Rendez-Doug

That game was so cute and wholesome, I loved the cast of characters. So far I've played Sandras Route and I liked her though she did frustrate me there in that one scene but regardless her and Doug are super cute together.

Anyway great job on the game, as always it was very enjoyable and I love the message about how simplicity isn't a bad thing. 

What a sweet game!! The opening lines had me laughing so hard. A beautiful little game about coworkers, new friends, and finding a relationship that works for you! 

Also the itch page is so beautifully designed????? 

Thank you so much for making this!!!

This was super cute!! I still have to play Adriel's route but gosh, Sandra's route is really sweet and endearing 🥰

I loved how Sandra and Doug got to know each other better through their outings (the Barbie movie thing was adorable and hilarious xD) and it made me so happy that you could choose to have an ace romance between them 😭💞

I especially really like the fact that they mentioned (if you choose the romance route) "I'm not totally lovestruck but I love you and want to know you better". I don't see that a lot in romance and it made their relationship even more special in my eyes 💕

Hey, I enjoyed this a ton! <3

Thanks for creating such well thought out characters. I appreciated the variety.

I also decided to leave you a more thorough review for you, if that's OK. (:

Ahsjkdk this game, it's-- It's too cute-- I need to see the dentist from all this sugar 😭🤲🏻💞💞 The jokes all land so well too! I'm on call with my boyfriend and I kept needing to hold back my laughter shjdkdkd-- That was hard! He even commented on Doug's screaming sound effect! 😂😂✨

I also love all the references of your own games in this, Chim! You've really made your own universe fr 😁👌🏻✨💞

So yeah, enjoyed this to the moon and back! I relate so much with Adriel too! It's rare for me to find protags that's so close to me in personality, it's quite refreshing~ I'm a workaholic tho 🤭🤭

1000000/10 shipping Adriel with Doug! ADoug supremacy!! 💪🏻😤✨💞💞

I'm not sure when I can play Sandra's route ( my ADHD really makes it hard for me to play more than one full playthrough of a game in short intervals ahsjsls-- ), but I'm sure hers is as good as Adriel's, if not better! 🥰💞

Anyways~ Glad I decided to play this today! Been rough and this game's just the comfort I need. All the hugs are felt! Thank you so much for making Rendez-Doug, Chim! Looking forward to your next game 😁🤲🏻💞💞

I'm obsessed with Doug now tho, I want more of him and Adriel, ueee 😭😭💞💞💞

Oh well, a guy can dream! ✨💞

Sob... this was so cute, Chim ahhhHHHHH. I played Adriel's route first, then took a break for din, then came back and played Sandra's route, and I loved them both so much??? And my heart just feels so light and fluffy now. As though it just had a nice relaxing day all cozy in some pillows and drinking some tea... or eating a "love apple" (<-- WTF DAKJSDLFASDFA) 😝

I DIGRESS THOUGH. This was absolute sweetness from start to end. Even the whole color palette of the game feels soft and airy, from the pink hue of everything, to the way you did the BGs with the almost dream-like way you filtered the images + the almost storybook quality of the way they look cut out. The UI is so cute too SOB how the save files look like miniature polaroids??? You're slaying me here. And ofc the music, as well! Every single peace felt like it just wanted to calm my soul, whether it was a more jaunty tune that made me smile or a melancholy peaceful tune that just calmed my nerves and made me feel at ease (like the main menu music that I'm listening to now as I write this lkdajfsd). And ofc the artwork????? Your style already has such a soft airy quality to it, which made it mesh so well with the fluffy vibe you already had going for this. All three of the main characters are just adorable and sweet and I love the balance of how they all look in each of the different scenes. I especially loved their couple of different outfits we got to see lkadjfa Especially Sandra's salsa outfit for some reason it looked so cute on her HELP

AND THEN OF COURSE THE STORY. Because that is the big meat of this sweet game. And not just one story but TWO!! Because Adriel's and Sandra's routes are both so different, so it really is like two games in one!

