Rating of
3.5/5
Match 3 + Dating Sim + Bewbs is Super Effective!
Chris Kavan - wrote on 02/06/16
HuniePop is, as far as I know, the only puzzle game/dating sim/adult hybrid game - at least that I have been gifted. The game came about from a successful Kickstarter campaign from HuniePot - more than doubling its $20,000 goal to ultimately wind up with $53,536 from over 1400 backers. And I have to say, the game is a lot of fun - even without the titillation, the puzzle aspect is (much like Candy Crush or the like) fun and addicting and the voice acting, for a game of this nature, is much better than expected. Some may pawn this off as making a quick buck off animated bewbs - and maybe on the surface that's exactly what it is - but don't write it off as only that - the game mechanics are solid, there is humor, personality and a whole lot of fun beneath the surface. I received this as a gift, but I'm glad I did!
Presentation: The artwork is pretty much what you would expect - anime-inspired girls of all types. From the naive girl-next-door college student to the introverted gamer girl to the hot professor to the porn star - you get a wide variety. The game is inclusive of all races - African American, Indian, Latino, Asian - it's the most diverse lineup you could ever imagine. Plus, as mentioned in the opening, the voice cast (who must have known exactly what they were getting into) do a pretty remarkable job of giving each girl a distinct personality. The bitchy girl sounds really bitchy, the demure yoga instructor sounds sweet and the cheerleader sounds energetic. Hell, the voice performances here, though they are stock stereotypes for the most part (diverse but still), are better than a lot of games out there - with much bigger budgets. I don't know how they got the most out of them (especially the final mini game, which consists mostly of moans, squeals and exclamations) but good on them.
The puzzle aspect is colorful and easy to learn (not always to master). The game pretty much just require a mouse to click. There is no time limit, so planning moves is pretty easy (though luck still plays an aspect in the outcome). I never had any kind of crash or problem (audio or visual). I didn't notice any glaring mistakes in terms of the audio or text in terms of misspellings or errors - granted, this isn't a Japanese port (as many such games in this category usually are) so that probably helps. The music is generic but pleasant enough. All told, there's not much to complain about in the presentation department.
Story: Not much, you're a single guy (or gal if you so choose) who is out for the night when approached by a beautiful woman. The woman actually turns out to be a love fairy (who you can eventually date yourself, you stud). She gives you a device to locate available women (don't worry - you run into everyone eventually) with the hope to date each one - and the ultimate goal to sleep with them. Beyond that, you can talk to the various women to learn about them (from birthday to cup size), shower them with gifts (that unlocks various hairstyles) and take them on dates (to unlock various outfits) - there isn't really an "end" and the conversations are mostly broad and easy to score points (each girl has their own personality - but i's pretty easy to see which way they lean on the issues). It's a very thin story, but it kind of has a point.
Gameplay: Lots of fun! Starting off, each girl has a profile. This gives you things like what their favorite trait is (these coincide with the puzzle aspect as you score more points based on what you match), favorite gifts, food and alcoholic drink. When you talk to the girls, a hunger meter drains that you can refill by buying food the like and gifting it to them. Food and gifts cost "Munie" which you earn by going on dates (a successful date earns more Munie). As you talk to girls you unlock information about them - height, weight, favorite season, color, cup size, etc. In conversations, successfully answering a question, successfully picking the right answer to broad questions or giving them gifts earns you "Hunie". Hunie is used exclusively to unlock your abilities - which include increasing the value of each match, and improving other aspects of the match game. Giving them unique gifts (which cost increasingly large amounts of Munie) earns you more Hunie when talking to them and giving them a gift they love (which is noted in the menu) unlocks a special gift that can only be used on dates. These can do anything from making certain tokens show up more often, giving you more moves or taking out large blocks of tokens in one swoop. Giving enough gifts unlocks different hairstyles for each girl.
Now, the puzzle aspect. When you go on a date (outfits are unlocked based on where the date takes you - anywhere from a farmer's market to a skating rink to a water park... provided it's a successful date, of course), you get a screen filled with various tokens. Each girl has a specific trait that gives you the most points - sexuality, flirtation, romance and talent. Matching three or more tokens gives you points. Matching the token that matches a girl's favorite trait gives you even more points. There are three other tokens - Pink Hearts - which increases a girl's overall attraction - the higher the attraction level, the more points you earn for any matches; Blue Tears represent sentimentality. Sentiment lets you use the unique date gifts you unlock (anywhere from 4-8 sentiment is needed based on which gift you use. Golden Bells - these give you an extra move when you match them. Finally, Broken Hearts you never want to match as they take away points - once again, the higher the attraction, the more points you lose for matching these. Pretty much you must balance matching hearts, sentiment and bells while trying to match the girls favorite trait. Use of gifts is key - especially ones that give you more moves. As you go on more dates (with the same or different girls) the point requirement grows. Late-game (or post-game alpha mode dates) can get tough - even with maxed-out stats and great gifts - luck does play a factor.
Finally, the adult aspect. Yes, the point of the game is to take girls on enough dates until you max out their love meter (three successful dates). Between dates, each girl will text you pictures that get more and more risque. For the final date, called a "night date" a successful date leads to the girl being invited to your room. This unlocks a final match game - now you can match any token (broken hearts are removed) with the goal being to match enough to meet a points requirement. This meter does decrease over time, so speed is the name of the game here. Each match also makes the girl moan and/or sequel with delight (it gets especially hilarious when you get a cascading match effect). Once you reach the point total, the girl gives one, final orgasmic outburst and you win - and unlock the final picture. If you have the uncensored version, yes, it's totally nude. What, were you expecting anything different?
Replayability: Granted, the game pretty much works the same every time (other than being able to play as either a male or female protagonist) but the puzzle aspect makes going back for a time or two very appealing. The game does feature a few hidden characters - Kyu, the love fairy is available as soon as you sleep with the first girl. The cat girl is unlocked by tossing out your goldfish gift while the voluptuous alien bounty hunter can be found by a series of events (look it up, it's easy enough to find) finally, Venus herself shows up if you successfully bed all the main girls.
Overall: Yes, this is marketed as an "adult" game for a purpose, but that doesn't mean you won't have a lot of fun with it. Hey, if you're a prude just play the censored version on Steam - or easily bypass the option and get the Full Monty is you know what I mean.
Presentation: 4/5
Story: 1/5
Gameplay: 4/5
Replayability: 3/5
Overall (not an average): 3.5/5
