I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of CrazyBunch's reboot of the venerable Leisure Suit Larry series, and they continue their good work here. This game serves as a direct sequel to 'Wet Dreams May Come,' which I quite liked. Most LSL games end with a 'true love' angle, which is then blown to bits when the next game starts as an excuse for Larry to be single again. Here, Larry continues to chase after the girl of his latest dreams, Faith, while sleeping with a bunch of other women in the meantime because swingers gonna swing. The first CrazyBunch game was heavily inspired by the original Leisure Suit Larry, and this one, fittingly, draws a lot of inspiration from LSL2, including the tropical setting and various other touches. It keeps the bright colors and fun energy the first game had, but adds a number of terrific quality-of-life features including a much-needed 'show me all the interactables' button (R.I.P. pixel hunting) and the ability to double-click to move between areas faster. Unfortunately, it also continues the tradition of spamming nearly EVERY screen with phallic and/or yonic objects, a joke that gets old real quick. Sometimes less is more. But the writing is fairly sharp otherwise, and the story, while deeply silly, does have a surprising amount of heart. The puzzle difficulty is also on the lower side by adventure game standards, making it accessible to anyone not put off by typical Larry shenanigans like casual sex, pig abuse, off-color remarks, bird abuse, nerd abuse, and wanton mayhem with a stolen helicopter. One thing the game could've used was a final coat of polish, though. Some VA lines are in the wrong place and the spelling can sometimes be off. My favorite error(?) was when someone forgot to hold shift and a line ended with !!111, and the VA read out the number as written and nobody caught it. Amazing. Still, this game was a nice bit of breezy fun and it's nice to see Larry alive and well.
The original Hunie Pop is one of gaming's great outliers. Most 'naughty' games are empty husks, offering what could barely even be considered gameplay while hoping to lure in costumers who somehow don't know that you can just Google 'naked ladies' any time you like. But Hunie Pop rose above the sweaty heap by delivering a high-quality match-3 game with color, charm and personality. Unsurprisingly, said success has led to a sequel, which employs the classic gambit of doubling up on the original's premise. Now, your self-insert avatar dates two ladies at once, in the name of a plot that is both completely arbitrary and that will get this review censored if I delve too deeply. The core gameplay is largely identical to the original game, but having to switch between two women adds a solid extra layer of strategy. Sadly, the social aspects of the game don't get the same upgrade. Talking to the women is such a huge stamina drain that you won't be doing much of it, leaving them as little more than stock stereotypes. (I wasn't expecting Disco Elysium levels of nuance here, but still.) Winning the puzzle will always make the two women become compatible, even if their short interaction beforehand suggested nothing of the sort. A much more robust social system would'be done wonders here to break up the endless 3-matching and give the women some texture. The fact that the game is also absurdly insensitive in places probably goes without saying. Graphically, the game is fine. Bright, simple and cheerful. The music is better, being catchy but not overbearing. Actually, the epic music for the final bosses is legitimately great; you could sneak it into a serious JRPG and nobody would notice. if you're just here for your match-3 addiction, this would be a fine buy on a sale. If the dating aspects of the game mean anything to you, you'll likely be let down - Persona, this ain't. If you just want cartoon nudity, Google is currently free to use.
The Spellcasting Series is three classic text adventure games by the legendary Steve Meretzky. The games cover the first three years of protagonist Ernie Eaglebeak's undergraduate run at Sorcerer University, and related shenanigans. A fourth game was planned but was never made, as the aging text adventure genre was put out to pasture. Modern audiences will see these titles as 'Harry Potter: The R-Rated College Years,' and that works as a basic descriptor. Ernie is a promising student of magic who just wants to become a sorcerer, but to the surprise of none, he gets pulled into circumstances which call upon him to save the day with his magic and his wits. And, incidentally, he has sex with a lot of gorgeous women. Or he doesn't - the games can be left in 'Nice Mode,' and the sex scenes are replaced with hilariously tongue-in-cheek, family-friendly activities. The world of Peloria will remind many of Discworld, with more nudity. It's a realm which has both sea monsters and shopping malls, and Meretzky uses this setting for maximum satirical value. '101' is the closest the series comes to classic fantasy, featuring a world-traveling tale full of dragons, amazons and gods. It's very episodic, with most of the islands centered around a distinct theme or gimmick that the player has to figure out. I love the puzzle variety and it shows that Peloria is a delightfully strange little world. '201' is more structured, where Ernie has to fulfill a difficult hazing task by the end of each day for his fraternity. As it takes place almost entirely on-campus, it has the most collegiate feel to it. '301' is basically a beer-soaked beach comedy in adventure game form, taking place at Spring Break. The tacky resort setting is a great change of pace, and Ernie's lovably lame fraternity brothers add a nice little sense of camaraderie to the mix. The set is an easy recommendation at so low a price. And kudos to GOG for the scans of all the delightful inserts and hintbooks.
Leisure Suit Larry is back. Again. Much like the protagonist itself, this series gets shot down a lot, only to take another shot. And this time, at least, I think it deserves ione. This is a solid, colorful point-and-click adventure game that pays homage to the series' roots while bringing its core concept into the modern era. The game begins with Larry waking up in current-day Lost Wages, without aging. How? Nobody could possibly care, so the game just plows ahead to its premise: Larry has to hook up a lot on the in-game version of Tinder to win a shot at Faith, the Prune executive he instantly decides is his dream woman. It's vintage Larry - trying (and failing) to secure the affections of the women he meets while building towards the 'final girl' that will change his life forever. Until the sequel, at least. The throwback structure contrasts nicely with the modern setting, which acknowledges the changing social mores since Larry's prime. Granted, the games were never as chauvinistic as some folks alleged - for all of Larry's hormonal antics, the women were always in control - but it's still weirdly charming to see an aging lounge lizard serve as the best man at a gay wedding. Of course, the game has no problem skewering its new liberal buddies, with ample barbs aimed at hipsters, safe spaces, and Apple. That said, video gaming has a lively reactionary population, so if you're among them, this game will probably trigger you. The game is solid production-wise. I like the art style, and most of the music and vocal performances are good. I was pleasantly surprised to see Jan Robson back as Larry. It did crash once on me, though, and a handful of interaction responses were clearly not the right ones. It's stable, but needs a solid patch. The game also features a number of objects or interactive items bordering on 'pixel hunt' status, which I could live without. But yeah, welcome back, Larry. Stick around this time, you old rascal.