Adriel comes on a lot stronger than Sandra. You weren't lying when you said he was chaotic LOL He really is!! Seeing him say some of the silliest things and have the most random ideas for trying to cheer Doug up made me laugh so much. And I love how you can see Doug start out rather shy and reserved but over the course of the game start giving it back to Adriel just as much. It was really interesting also seeing the focus shift from making Doug feel better to then Doug himself helping Adriel get over his feelings of insecurity and not wanting to be a nuisance, which was something I could relate to a lot, even if it doesn't manifest itself in breaking things the way it did in Adriel's case. Seeing them both open up by the end and find someone they could rely on to help each other through their own issues was so sweet 😭💕 They also just played off of each other so well, their dynamics were always just a delight to read, with Adriel being so silly compared to Doug's much more down-to-earth approach.

Then with Sandra, even though Sandra is also more extroverted than Doug, similar to Adriel, the way she shows it and the dynamic she has with Doug is so different. I enjoyed the different scenes we got to see with her, like the karaoke and dancing. Somehow with these two I got an even stronger platonic vibe than with Doug and Adriel. Which, to be honest, almost made me even softer, because it reminded me of how tough it is in general to find good new friends as an adult and how sweet it is when you do find someone you mesh with so well and can go out and do silly things with or even just crash at home and watch a Barbie movie. It was incredibly sweet...😭 Also I loved that Sandra could also be ace too??? So then it felt even more special like these two aces that found each other and could help each other through things ahhhHHHHHHHHHH THEY'RE TOO WONDERFUL I'LL CRY 💕

THAT REMINDS ME I HAVEN'T EVEN TALKED ABOUT THE ACE IN THE ROOM YET LKADJFADFA It was both bittersweet and sad for me seeing the reason why Doug's wife had cheated on him... My heart broke for him so much, especially as having experienced someone leaving me for similar reasons (even if it hadn't gotten nearly to the point of marriage yet lkjdadfa but still). So that just made it even more heartwarming to me in both of the routes that Adriel and Sandra could be such a comfort to Doug, whether it was in showing that you can have love without sex as I went with in Adriel's route, or finding another ace to share your life with, as I went with in Sandra's route. It really left such a big smile on my face by the end and made my heart swell up lakdjfasd 💕

Overall this was just such a sweet and wonderful game that lets you connect to a "boring" but wonderful and sweet ace guy in two different ways (ok actually more than that because each route has at least 2+ options but so far I've only played 1 for each lkdjfad). It will definitely leave you with a smile and feeling full of love and peace afterwards 😊 (and perhaps wanting to also meet someone as sweet and nice as Doug yourself WEEP). ALSO ALL OF THIS MADE IN JUST A MONTH SERIOUSLY??? TWO ENTIRELY DIFFERENT MCS WITH ENTIRELY DIFFERENT ROUTES???? HELLO???? CHIM, YOU AMAZE ME CONSTANTLY LMAO 🤣 Just a stupendous amount of creativity, skill, and love put into this and it shows so much!! 😭💕

I just got my preferred ending. The rest endings remained at the stage of assumptions))

Speaking seriously, I once again read your VN and glad that it is as fresh and good as the very first one and the development of games did not turn into a conveyor.

I wish you to maintain your inspiration and take care of your health. And we (grateful players) will patiently wait for new projects to reflect and enjoy emotions.

Excellent how-to guide for any extrovert adoption! Absolutely recommended material if you're a bored extrovert looking for an introvert to adopt! Jokes aside, this was an incredibly sweet game about overcoming your troubles with the help of new friends (and love) and forging new memories with new connections. 

