One of the simulation subgenres that we’ve seen only limited representation of on the Switch this generation, has been the old-school child-rearing sim. Dating back to at least 30 years ago, the simplicity of how these titles work absolutely line up with what would have been far more primitive system capabilities at the time. You’ll be tasked with a young ward, with the goal being to help them grow to be better than they are, and you’ll be given only so much time, money, energy, and whatever else per day to do it. Your ultimate goal is to improve their stats in a variety of areas on their way to becoming whatever it is they’re on the path to becoming. The great news was that this format kept the graphical complexity low, relying mostly on static images or graphics to represent the different tasks they could engage in. 

With Cute Bite we’re now seeing a variation on that theme, just in this case it is with a younger vampire you’ll be trying to help get to her full potential. Having devolved a bit over the long stretch of time she was kept locked in her crypt by her father for being disobedient, after his admittedly sketchy demise, she’s free once again but is somewhat of a blank slate. Your character, who worked for her father previously, decides to take on the task of helping her get back up to speed in order to regain her power and take up the mantle left by her father, but there are many paths that could be taken to get there.

That’s where the bulk of the experience rests, trying to figure out what traits will be the most valuable, and then figuring out how to get them developed. The problem is that your funds are limited, you’re really starting from scratch in most areas, and it isn’t unusual that by trying to boost one stat you’ll risk paying a penalty with others. What does help to add more to the actual story are pretty frequent side conversations she’ll have with you, questioning what’s happening, what has happened in the past, and how to try to proceed. What choices you make here will absolutely have an impact, so you’ll want to always consider them carefully as well.

The trick with this subgenre is to try to wrap your arms around how to best find a balance to things as quickly as possible. That will require some trial and error, and a bit of planning and pre-calculating what the costs will be to stick with an activity for an entire week, whether it’s having the proper money, energy, or health to pull them off. If you’re persistent and stick with a given strategy to the end you’ll be rewarded with a number of possible endings, which is nice, but to get the most out of the game you’ll need to really be committed to some tedium, and then simply enjoy what story beats you’ll get along the way.