‘Code Romantic’ Review: Romance is Easy, Coding is Hard

Publisher: Pretty Smart Games / Developer: Pretty Smart Games / Platform: Steam, Itch.io / Release Date: April 30, 2020 Can you learn from gaming? It’s an age-old question and in my studies, I’ve found that you can learn a thing or two from games designed to teach or at least use them as an introductory tool into specific subjects. Code Romantic is one of those games that attempts to gamify learning – in this case, the subject of coding. It’s a tough subject but one that developers Pretty Smart Games attempt to make less intimidating through the backdrop of a post-apocalyptic world mixed in with a little romance. Does this visual novel succeed? Well, yes and no. Code Romantic isn’t going to have you coding your own games or hacking into computers just yet. However, it tries its damnedest to help you understand the subject of coding and make it less intimidating. Story

Code Romantic has a fun premise going for it. You play as Mina Lovelace, a young girl in a world where machines known as @ware have gained sentience and taken over the internet. At a young age, Mina’s mother taught her how to code in order to hack and defend herself against the @ware. The game begins with an older Mina being drafted by the Human Defense Department into a special academy in order to be the last defense against the rampant machines. Interestingly, even though Code Romantic is a post-apocalyptic world torn apart by machines, it’s nothing too dark or violent. Its narrative actually plays more like …