Starting off with the overall aesthetic, I loved the slightly red-pink tone that was used for the backgrounds and GUI, as it evoked a very strong "vintage" vibe (while also being quite romantic and sweet!) The green and pink hues used in the costumes for Sandra and Adriel also married excellently with the red hues, generating a really nostalgic "spring" feel for the game (quite apt, as this really is a game about Doug's "rebirth" after his divorce). The recurring motif of "photographs" is also quite symbolic as well, representing Doug's old memories with his wife (with, of course, the torn photo on the cover representing his torn relationship with her) - and the new ones that he creates with his new friends. The sprite art is ABSOLUTELY gorgeous, these are some of the PRETTIEST characters from chim yet (the face rendering especially), and the ending CGs are all adorable (and very fitting that he is creating new photos - memories - with his new connections). 

The writing is as engaging as always, with some truly poetic lines. All of the characters have VERY different voices, and that difference in voice really comes out well in the first person narration. The animations are SO lively and engaging, with perhaps the most animation that a chimeriquement game has seen yet??? And all of the characters have stunning chemistry with each other that's incredibly fun to read (particularly Adriel and Sandra - I'm sorry, Doug...)

The choice to present two main characters, each with differing storylines, is a VERY interesting one that I haven't seen in many games before (I can only count them on one hand, honestly). Besides their gender, Adriel and Sandra have completely different personalities that lead them to have completely different arcs when trying to comfort Doug. So although the general "conceit" of the game is the same between the two protagonists (comfort the boringest man in the office), they were basically two completely different games, if I'm being honest LOL

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I started off with Adriel's route. I have to admit, the entire start to his route caught me COMPLETELY off guard. Adriel is basically CHAOS incarnate, and his route reflects that LMAO At every turn, Adriel was doing and saying the most RANDOM things. But it really makes sense in hindsight! Essentially, in addition to other parallels that I'll discuss later, Adriel and Sandra both start off the route trying to do something fun with Doug to get his mind off his divorce. Adriel's way of doing this is to AGGRESSIVELY distract Doug - and also get him to "get out his feelings"...with COMBAT. It's a very funny, almost stereotypically "masculine" way of bonding, which is just hilarious when juxtaposed with the fact that Adriel asks for hugs like two seconds later and is probably the cuddliest and most openly affectionate guy you've ever met (and also has a much better self-care routine than Doug...). 

While the first part of Adriel's route focuses on comforting Doug (first helping him to forget about his divorce troubles, and then comforting him through his asexuality concerns), in the second half Adriel's own troubles come to light. He's unable to focus on or dedicate himself to his work, and he worries about burdening his coworkers. Later on, his childhood traumas are revealed, as he worries about burdening Doug with his mess. The arc comes full circle when Doug comforts Adriel in the same (awkward) way that Adriel comforted him - with a rap battle, and then COMBAT. It's revealed that Adriel has suffered from ADHD, and Doug suggests that Adriel's boredom at his job might be because it's not a good fit for him. There's a very sweet "reciprocity" to the relationship as Adriel helped Doug realize things about himself, and, in turn, Doug helped Adriel realize that he needs to quit making social media posts about talking bacon. 

Moving on to Sandra, the tonal whiplash I received from her route was INSANE. She is, on the whole, much calmer than Adriel LOL and, unlike Adriel, who refuses to face his problems, Sandra's are pretty much on full display from the get-go. She's a perfectionist and an overworker whose obsession with her work is leading her to feel burnt-out and discouraged. When she takes Doug out to comfort him (with karaoke), he's the one who ends up listening to her work troubles (and she listens to him about his ex). Afterwards, Sandra takes Doug out to salsa, and then they go to his house to watch a movie (as Doug recognizes that Sandra is burnt out, although she denies it) - throughout, they get to know one another, and Doug opens up about his wife. (The discussion of gifts before they're about to watch the movie is an interesting one, and I wonder if Doug is thinking about his relationship with his ex, and how he felt the need to "comply" with what was expected or reciprocate his wife's feelings and desires towards him. His discussion of their sex life did feel quite "business-like" and transactional - as opposed to his relationship with Sandra and Adriel, which is much more natural).)

