Hatoful Boyfriend, the "pigeon dating sim," takes flight in August

I want to play Hatoful Boyfriend . Not because I'm into avian amore, but because the mere concept of a "pigeon dating simulator" is so utterly bizarre that I feel compelled to fire it up and see what it's all about. And in roughly three weeks time, I will finally be able to satisfy my twisted curiosity—with a swanky collector's edition, no less.

Finding love is never easy, but as the only human in St. PigeoNation's Institute, it's a particularly tricky task for you. You'll need to navigate the social complexities of the avian world, boost your stats through elective classes like art and gym, purchase tasty bird feed for your prospective partners and pursue dark mysteries and hellish fiends bent on unleashing the apocalypse, all while maintaining a grade-point average that will get you into a respectable school. Boy, sophomore year is tough.

Hatoful Boyfriend launches on August 21 in both a $10 standard edition and a "Summer of Dove" Collector's Edition, which will add a soundtrack, a digital comic from original Hatoful Boyfriend creator Hato Moa, exclusive Oko-san wallpapers and the St. PigeoNations Class of 2014 yearbook for an extra five bucks. Both versions are now available for preorder, with a ten percent discount off the regular price, on Steam .

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.