If a few weeks ago anyone told me that one of the first games I'd play in 2015 was a puzzle game with dating sim elements, and a few nudie shots thrown in, I'd probably laugh and walk away, face glued to my screen playing Monster Monpiece. And what do you know, HuniePop made that happen. HuniePop is a pretty great mash-up that doesn't really take a lot of risks in the dating sim department, but still provides an entertaining and addicting cycle of gameplay.
Just to give a brief background, HuniePop was a successful Kickstarter (what isn't these days), raising $53k when only asking for $20k. Of course you could simply chalk it up to 'sex sells,' however I think it was the combination of gorgeous art, seemingly fun and familiar match-three puzzle gameplay and some amazing marketing by the developer Ryan Koons, teasing some risque images on the game's Twitter.
HuniePop revolves around you, the "I can't get a date to save my life" archetype, and a love fairy named Kyu, who just so happens to take pity on your virgin soul and offers guidance on how to approach, talk to, and woo various sexy women around town. The game allows you to choose between a male and female character, though you don't ever get to see them, but the girls respond to you based on what your sex is. It's not a huge change though, so don't expect a crazy different game based on what sex you choose to play as. Instead it's minor changes like "I like a guy who knows his way around" to "I like a girl who knows her way around." Either way, having the option is nice.
This is one of the more tame pictures you'll be awarded with after successful dates
As you progress through the town and meet various women, you can do a few things in order to get to know them better. You can chat them up and ask various questions about them, such as height, bust size, occupation, birthday, etc. It's important to pay attention because often they'll ask you whether you were paying attention and quiz you. That's where the HunieBee comes in. The HunieBee is a special phone given to you by the love fairy that tracks all information about every girl you meet, meaning you can always go and check on all the various stats and info, just in case they throw a curveball and quiz you. However, the game is smart enough to not let you cheat during the question. Talking to them and answering their questions correctly is the best way to earn Hunie, the game's experience points.
You can't keep chatting them up without offering them something to eat. The more food you give them, the more they'll want to talk to you. You can also opt to buy booze which if given at the right time can intoxicate them and provide even more Hunie for each question and answer. You can even shower them with various gifts that will award you with various amounts of Hunie. But all of this can be quite expensive, and that's where dating comes in.
That's right, dating actually earns you money in HuniePop. This is where the puzzle elements come in. At first glance, it's going to seem very familiar; bunch of colorful icons scattered on a grid, just ready and willing to be matched together. However there is one small difference to the traditional Bejeweled formula. Here you can drag an icon either horizontally or vertically across the entire board, displacing the other icons. It's not quite Puzzle & Dragons where you can move an icon anywhere on the board, but the displacement mechanic is still very similar to it. By dragging the puzzle pieces across, you can set up chain combos that will earn you a bunch of extra points. But what is the point of the puzzle mechanic? I'm glad you asked!
Not your typical match-three
Each circular piece on the board represents something that the girl likes, whether it's sexuality, talent, romance or flirting. Matching those will gradually fill up the date meter. Then there are heart icons which gradually increase your multiplier, allowing you to fill the bar faster. Tear icons represent sentiment, and matching those will allow you to use various items during the date. Bell icons allow you to take extra turns. And lastly broken heart icons decrease your points in the date bar. This all sounds relatively easy, except when you factor in that you have only 20 turns to max out your points. This is easy at first, but with each successful date, the date point pool increases, meaning you'll have to not only play smarter but also upgrade your stats using Hunie so you're awarded with more points with each successful match. After a few successful dates, you can take it to the bedroom where the puzzle game alters slightly, by making you constantly chain icons together (broken hearts don't show up here) and rack up points on a bar that constantly drains. Once you do, congrats, you're awarded with a dirty picture, that, based on whether you're playing the DRM version or the Steam version, will differ slightly.
HuniePop will unfortunately be met with a lot of criticism, which I think is uncalled for, considering the game isn't hiding what it is. But even then, you never actually perform any sexual activities on-screen, and you're only ever rewarded with a static image. What helps HuniePop's case is the cast of characters along with their dialogue. One look at the characters and you'd think that they're going to be your typical Anime stereotypes; the shy but busty nerd, the conservative teacher, the typical mean tsundere with a heart of gold, but the game defies all of those. The nerd isn't shy, she just hates being around other people, doesn't like the prospect of kids and hates FPS dudebros. The teacher is certainly not conservative, she doesn't really care much about her work, and prefers to be lazy. Then there is the mother and daughter who you meet separately, and completely unaware that they're related, until they mention their last name and the fact that the mother had a falling out with her daughter, probably because the daughter couldn't handle her mother being a porn actress. The sporty girl who hangs out at the gym 90% of the time is actually a single mom to a one year old, who has a few trust issues since the father walked out on her early on.
This little fairy helps you get laid
All of this baggage translates directly into the conversations. The young mother might ask you about things like the importance of commitment, and the choice of keeping a baby at a young pregnancy. The porn star on the other hand laughs at commitment, and won't be bothered by you having a few skeletons in your closet. By a few conversations, you feel like you know these girls, even though they're still largely caricatures of various stereotypes. The fact that each and every girl has full voice acting also helps bring them to life, much more than simply reading their lines would.
However, where the game suffers, at least from a dating sim perspective, is that no answer is a wrong answer. Sure, you might say something that will result in being called a jerk or an asshole, but it has absolutely no impact on the girls' affection toward you. The only downside is that you don't earn extra Hunie, but that's it. Other dating sims make you work toward being able to date a certain girl, but dating each girl here is a simple button press away. Upon meeting each girl, I painstakingly chose what I thought would be the best answers to get her to like me. On my second save file, I tried answering as differently as possible and still ended up being able to date them . Those looking for a deeper dating sim will be disappointed by this. It's also relatively short, as I was able to get through most of it in a single sitting (albeit it was a few hours), but there are some unlockable girls that are worth pursuing and will certainly extend that playtime. Wait until you meet Momo, she's a treat.
HuniePop is a puzzle game, first and foremost. But even puzzle gamers will be divided by the game's naughty nature. I won't simply score a game low because it's about dating and having sex with a bunch of attractively drawn females. The core game is fun and engaging, and if you're willing to overlook the extremely shallow dating sim elements, you just might enjoy it.