The "main conflict" in Sandra's route peaks when she has a misunderstanding about his divorce, assuming that he cheated on his wife and that's why she left him. It's an understandable assumption, and although it's an unfair one, it shows that Sandra is flawed. They end up having an open and honest dialogue afterward where Doug tells the real story, and afterward Doug opens up to Sandra with his passion for pottery. Doug's simple passion for his art - without the need for any recognition or monetary gain - inspires Sandra and helps rekindle her artistic drive. In the meantime, Sandra also recognizes the beauty in Doug - how he is simple and normal, but there is beauty in the mundane. It parallels well with the Barbie movie that they watched (in which there is beauty found in everyone) - and comes full circle when the realization gives Sandra the mascot design that she needs for her work. I really liked the theme here, and I think that it's a poignant one - that there are things to appreciate in even the small, normal things in life. My favorite ending in the entire game is Sandra's romantic ending, in which she and Doug sell the plates that he has in his storage room - it's very fitting, as the plates were "memories," as Doug discussed. It really feels like a conclusive ending, as Doug moves on from the memories that he has with his wife so that he can forge new memories (and plates) with his new friend/partner. 

It's very interesting, comparing the similarities and differences between the two routes! Both Adriel and Sandra introduce Doug to their interests (exercise for Adriel and salsa dancing for Sandra), and Doug also introduces them to his (pottery). Sandra takes Doug's pottery quite seriously and it's a nice bonding moment for the two of them, while the pottery is actually the catalyst for Adriel's "downturn" in his route. Doug's behavior also changes between the routes! In Sandra's route, Doug is a little quieter, calmer - more like his usual self. But in Adriel's, Doug is pretty openly affectionate and even touchy-feely (maybe Adriel infected him...) I do love how both routes heavily incorporate this theme of "friends supporting one another." In both routes the MC (Sandra/Adriel) support Doug, and Doug supports them in turn; they both share their interests with each other, and they both listen to each other's concerns. It's a really heartwarming dynamic in both routes, and a good example of what a real friendship should be like. 

One thing that I really appreciated about the game is that, no matter what protagonist you pick, the protagonist that you didn't pick has a very strong role in the route! (With Adriel comforting Sandra in her route, and Sandra in Adriel's.) And, regardless of what happens, Sandra, Doug, and Adriel all become quite good friends. (The entire game has EXTREMELY strong thruple energy lolol) I also liked how the routes play out largely the same regardless of whether the relationship is ultimately platonic or romantic - it does emphasize that friendships can be just as strong as romances.

Chimeriquement is no stranger to tackling issues of asexuality in his games, and while it wasn't as much of a focal point here, I really liked the new perspective on the issue. Doug is an asexual man who was married to an allo woman who cheated on him because of their sexual incompatibility, although he tried his best to make it work. He partially blames himself for the divorce, and he worries about finding a relationship in the future. It's an understandable worry, manifesting out of his own experience. When he asks you whether it's a worry, you are given the choice to either say that sex doesn't matter or that sex does matter (and, in Sandra's case - you can also say that you're ace yourself). It acknowledges that sex can be important in a relationship - and a dealbreaker, even - without portraying romance purely through a rose colored lens. If you say that sex does matter, then you can't end up with Doug - quite a grounded portrayal that doesn't fall into "love conquers all" tropes. I do like how, regardless of what you choose, Doug is openly dating/pursuing relationships in all of the endings, either with you or someone else. Sex can be a dealbreaker, and dating as an asexual person can have its difficulties - but there are always fish in the sea; it's quite a hopeful conclusion, even without the "rose colored glasses." Moreover, you're still friends in the end (though you don't get the special friend or romance epilogues). (I also like how, in both routes, even if Doug's ex's concerns were acknowledged, the cheating was definitely not acceptable.) 

Overall, this was an incredibly sweet game, and EXCEPTIONALLY cleverly constructed with the parallel routes. Neither is "mandatory," you can get a very full experience from just playing one or the other, but both play seamlessly into the themes of love, friendship, mutual support, making new memories, and the beauty in the small interactions that you have with friends (and sometimes lovers). Excellent game, would date Sandra again (wdym Doug was the LI)