
DATING START!
A downloadable visual novel for Windows, macOS, and Linux
The fan visual novel where you get to fall in love with Sans!
This is a non-commercial, non-affiliated fanwork based on the game UNDERTALE by Toby Fox. I highly recommend playing that before you play this visual novel.
You can play that here.
Fall into the Underground and fall in love with Sans the skeleton! You can also befriend others along the way! Have fun spending more time with the monsters you've grown to love!
Thank you for taking the time to check out my passion project! This is a love letter to the game Undertale! It is a game that has truly touched me.

- Meaningful choices!!
- Meaningful moments!!
- One (1) dateable skeleton named Sans!
- A ton of puns! A skele-TON!
- 4+ hours of playtime
Accessibility Options:
- Self voicing, image captions, audio captions, open dyslexic font option
Q: How can I clear my game to a clean slate?
A: Instructions for Windows here: https://itch.io/post/2792964
Instructions for MAC here: https://itch.io/post/3390388
Q: I'm getting an error when trying to download on the itch.io app.
A: The visual novel is incompatible with the itch.io app. Please try downloading it via the website instead.
Q: What platforms will this be available on?
A: Currently, I'm only focusing on a PC/Mac/Linux release.
Q: Are you planning on releasing this on mobile/web?
A: No, I do not have plans to release to mobile or web. I do not have a way of testing out mobile builds. And Dating Start! exceeds the recommended filesize of a Ren'Py web build. Please read this to understand more about why.
Q: Will this be translated into _____________?
A: Right now, I do not have any plans to translate. I'm sorry. :c
Q: How much does this stray from canon?
A: This is a visual novel where you can FALL IN LOVE WITH SANS. The base concept is already straying way off canon.
Q: How many love interests are there?
A: Only one (1). Sans the skeleton.
Q: Who do you play as?
A: It's you, the player! (You do NOT play as Frisk, you play as yourself.)
Q: When does this take place?
A: After a Neutral Route. The Family Ending (Flawed Pacifist) to be exact.
Q: How many routes/endings does this have?
A: Three. True Love. True LOVE (No Love). Secret Route.
Q: I played through once and got to Flowey at the end. Is that it?
A: Nope. You gotta RESET to see the rest of the story. Dating Start tells its story through multiple playthroughs. Or you can just end at one playthrough. It's up to you.
| Status | Released |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Release date | Feb 10, 2021 |
| Author | DerpyChoCho |
| Genre | Visual Novel |
| Made with | Ren'Py |
| Tags | Fangame, Romance, sans, sans-undertale, sans-x-reader, Undertale |
| Average session | A few hours |
| Languages | English |
| Inputs | Keyboard, Mouse |
| Accessibility | Blind friendly |
Download
Install instructions
Don't forget to unzip the folder before playing!
- PC: Right click on the zipped folder and select "Extract All"
- MAC: Double click the zipped folder.
Within the new, unzipped folder, the application will have a RED heart icon with the title "DatingStartVN"

Development log
- Update - v1.0.3Mar 15, 2023
- Mmishee Illustration (+Wallpaper and Icons!!)Nov 01, 2021
- Dating Start! - v1.0.2Apr 18, 2021
- Dating Start! - v1.0.1 Released!Feb 20, 2021
- Dating Start! v1.0.1 in Progress!Feb 17, 2021
- "True LOVE" Walkthrough (aka "No Love" route)Feb 15, 2021
- Dating Start! - OUT NOW!Feb 10, 2021
- DATING START! RELEASE DATE (2/10/2021)Jan 25, 2021






