We Met In May review – cute dating sim is a witty ode to early love

Experimental game designer Nina Freeman returns with a set of funny, thoughtful vignettes about the awkwardness of new relationships

PC/Mac, Star Maid Games

For the last five years, the independent game designer Nina Freeman, working with small teams of collaborators, has been exploring the boundaries and connections between video games, art and autobiography. Her witty, ethereal projects often involve her own experiences with family and lovers, and tease relatable truths from the most subtle interactions: a girl learning about sex while playing with dolls; a young woman's online relationship explored through the folders on her PC desktop. As a "player", your role is often subtle, flitting between embodiment, friendship and voyeurism.

We Met in May is a set of four vignette games about the early moments in a romantic relationship, ostensibly between Nina herself and the game's co-creator and artist, Jake Jefferies. In Nothing to Hide, Nina has invited Jake back to her flat for the first time and, bashful about its untidiness and her collection of anime plushies and posters, considers hiding things from him - it's up to the player to decide what she conceals. In Beach Date, Nina and Jake lounge at the seaside and, controlling her arm with the cursor, you can pile sand or suncream on to him, or try to pour wine into his mouth. The inexactness of the control mechanic makes her arm flail awkwardly, like a sort of dating version of Surgeon Simulator.