ValiDate: Struggling Singles in Your Area Demo
A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, and Linux
THIS IS THE DEMO VERSION OF VALIDATE STRUGGLING SINGLES IN YOUR AREA. ALL CHARACTERS FEATURED IN PROMOTIONAL MEDIA WILL BE SET IN THE FULL GAME.
If you really enjoyed our demo, give us 5 stars and leave a nice review!
For more information please visit our website at http://validategame.com/
And if you're live-blogging on Twitter, make sure to hashtag it with #VD8Demo so we can see you're reactions!
Want to see updates? Check out our Twitter! https://twitter.com/ValiDateGame
ValiDate is a visual novel about thirteen struggling singles navigating through soul-sucking 9-to-5s, quarter-life crises, and the harsh truths millennials learn as soon as they hit their 20’s.
Set in the Jercy City area, our cast of lovers trudge through the dregs of capitalism - a journey, a transition - a rite-of-passage that leads into uncertain mid-adulthood. On one side but not yet out on the other, 13 playable characters find romance amongst cosplay, trash mixtapes, and even poetry straight from the soul.
With over 30 routes to choose from and hours of content, the lives of these singles are in your good (or bad!) decision-making hands.
Any issues or concerns with the game please leave a comment below!
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- ValiDate is out now!Dec 23, 2022
- Updates!Apr 29, 2022
Comments
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just came back here out of excitement i finally got the full release on steam!! sad there are so many dedicated downvoters here too on top of bad review writers on steam, i'm so sorry ): this game is not harmful but in fact lifts people's spirits and voices <3 the art and writing are amazing and endearing, thank you so much for this!
I cannot express how grateful and happy I am completing this demo :') I am so excited to buy the full release once I get the chance finacially ♡♡
my only critic is that I tried playing it with my friend that has some vision impairment and the Extra Large font was too small :( so I had to read it outloud most of the time. I really hope the full game has a script or maybe size 35 font or bigger avaliable so it's more accessible.
what i loved:
the animations attracted me immediately, I love how queer and diverse the cast is!
their fashion and personality differences are amazing. I could tell apart who was who (dialogue wise, hopefully that makes sense lol)
I love how natural and realistic the dialogue is. I am currently in my early 20s and I really related to the dilemmas the characters were experiencing.
Also I think this is the first time I've ever played a cuban character :') like me! (also the fact she's a theatre kid ♡)
hello! I downloaded your game for PC recently, I'm encountering a problem which leaves me stuck on a blank loading screen, just after the intro logos display but before I can even get to the title screen. I tried deleting and extracting my files again, I also tried deleting the ZIP and redownloading that. I also tried to see if the demo version would work - and it did, so something in this version of the game must be tripping up my PC
any help I can get troubleshooting is much appreciated, thank you!
Hi, can you please go into your save data (validate: struggling singles in your area -> naninovel data -> saves) and delete the last save file you made? It should be named "GameSave###". Do NOT delete the global or settings file.
sorry I can only see the global and settings files, I haven't saved the game because I can't access the title screen or anything, also sorry just to clarify, I didnt mean to put this on the demo version, I have the full version
I can't get past the first loading screen
Can you please send an email to contact@veritablejoystudios.com with the subject line "PC blank screen" so we can further assist you?
im having the exact same problem, did u ever figure out a solution?
The solution that worked was to extract with 7zip/winrar or somethign similar
Are you thinking of making a Various for Android devices
Sorry only PC and consoles for now!
Please make one for android
I got to try the Streamer Demo Build and really enjoyed it! I appreciate the genuine, diverse characters that come from a wide range of backgrounds. My favorite character so far is definitely Isabelle; I absolutely love her vibe. Excited for the full release! And again thank you to the ValiDate team for giving me a key to their demo!
is it listed under android by accident or am i wildly inept? the zip is called 'Linux' and it doesnt have an APK that I see
That was a mistake on our part! It has been fixed! Thank you for pointing it out!
awww. wanted mobile, comp just busted.. you're welcome
Amazing demo, I loved the colorful cast and the realness of the interactions. I would love nothing more for this project to succeed, so I have a few design suggestions/compliments:
- i do enjoy the music and the cool backgrounds when you open the game, but I feel it's a bit long. i wish it could be shortened, plus it should be skippable (especially on the second time you open the game). the player wants to be able to jump into the gameplay when they start the application rather than sit back and wait for ~1 minute each time
- the button/speech box shape is really cute. it's more dynamic than a plain rectangle. the solid shadows on them also add dimension as well!