Comments
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How do I start playing it?
how do i beat the papyrus puzzle???
what do I do if after the genocide route I want to go back to a love rute but can’t since Chara is in charge?
Q: How can I clear my game to a clean slate?
A: Instructions for Windows here: https://itch.io/post/2792964
Instructions for MAC here: https://itch.io/post/3390388
This game literally made me tear up dude
okay so im doing my first play through and ohmygod its so cute and actually better than expected. Definitely play more than the once!! Unfortunately skip doesnt stop at changes, only at choices or transitions, so i actually missed the first change until i was asked to drop the xxx. i love games like this
I'm so in love with this game! It's wholesome and well done! Thank you so much <3
bro this is so good and the end scene litrety made me cry, its so so good aaaaa!!!, i will play this like a million nonillion times. i love it!! ( i can not play the secret route cus bro i can't break sans's heart so sorry no secret route for me)
beyound cute i loved it so much
esto es arte
When I first played this several years ago, I could only bear to play it once, because I didn't want to take Sans's hard-won happiness from him again. It was a wonderful experience then, and several years later on a fresh computer I found myself wanting to re-experience it. So now I have the same problem, lol. Sorry secret route, I suppose I will never see you because I just can't hurt Sans like that!
Thank you for all the hard work you put into this game, it is still an unforgettable gem even years later.
С переводчиком в руках было немного неудобно, но это не помешало мне получить удовольствие от прохождения!
Это лучшее, что я проходила за последнее время!
До концовки я плакал пару раз и плакал в третий раз во время нее.
Это лучшее, что я испытывала за всё время!
MY FAVORITE DATING SIM OMG TS IS AMAZIIINNNNGGGG
Spoilers.
I played until my soul got ubsorbed and undownloaded. juat redownloaded and it kept the data. 10/10
This is the best Undertale love game I've ever played. I LITERALLY cried so many times.
This game proves if you look hard enough, you will find gems like these in the mountains of unfinished ones that were long forgotten.
You can feel every detail has that heart, soul, and effort put into it that sticks with you even after you finish the game completely. I'm forever grateful for this experience, as I've long been a fan of Undertale, and I'm glad I even tried it. I'm glad I gave this game a chance even though it was a download-only game. The way this game sticks so well to how the original characters would act makes me want to play this over and over, and this will forever be my comfort game to come back to when I'm down in my dumps about myself.
I love empathy, and this game IS empathy.
Thank you, DerpyChoCho, for putting care and effort into your game. This is Pasta signing out.
yeah i refuse to do the LOVE route. Nah. I think i'm good chat. never again.
one i finished the true love run and try to play again the screen stays dark with a kind of windy sound playing and nothing happens, redownloading the game doesnt fix it and i wanted to try and get a different ending that i missed. anyone know how to fix this?
nvm i just had to wait T^T curse me for being impatient
though i do wonder if there is a way to truely actually reset the game? like completely start over without the stuff that happens after a no mercy run affecting the game
I’ve tried by deleting the 963 file bc in the original game that’s how you reset, but it doesn’t really seem to work?
Wait how I ended with Papyrus 😭😭😭
I never make comments, I think this is my first ever, but for this game, I need to comment. THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST FUCKING GAMES I’VE EVER PLAYED, AND I’VE PLAYED ALMOST EVERY SINGLE GAME EVER MADE. THIS IS EASY TOP 3 FOR ME. I PLAYED EVERY SINGLE ENDING ALL IN ONE SITTING. THE GAME WAS THAT FUCKING GOOD. I EXPECTED SOME 20-MIN FUNNY JOKE GAME, NOT THIS FUCKING MASTERPIECE. GOD BLESS YOU FOR MAKING IT. IT’S GENUINELY A FUCKING AMAZING, BEAUTIFULLY MADE GAME. I’M RECOMMENDING IT TO EVERY SINGLE PERSON I KNOW. I thank you from the bottom of my very heart for making this masterpiece.
i love ts sm
peak
Just finished it with a good ending, and I'm afraid I won't even try for other endings because of how wholesome the story is! The relationship with Sans is also sweet and heartwarming I can't stop smiling! This game also brings Undertale's atmospheres really well. Great job!
bro bro, honestly I loved the game too much that every time i squealed haha. I absolutely adored the way it was exactly like undertale, Sans being self aware and even flowey saying those lines when you reset again and again. I highly recommend this.
i have no idea how to open it
me neither, its stressfull
Omg i played this game when it was only a demo and now ive found it again!
This is beautiful, really one of the best love letters to any game ive ever played.
Of course as any good person would i deleted it after the happy ending, I aint taking no chances with that punkass weed, just like with undertale.
i was so anxious XD
Oh how teenager me wouldve screamed while playing this game fully.
Its very well, im still collecting the pieces of my jaw from the floor.
Amazing execution. Characters are in character. the soundtrack is bombastic. Story is phenomenal. Even the puns are punny too!
Thank you so much for this oportunity to relive my teenage crush fangirling moments again now as an adult too XD.
Undertale is really my favorite game so im very thankful.
Love you 4 ever. Take care!
I know this game isn't exactly new but I feel really compelled to make a comment anyways. I never got to experience the main game Undertale for the first time since I didn't have a gaming computer and had to watch lets plays (I have one now of course), and Undertale remains one of my fav games of all time. This fangame is one of the best I've ever played in any fandom, perhaps because it stays true to Undertale's themes, but I definitely feel how it's a love letter for Undertale. If I had been able to experience Undertale blindly for the first time, I think I would've felt similarly to how I felt playing this game, so thank you for letting me go through those emotions.
Without getting too into spoilers, let’s just say that your actions have consequences, just like in the main game, and really made me feel it. I literally felt the weight of my sins in my chest, iykyk. I came in thinking this is just a silly, cool fangame about dating sans but I left literally feeling hopeless. And I don't even like sans that way. Derpychocho if you see this... I severely dislike you (affectionate)
Hate to ask cus it sounds stupid, but are there walkthroughs for the happy ending? He keeps telling me we could have had a better conversation and I just wanna do it perfectly-
How that conversation goes doesn't matter too much. :) Whatever you did is fine!
Let's just say that in order to get the bad ending, you really have to try to get it. You would know you're going for the bad ending.
Also, you won't get the good ending until your second playthrough (after resetting).
I hate games that have bad endings
Unfortunately I also hate games that end
Welp. I'm a monster. You can't expect anything different from an Undertale fan game but wow
Very good, I cried a lot lol
agree
10/10 who would not agre
I am a huge undertale fan so this game is really fun
I pulled an all nighter playing this and I'd do it all again!! I got the Sans ending and it made me teary eyed, I know it sounds silly but I wish he was real and that I was in the underground so much, and this game embodied that feeling. The writing, the art, the music, EVERYTHING. It was all incredible, all the effort put in to making it was worth it tenfold, this gave me the feeling that playing Undertale for the first time did. As meaningful as I can put it through writing, Well done, you did a perfect job and I wouldn't change a thing. This game made me happy and very few things in life manage that. Thank you so much <3
10/10 :)
I absolutely love games like this and this is so well done?? I started the game feeling absolutely gutted, because you know, Asgore, but as I went on it started feeling more bittersweet. Beautiful game.
This is such a beautiful game oh my god... let me tell you I cried multiple times, it wrenched my heartstrings SO HARD
I just finished the game and let me tell you, my cheek was BURNING from smiling like BASWJAJWJAW I LOVE THIS SO SO MUCH
HIIIIII sooo yk how there's a new update and all?? the blank slate instructions arent working, can you update it? btw, this was a really fun game, i loved it!!
The way you remix the music just absolutely makes me melt. like, the dummy fight was such a bop oml I freaking love it sm
Oh I didn't make that song! You'll find the credits for each song in the music room in "Extras"!