is hollow without prior exposure to the Date A Live light novels, anime, and especially the Rio-Reincarnation visual novel (with all its included extras), so I recommend Ren Dystopia to established fans only.

    read full review ↗
  • 70
    trust 56Sep 5, 2024

    Date A Live: Ren Dystopia is a game that I personally enjoyed but can only recommend to fans of the series. This game doesn’t do anything particularly unique in the Visual Novel space. It will mainly be enjoyable to those who have played the previous games or have watched the series.

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  • 80
    trust 54Sep 11, 2024

    Tsunako’s art is, as always, gorgeous. The game’s a joy to play and hard to put down. It introduces some new (great) characters to the fiction while also giving me more time with Tohka.

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  • 70
    trust 53Sep 5, 2024

    Just like Rio Reincarnation, Date A Live: Ren Dystopia is a visual novel that complements the series and allows fans to have a little extra taste of the beautiful characters' unique sides. Unfortunately, the title doesn't go beyond that, with a predictable plot and little development to the characters, elements that make the game not so good as an entrypoint. However, even so, I'm very happy to be able to play it officially in English.

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Patch history

No patch announcements found on Steam yet.