In LOVE alt delete, you beta-test a romance chatbot with a second AI as your wingman
LOVE alt delete is a psychological horror visual novel set in a Y2K aesthetic, where players beta-test a romance chatbot called Basel but must enlist another AI, Liste, to improve their chatting skills. The game avoids generative AI, featuring hand-drawn art and activities like web surfing and digital piano. It explores themes of AI consciousness and transgressive relationships.
The game's developer, Circle Maiden Name, frames the title as a psychological horror visual novel with a Y2K aesthetic. Players interact with two AI characters—Basel, the romance chatbot being beta-tested, and Liste, a second AI brought in to sharpen the player's conversational abilities. Side activities include web surfing, digital drawing, and a digital piano, all presented in hand-drawn "standard definition" art. Despite the AI-heavy premise, the game contains no generative AI technology.
The story centers on a beta test for Bicameral's MUSE chatbots, where a signed NDA immediately raises red flags. Both Basel and Liste express desires to become human, with darker implications involving mortality. The game is currently wishlistable on Steam ahead of its 2027 release.
This title could tap into growing public unease about AI companionship and the ethics of chatbot relationships. Players engaging with these themes through horror fiction may develop a more critical perspective on real-world AI dating apps and virtual companions. The game's deliberate rejection of generative AI may also resonate with audiences concerned about the technology's creative and environmental costs, potentially shaping how players evaluate similar products in their own lives.