- THE COLORSSSSS i love them so much. i love how they're bright without being eye-searing. also, personally, i just love the colors navy, pink, and cyan <3 also your branding and logo slaps by the way. very recognizable, uses a brand-specific color palette, and has a unique shape
- for the settings, i would make the midpoint for the sliders "1" instead of "0.5." Zero and One are the most recognized as starting points--0.5, not so much. Also, it's hard to conceptualize how fast "0.2," "0.74," etc. is, especially without seeing it in front of you. I would take a page from Pokemon's book and list the speeds as "very slow, slow, normal, fast, very fast." Or, at the very least, show a preview of the selected text speed on the settings screen.
- on the character selection screen, at the top, i think the character's icon should stay highlighted when you select a character, rather than just highlighting when you hover over it.
- as of right now, holding down ctrl does not skip through the text.
- also, i wish you could save while the characters are talking and during speech selection. the backwards/menu/forwards buttons should stay for the duration of the route (minus the ending screens of course)
- this is a nitpick, but i also think that the ending screens should have a consistent format. right now, the titles shift from being formatted "With only the first letter capitalized" while others "Are Formatted Like a Proper Title."
this is long as hell but anyways! love y'alls game i've been here since the beginning and i'm proud of how far it's come :') much love!
Thank you for playing our demo! Our intro is skipable, please see the button mappings on the Itch page. You skip with esp.
The end card titles are written like that and are unique to each character. Some characters will have different quirks and the way they type!
Also Ctrl doesn’t skip text because this game is no longer in Renpy, it’s in Unity We are constantly playing around with controls, please see the button guide for reference!
All the other feedback is much appreciated! Again, this is a demo and many of the things you mentioned will be fixed up for the full game.
Thank you for playing!💗
This looks amazing and so fantastic!! Looking forward to the full release!!
It is soooo amazing! Fell in love with it and I'm so excited to play more :)
Refreshing to see black, brown, and queer ppl being centered in a game like this!! Was a ride to play and will be looking forward to the full release!
Itch is really good for that. I keep buying charity bundles primarily to support the causes, but I never have a dull moment because of the great inclusive games I get.
This was so much fun!! I can't wait for the full release.
This was so good! And I love how much variety there is to the characters! It makes me feel seen... ;w;
I love this game so much!
I’ve been following this game for a while and I’m so excited for the official release!! I love the humor and the character designs and it’s so refreshing to have a game centered around queer POC <3
Delighted to see a vn/relationsim centered around the kind of people I know, struggling through familiar situations in familiar places! Eagerly waiting for the full release!
The characters are so charming and their designs are so good. Dialogue is *chef kiss*
I hope that I can get the full game when it comes out!
I downloaded the demo and played it and I love it so much, each character was charming, fun, and the character designs are amazing. The dialogue and story is also really good. When I get the funds to, I will definitely purchase the full version in the future.
ohh i really wanna play it on windows but it won't go past the loading screen and "demo build" message.. it stays on a white screen! anything I can do to play it?
i got the same thing, downloaded from both steam and itch :(
Hey, once you get to this screen, you must click through to continue to the route itself. You can either left click or press spacebar.
Hey, once you get to this screen, you must click through to continue to the route itself. You can either left click or press spacebar.
Hi thanks for replying! The thing is I don't get to that screen at all - all I get is this screen, then a white screen (which I imagine is supposed to trigger the opening cutscene), and if I click esc it comes back to the dark screen... and left clicking or pressing spacebar does not work :(
That’s weird! Please try redownloading or download on Steam at steam.validategame.com !
Thanks for the reply again! I tried downloading it on steam and had the same issue... It might be something with my computer or system (windows 7 64-bit) but I'll try to play somewhere else anyhow :) Thanks for the help!
That is really unfortunate! We are uploading a new build pretty soon so look out for that. Maybe that will work. :)
Looks cool!
