C14 Dating is a nice, laid-back visual novel about romance and archaeology. (Like, seriously, lots of archaeology.) There isn't much of a plot: you are an American college student going abroad for a 2-month elective at an archaeological site in Belgium. There is little to no conflict, no "true route", etc. It's really all about interacting with the people you can date/become friends with, which is why I say it is a laid-back game.

Despite the lack of a plot, I would say that most of the game's strengths lie in its writing. The cast, which is pretty diverse--some characters have disabilities, as well as different sexualities and body types--is very loveable, and though some of them could be linked to certain dating sim tropes, they are well-rounded and not restricted to cliches. Interactions between characters and the MC are cute, and rather than a 'good end' and a 'bad end', each character has a 'romance end' and a 'friendship end' both of which made me smile like an idiot. Even if you fail to befriend anyone, nothing bad happens. It's just a game that exhales niceness all around. On another positive note, the music is fairly nice and the art is usually well-done, although some CGs look a little awkward (Deandre, particularly, looks smaller and thinner in his CGs than in his sprites; and there are some issues with facial angles).

On the other hand... I was somewhat disappointed in the stat-raising system. I've played very few VNs based on stats, but they would usually require some balance (you would eventually need all stats to be at a certain level, which requires a strategy to juggle all possible activities in order to keep that balance). This doesn't happen in C14. If you want to get into a character's route, you just need to spam the hell out of one option and follow them to the cave or lab whenever you can, save for a few exceptions (the game never tells you where Joan is and there is one event of Shoji's that takes place when he was supposed to be at the cave, yet he turns out to be at the lab for... some reason). While this may make the game easier for those who don't like stats to begin with, it makes the whole system feel dispensable. It really only plays a significant part (in which you need to somewhat balance your stats and choices) to get the Group Photo CG and the Best Alone End. The minigames are entertaining at first, but quickly become tedious. Last but not least, this is the VN with the least intuitive choices I've ever played since Amnesia. There are occasions in which all choices available feel "neutral", and others in which a choice causes an effect opposite to what you would've imagined (this happened a lot in Kyler's route, particularly).

All in all, I still enjoyed the game due to its characters and to how well some themes were handled (long-distance relationships, language barriers, friendship ends, and ESPECIALLY the asexual character route). I recommend it if you want a wholesome slice-of-life dating sim experience with little to no negativity and decent diversity. I do not recommend it if you're into dark, complex themes and/or very averse to stat-raising... or to using a guide. Because trust me, you'll probably need one.