We're out for love again as Larry Laffer in the latest instalment of the Leisure Suit titles
It's been thirty three years since Al Lowe and Sierra plunged us unsuspecting folk into the Land of the Lounge Lizards kicking off a barrage of raunchy, snickering Leisure Suit titles. Those who set foot in Lefty's for the first time are well aware of the stories Leisure Suit games spin: Larry, a balding man in his forties has a series of adventures in the way to find love... well, I say love, but let's be real: the guy's trying to get laid and will do just about anything to achieve that goal. You, as a player, navigate Larry in his famous point and click style around the place to solve obscure puzzles pertaining to potentially pleasing women.
Times have changed though! Without getting too specific, themes and the jokes made on them in 1987 aren't acceptable nowadays--a cradle which Leisure Suit Larry has always rocked firmly within. Before developers CrazyBunch took over, it always felt like Larry was somehow doomed to remain stagnant with his sleazy T&A cracks--one liners that anyone beyond thirteen years old would probably wince at. Personally, I've followed every game as a fan and out of curiosity, and watching the evolution of what it meant to push the envelope with Larry Laffer as your pilot. It's been rough at times, I'm not going to lie, but there's a silver lining...and CrazyBunch have absolutely done what I thought was the impossible: update Larry into the modern world, have it still be fun without sacrificing the same rascally spirit the classic Leisure Suit games held before it.
SPOILERS -
Wet Dreams Dry Twice is the sequel to Wet Dreams Don't Dry--part two of Larry's 21st century reboot. In order to talk about the plot of Wet Dreams Dry Twice, there will be some plot spoilers. That being said, Larry finds himself in yet another pickle with his pickle--stranded on the island of Cancúm after the events of Don't Dry and getting strong armed into marrying before his time. Faith, cast to sea is now missing and all poor Larry wants to do is gain some closure. As it turns out though, Faith is alive but missing...thus the hijinks begin to get off of Cancúm and sniff the trail out that she unknowingly left behind in an effort to 'rescue' her.
For the most part I'll speak on Don't Dry and Dry Twice as a collective in terms of gameplay, graphics and sound as they could almost be compared to a two part split down the middle Kill Bill style. But first--how did CrazyBunch handle the evolution of Leisure Suit's famous crude humour?
Drumroll please! Larry's salacious humour was scooped up and sorted out with the magic of time travel! In Don't Dry, he's quite literally transported to the future from the eighties, dropped down and expected to adhere to today's standards of what's socially accepted right off the bat. Of course, Larry struggles as his tongue never stops with the double entendres, but through 'sensitivity training', he learns very quickly what will get him slapped across the face in a 2018 mindset. This is upheld in the sequel Dry Twice as Larry is still ongoing and constantly getting checked into line about what's appropriate and inappropriate to joke about. Without sacrificing ANYTHING, CrazyBunch has fully managed to keep the spirit of Larry alive and well. This is a comment on both reboot games, but never have I been so impressed by an update of a character's well.....character. Seamlessly pulled off to the point where it's not dwelled on and affects the story in a hugely positive way as you can still play these games with a cheeky smirk on, but without feeling like a creep.
With point and clicks, there's a certain amount of foothold placed in the design and art of the game. After all, some screens you'll have to look at for quite some time if you find yourself stuck on them. The animation in Don't Dry and Dry Twice is nothing less of extraordinary and inspiring. In no way, shape or form were we let down with this one: colour palettes are inviting without being too distracting, beautiful even when most of the screen is covered in, ahem, phallic-based structures. The characters are unique at every end of the spectrum: some old favourites to die-hard Leisure Suit fans thrown in too! I'll say here that I absolutely cannot get enough of these games' art style, so much so that it felt like a must to buy the digital artbooks to enjoy, which is a rare move for me.
Gameplay really feels like an older Leisure Suit game as well. There's the obvious right in front of you as a point and click, then there's the intricate puzzles that completing one 'simple' task provide. Almost everything on the screen has some interaction involved with it, plenty of easter eggs hidden across the place for the curious! Solving some of the puzzles can really prove to be challenging indeed with a huge feeling of reward when you do get them right. Stuck? I'd say there's no crime in looking up the odd solution--Dry Twice and Don't Dry have such great stories and are so much fun all the way through, that even when you break down and go a bit cheaty on the solutions you really do still enjoy watching how things progress. I believe there's no real wrong way to play these reboot games because Larry's newfound adventures are truly entertaining from start to finish.
If you were an old Leisure Suit fan, curious about them, have a crude sense of humour or just looking for a cheeky point and click--these are absolutely a must. Genuinely funny, great to look at and a seriously good time to play...I honestly can't be more impressed as a fan of the franchise and an overall lover of point and clicks. If you've been on the fence about how Larry might be portrayed in this day and age, I can assure you that he's in very good hands with CrazyBunch--and a bravo to them for doing what I thought would surely be the impossible! Highly, HIGHLY recommend folks, and I can't stress that enough. Adored it from beginning to end and will be first in line if part three makes it to the presses!