I Can Smell You From Here

You sit across from Idimya on your first-ever date, and she has just asked a follow-up question about something you made up two minutes ago. That moment is what I Can Smell You From Here is built around. One small lie demands another, then another, until the story either holds together or you end up on the menu. It is a short visual novel about a dating app match who is clearly not human, played by a protagonist who badly wants to seem like a better man than he is.

How Lies Stack Up in I Can Smell You From Here

Every scene runs on dialogue choices. You move between options with the arrow keys or the scroll wheel, then hold Enter, Space, or the left mouse button to confirm, so an answer only locks in once you commit to it. A single run holds roughly fifteen choices, which sounds small until you notice that each one shapes what Idimya believes about the person across the table. Holding the same button for three seconds fast-forwards dialogue you have already read.

Beginners usually treat the date like a normal one and pick whatever sounds most charming. Players who simply agree with everything report landing in Ally endings on their first attempt, which is pleasant but only shows you a fraction of the game. The real puzzle is remembering what you claimed, since the tension comes from keeping your invented details from contradicting each other.

The scroll wheel lets you review recent dialogue, which is the closest thing to a safety net.

Reading Idimya’s Alignment Compass

After each run, the game shows a psychological evaluation built around an alignment compass, with your pin placed somewhere relative to hers. Overlapping her pin is impossible by design, so the goal is always how close you can get rather than a perfect match. Some players chase the smallest possible distance, while others go the opposite way and see how different their values can become while still leaving the table alive.

Reaching the Rival side takes deliberate effort early in the date. Assertive answers help, and so do answers that make you sound curious and respectful about humans, such as saying you love studying them. Those choices rub Idimya the wrong way and push the pin away from hers.

Completionists will notice that this compass is the reason runs feel so different. The restaurant and the waiter stay the same, yet a handful of early answers decides which conversations open up later.

Five Endings in I Can Smell You From Here: Prey, Rival, Ally, and Crush

The community count is two Rival endings, two Ally endings, and one Prey ending. Prey is the outcome most people expect after reading the content warning, while the Ally route includes an Ally Crush ending that some players reach on their very first run. The hardest one to find is the Rival ending where Idimya develops a crush and spares your life, and the usual hint is to convince her to give up eating humans, as in the player who talked her into going vegan and drinking tomato juice.

None of the positive endings is a canonical happily ever after, and that is intentional. Idimya stays a monster even when the date goes well, and the story leaves what happens next to you. Many players love that restraint, while others finish an Ally Crush run wishing for one more scene.

The premise itself is divisive too. A protagonist described as an incel, combined with body horror, cannibalism, and sexual themes, has drawn loud debate, including from people who never played the game. The writing leans on dark humor and satire rather than shock for its own sake, so horror fans and visual novel readers who enjoy branching dialogue tend to get the most out of it.

Questions Players Ask About I Can Smell You From Here

How long does one run take, and how long does seeing everything take?

A single run lasts about half an hour and contains around fifteen choices. One player reported roughly four hours to collect all five endings, so plan an evening if you want the full set. Fast-forwarding already-seen lines by holding Enter or Space for three seconds makes repeat runs much quicker.

How do you get the Rival ending where Idimya spares you?

Start by being assertive in the early choices and choose answers that make you sound fascinated by humans. Then steer the conversation toward convincing Idimya to become a pacifist or vegan. Players who only reach Ally endings after suggesting she stop eating people usually need to change those early answers, not the later ones.

What does the alignment compass show at the end?

It places your pin against Idimya’s and shows how close your values sat to hers during the date. The pins can never fully overlap, so even the warmest Ally Crush run leaves a visible gap. Players use it as a score to chase, aiming either for the closest pin or the furthest one that still survives.

I Can Smell You From Here works because every polite answer at the table is also a small bet against Idimya’s appetite. Whether you steer your pin on the compass toward Ally, Crush, or Rival, the date ends with a monster who stays a monster and a protagonist who learns how far one lie can stretch. Replaying to see where the next evaluation lands is the real hook.