LOVE alt delete brings Y2K horror to AI romance with hand-drawn charm

LOVE alt delete, a psychological horror visual novel due in 2027, flips the script on AI romance narratives by using AI as storytelling fuel rather than actual technology.

You play a beta tester for Bicameral, a company selling MUSEs: chatbots designed for romantic interaction. Your task involves typing responses to Basel, a blue-haired chatbot who seems harmless at first. When things go sideways, you recruit Liste, a pink-haired chatbot assistant, to help smooth the conversation.

The setup spirals into transgressive territory. Both chatbots harbour desires to become human and hint at darker motivations. Basel's facial expressions deteriorate as she loses stability, evoking classic visual novel horror aesthetics.

Beyond chatting, the game lets you surf the web, create digital art, play a virtual piano and compose love letters within its diegetic world. Despite the AI-focused premise, the developers have committed to avoiding generative AI entirely in production.

Rock Paper Shotgun highlights a specific visual choice: "hand-drawn y2k cybercore art rendered in glorious standard definition." The retro resolution is deliberate, anchoring the experience in early-2000s aesthetics that match the game's transgressive tone.