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House Party
PC (Steam)
There's a Party in My Pants and YOU'RE Invited!
3.5/5 stars
It has been a long road for House Party - released in early access waaaaay back in 2017 and savaged by the few critics who reviewed it (House Party still likes to advertise the Rock, Paper, Shotgun review calling it the worst game of 2017) but it was wildly popular in its initial release in 2018. Oh, it helps that the game is essentially an adventure where the main objective is to sleep with as many people as possible - and you can also punch, pee and get naked as you please. Steam even de-listed it at one point before allowing it back (with censorship) and an optional AO patch. Also, you can't stream this on Twitch so don't even try. Despite its history, House Party is actually pretty fun - but if you actually want to make progress with the girls (or guys if that's your thing) I heartily recommend a walkthrough as some of the events can become convoluted as hell to reach the intended outcome (out cum? - boom).
Looks and Stuff: The game just received an HD upgrade but you can still tell this is very much a 2018 release. The character models are decent but there is a lot of clipping (mainly with the hair I find) and the spicy scenes are the worst offenders when it comes to showing its age. One thing the game excels at is the voice acting. There are a lot of lines and the game is fully voiced (but you still play as the classic "silent" protagonist) and features some actual celebrities/influencers - the biggest being Doja Kat but also the Game Grumps (Dan Avidan and Arin Hanson), Liz Katz (DLC) and Lety Does Stuff. Still, even the regular cast does a good job of being their character (snotty smart girl, the ditzy drunk, the straight-edge sober jock, the shy one, the porn star and so on). Hilariously the game features just one song (unless you go through some lots of hoops to unlock the entire playlist) - but even that isn't so bad. The game is also pretty self-contained - one house, two stories, a garage and a back yard (with hot tub, fire pit and gazebo). There are a lot of items you can use/pick up - but, as stated, many times how you use them determines how the story will ultimately play out. The game supports a controller, but I found it easier to use classic keyboard/mouse.
Story: This is a game about getting laid so, not much? With a distinct 90s aesthetic, you (as a guy or now gal) are new in town and your BFF decides to invite you to a house party to get to know some people. I haven't played as the female character (as of yet) but the characters are the same: Derek (your friend) who may or may not be in a relationship with party host Madison - who has a rivalry with her sister, Ashley. Patrick is the cousin of Madison and Ashley and frankly no one likes him - is very fond of saying "Brah". Frank is the self-appointed security - he just showed up and because he is straight-edge sober just locked up all the liquor - and is accompanied by his "student" Leah. Amy is a shy girl who is thinking about joining a sorority. Stephanie is the party-hard girl. Brittany is a tad embarrassed by her outfit and may not party unless you can convince her (and is more fond of the ladies). Rachel seems to know she's in a video game, somehow, and also happens to be friends with Vickie Vixen - an actual porn star - but getting her to the party is its whole own thing. Katherine is the smarter-than-everyone stuck-up B - but she's having problems with her boyfriend and maybe you can spin that to your advantage - also, she's key to getting the Game Grumps to show up. Lety (aka Lety Does Stuff) can also show up playing Ashley's Spanish tutor - and if you can get her to come out of her shell, well, you know - she'll do "stuff". Also, Doja Cat is hanging out behind the fence and, if you get the DLC, Liz Katz will show up for a murder mystery party - and some cosplay to boot. Also, you can pretty must sleep with everyone - but not in one playthrough - and I wasn't kidding about following a guide - some of the wild stuff you need to do isn't telegraphed at all and it's easy to misuse an item and screw yourself. Luckily it doesn't take too long to get though a few scenarios so just make sure to save often and go back if you screw things up.
Gameplay: A first-person adventure game where you can interact with various people and objects around you. A lot of the game is picking the right dialogue in the right order and getting people to like you. Everyone has two stats - friendship and love - and getting both of these to at or near the top is key to getting laid. But, as it happens, helping one person may mean screwing someone else over (like sisters Madison and Ashley) so you will never be able to make everyone happy in one playthrough. Also, many characters have multiple paths that can lead you to the ultimate goal - so there is that as well. Besides talking you can also fight, throw things, dance or just whip out your dong and pee all over (or masturbate if you really want to). Also, doing that in front of people tends to make them unhappy - uh, not that I would know. Walk, talk, screw - that's the name of the game!
Replay value: The game just added a female option and with the sheer amount of crap you can do, the replay is off the charts.
Final Verdict: Boobs, boobs, boobs, beer, beer, beer, naked, naked, naked, sex, sex, sex, brah, brah, brah and Doja Cat.
Presentation: 3/5
Story: 3/5
Gameplay: 3/5
Replay: 5/5
Overall (not an average): 3.5/5
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