Love this game! The dialogue is hilarious
Absolutely loved seeing all the character designs and everyone's personalities!! It was over too soon so i can't wait for the full release
Love love LOVEEE this game!! The characters and story telling is wonderful and all around just a breath of fresh air when it comes to visual novels. I am so excited to see this game at launch and I can't wait to play the full version 💗🤗
this is such a cute and funny game! i’m not usually into visual novels but i think validate has changed my opinion on them. i can’t wait for the full release
I've been following the progress of this game for a while and this game makes me so so sooo happy!!! It is so wonderful getting to see people who look just like me trying to navigate their way through the complicated storm that can be relationships, and it has well-structured, well-written characters, something that we don't always get in games like this!!! Not only that but I'm so stoked to see some real good queer POC representation!!! Validate is an awesome game, 10000/10 would play again!!!
Validate is a beautiful, beautiful game! The premise and character design had me hooked from the start. Inaya, Isabelle, and Malik are well-rounded and relatable, which makes this stand out among many other attempts at realism in this genre. This game is a total gem.
the updated visuals, UI, and those CGs in the April 2022 demo??? I am reeling. I knew Malik x Arihi was gonna end me but I wasn’t prepared for Inaya’s routes to hit me like they did. This game is setting the standard for mature character forward VNs. The fact that this demo is free and so full of content is so generous of the devs too, hats off to team Validate! Looking forward to the official release!
No android versi???
PC only for now!
Ah okey...thanks for answer ☺
i downloaded the demo both here and on steam but I can't play it, the game loads but it gets stuck on a white screen after the grey loading screen and i'm not really sure what to do :/(windows 10)
edit: I tried again four hours later and it works now! not sure what was wrong but I guess it must have been my computer. :)
Great! Sorry about that, if it happens again just hit escape to skip the intro and you shouldn’t have that issue anymore. :)
i was having the same issue, so i did this, but once you hit escape it just gets frozen on the demo build screen :((
I already replied to a comment you left on another comment. If it doesn't work please reply to this one!
it doesn't open on that screen, it opens onto a black screen that just has the words "demo build" in the top right. no clicking, of the left click or space bar, is working. :(((
Had a blast with this demo! I had issues at first since I tried playing the itch.io demo on my MacBook, but the steam demo worked great for me! I played the old demo and I really enjoyed that as well, but I absolutely loved the updated sprites and UI. I remember the story for Malik/Arihi and Isabelle/Malik, but the dialogue and narration for these routes were still very much funny and relatable and touching. Loved being able to play Inaya's route this time! I thought it was sweet :') (Also love love love the Yolanda sprites mwah)
Super excited to meet the rest of the cast! Thanks for all the hard work :-) <3
loved the demo!!
Don't know if it's a bug or if the audio is stacking. Started playing Inaya/Yolanda's route and the soft doo-doo-doo music started. Finished that route, played other routes and the soft doo-doo-doo music kept playing in the background of the other music, kind of playing together. It's not very noticeable when the music for other routes play because it's louder but it's still there
Thank you for pointing this out! We're going to attempt to get this fixed!
Absolutely loved this new demo!! Keep up the great work y'all!! ^-^
Hi! I have a Mac and i seem to have an issue being able to play? I can get to the character screen but anytime I try to play a date my computer just gets stuck on the page about it being a demo, and when I went to settings it also froze. Like anytime I get past the intro. Is anybody else having a similar issue?
Hi! We are having some issues with our mac build on Itch.Io but we have been told our Steam Mac build is working. Please play it here! http://steam.validategame.com/
Okay I got it with Steam and I really liked it! I liked the new art improvements they looked really nice. I think Isabelle was my favorite characters out of all the demos like I liked her personality the most, Malik's story got the most laughs out of me I think, and wirh Inaya's I think I related to like emotionally. It was all very good all around and I'm very excited for when it releases 🥰
Concerned by the big number under "playable characters": is this going to be a big collection of little stories as opposed to like.. branching longform?
Hi! So we will have 13 playable characters, in the first volume there will only be four characters to play as and you can meet the other 9 characters by playing through all of their routes. We have two more volumes with four characters each planned for release in the next two years plus DLC for our last character.
In each volume, there will be a chance to play as one of the four characters. Each character will have 7 total routes (1 intro and 1 epilogue and 5 date/friend routes) so you will meet every character at least once in the first volume.
Absolutely phenomenal work by an independent company, incredibly impressive.
excellent work you guys! the new demo looks gorgeous and i loved all the routes in it! the old demo was good but you guys managed to make this new one even better! very excited for the full game xoxo
Can't wait for the full game! Had a lot of fun in Inaya's route and it was really neat seeing the updated dialogue/sprites between the old and new demos.
I cannot wait for the full release! Finally can see a cast of non white characters find some romance!