Random Select is a column from Polygon about under-the-radar video games. Every week, Polygon asks a writer to check out a game at random, downloading the game without knowing beforehand what it is. The catch? They have to play for at least an hour and report on their thoughts — honestly. This week’s game is the racing game I’m In Love with Your Dead Grandmother.
There are games that don’t take themselves too seriously, with silly innocence that makes the most preposterous idea feel like a lighthearted joke, like Hatoful Boyfriend, that pigeon dating simulator. I’m In Love with Your Dead Grandmother is something altogether different, the type of project people agree to do… maybe when they’re inebriated? When every idea sounds funny even though it actually isn’t. I’m In Love with Your Dead Grandmother feels more like a horror game than the goofy joke it purports to be.
Produced by the studio Kimulator’s Films, I’m In Love with Your Dead Grandmother uses actors to tell the story of Noah (Alain Lagacé), a 28-year-old man who recently created a profile on a dating app and lands his first real date with a girl named Michelle (Marie Gervais St-Amour). Designed as a visual novel with branching paths, I’m In Love with Your Dead Grandmother is a satire that aims for absurd outcomes with its broad characters and low-budget scenarios. I finished this game twice in about one hour, making it the kind of bite-sized experience you may enjoy when you have a couple of hours to unwind. That said, I can’t say I had “fun” playing it.
During his date, Noah offers food made of Play-Doh, is completely tone-deaf to Michelle’s intentions, and overlooks her feelings. He carries a camera in his trousers and even asks Michelle if he can take pictures of her to send in a group chat, where he exchanges photos of naked women with friends. When Noah learns about Michelle’s grandmother, Betty, he spends a lot of time wondering how he could seduce the old woman — with many of his ideas bordering on sexual harassment.
