I’m changing things up a bit today. I don’t play exclusively AAA titles, so here’s something a little different.

Class of '09 touts itself as an “anti-visual novel.” Instead of a typical dating sim where you get to score with tons of hot anime girls by saying all the right things, you instead play AS the girl, rejecting guys around you and wreaking havoc on everyone’s social lives.

It’s considered a period game, taking place in the late '00s. Which makes me feel really old hearing people waxing nostalgic for the 2000s. I graduated high school in 2002; my nostalgic frame of reference is the '80s-'90s. 😖

Warning: This is a very dark game. There are about 15 endings, depending on your choices. I haven’t played through them all yet, but the best ending I’ve seen so far left you single and alone for the rest of your life, working cashier at a fast food restaurant to pay the bills. A lot of endings have you murdered, committing suicide, stuck in rehab, etc. As far as I can tell, there isn’t a happy ending for the protagonist.

This particular story in the screenshot got started when I decided to tolerate my best friend being a White Nationalist and not let a difference in politics get in the way of our friendship (Oops). It led to her starting a “White Pride Party” that literally everyone in the school joined except for me.

The nerdy Jeffrey only joined the club because he was a social pariah and it was the only group that accepted him. In order to test his convictions, I asked him out on a date and forced him to choose between egging a synagogue and dating me. Which led to the hilarious line in the screenshot. And also led to the WPP turning on Jeffrey. Double oops.

There’s another game called Class of '09: The Re-Up that I own, but haven’t played yet. It claims it’s not a sequel or a remaster, but additional stories branching off the original game. If I ever get around to finishing this first game, I’ll check it out.