Hump Day Husbandos: Jonah (Boyfriend Dungeon)

In August a free update dropped for Boyfriend Dungeon, a dating sim/dungeon crawling indie hybrid title that originally released last year; the update dropped in celebration of its first anniversary.

Secret Weapons, as the update is known, introduced new content including the Verona College dunj, more recipes, dates and encounters, and three more dateable/wieldable love interests. Here’s to Jonah, my favourite guy I can wield and woo in the game now thanks to this one update!

Who is Jonah?

In all honesty, I took quite a lengthy break from Boyfriend Dungeon for a few months — though this update brought me running back like my life depended on it. It was a genuine emergency for me to have another taste of Jonah, so I rather enthusiastically threw myself at him upon its release to exhaust every single new dialogue option I had available whenever my player character was around him.

That’s because Jonah was a pre-established character, having been introduced as someone who dated the player character’s cousin Jesse; we originally met him at a barbecue said cousin invites us to early in the game.

Jonah was already a massive teddy bear of a guy who was already my biggest comfort character of Boyfriend Dungeon, and with the new update bringing him more context and character depth, he’s been a constant joy to talk to further and dig deeper into — despite some of the conversations feeling a bit “down”. At least all the trips to Capulet Beach make for some idyllic scenes — turns out he’s quite the avid surfer!

Why we love Jonah

Jonah is an absolute sweetheart whose dates frequently consist of him and the player character actively supporting one another. Be it through him teaching the player character the ropes of surfboarding and being at their constant beck and call in case they can’t swim, or baring his heart and soul about his difficulties in appreciating himself as a human weapon because of a particular life event he’s struggling with, talking to Jonah is as much of a reality check as it is a warm and understanding hug.

His character arc is pretty relatable if not simple, with him unable to find permanent employment and therefore not feeling content enough in his current state of living; he struggles to find value in himself as a result. Said conflict comes from him being unable to hold down a stable job as an Axe; he’s not best suited to many jobs, and especially not within a kitchen, despite this providing an opportunity for him to use his chopping motions. No-one’s perfect!

Despite his story getting a bit too real at times, there’s a whole bunch of wholesomeness surrounding Jonah. Expect adorable puns and embarrassed flirting — plus a selection of interactions with animal characters, including a specific canine buddy who appears during later dates. Jonah’s relationship with man’s best friend just makes me love him even more. There’s an always appealing Best Friend Forever vibe to it, and getting dating sim action mixed with any form of pet interaction is just perfection for my tastes.

Why you will love Jonah

It’s always comforting and encouraging to spend time and bond with Jonah. He’s sweet, kind, compassionate and adorable, and has a personal arc that comes from an authentic place. His story truly captures the feeling of “give and take” in a relationship, be it platonic or romantic, and both he and the player character teach one another what they should appreciate in life. They’ve got each other, after all, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Mechanically speaking, Jonah is super fun to use — with the utmost respect for him as your weapon, that is — with his close-combat playstyle dealing heavy damage. In terms of gameplay, it is all about who suits your own personal dungeon-crawling preferences, of course, but it just so happens that I have a type, and I appreciate Kitfox Games adding his romance into the game as a free update. It feels like it’s for my personal benefit alone.

He’s glorious, super sweet and is my dream guy. My trips to Verona Beach are not stopping anytime soon now. Just as an FYI, please treat him to all the Potted Succulents and Concert Tickets you can get your hands on to befriend and/or romance him quicker. He’s worth it, and he deserves it.

Boyfriend Dungeon is available on the Nintendo Switch, Xbox whatnots and PC via Steam.

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