Gayme of the Week – Trouble Comes Twice
Trouble Comes Twice is a bisexual romantic comedy visual novel from Foxglove Games starring a pair of fraternal twins named Jace and Hazel. Despite the fact that neither of them have ever dated anyone before, the twins make a bet to see which one of them can get a partner first.
The game is framed as a fourth-wall-breaking rom-com where the twins read off of a script directly to the player. Through this set-up they layout their past dating history, which is to say none. But both twenty-somethings want to try being in a relationship, so they make a wage to see which of them can start one first. They ask the player to choose which one of them they think will win, which is how you choose which twin you want to play as. Hazel and Jace have unique personalities, and this translates over to their interactions with the dateable characters in Trouble Comes Twice, providing a good amount of replayability.
Once you have chosen the character you want to play as, the duo introduce their potential love interests — all of whom are part of their friend groups/social circles. There are two boys and two girls in this cast, and either twin can date any of the four. Each love interest has two possible endings — one that leans more traditionally romantic, and one that’s more dramatic. If you complete both routes for a character, you will unlock an epilogue sequence with them.
Though the early-game writing in Trouble Comes Twice is fairly cheesy and a bit hard to swallow (this feels like an intentional writing choice, but it doesn’t quite work), the pacing of the routes actually feels more organic than many other dating sims I’ve tried. While you choose which of the love interests you want to pursue before following their route, the relationships develop over the course of the playthrough and don’t feel forced or fan service-y.
Trouble Comes Twice is available now for PC and Mac on Steam and itch.io
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