Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Don’t Dry Review (iOS)

Written by Anthony L. Cuaycong

Title: Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Don’t Dry
Developer: CrazyBunch
Publisher: Assemble Entertainment GmbH
Genre: Adventure
Price: $4.99

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For a while there, it appeared as if Leisure Suit Larry would be consigned to the dustbins of videogame history. The two releases from the series after the turn of the millennium were decided busts, and not simply because original designer and developer Al Lowe had nothing to do with them. Unlike the first six games that featured main protagonist Larry Laffer, Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude and Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust boasted of a cruder, more direct approach to humor. The change in tone and treatment of sexual situations was as deliberate as the use of a new character to headline the releases, but failed to bring about the intended results.

In late 2011, however, publisher Replay Games took on the task of remaking Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards. The plan was to tap into Lowe’s desire to, in his words, “redeem my creation” and come up with a modernized version of the title that launched the franchise. After a successful Kickstarter campaign, the game received the high-definition audio-visual treatment along with marked changes in interface, introduced new characters and puzzles, and found itself in several platforms. In other words, it got a new lease on life. For all its politically incorrect themes, it had gamers who grew up in the eighties and nineties waxing nostalgic. At the same time, it tickled the fancy of the younger set with its willingness to walk the fine line between being naughty and being offensive.

Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Don’t Dry serves as the follow-up to the second remake of the original, but, again, without the involvement of Lowe. CrazyBunch, a small development studio based in Hamburg, Germany, best known for virtual reality games, brings the title character to the 21st century with nary an explanation at the start of the game. He simply awakens in a dark room unaware of his circumstances, and, after a short sequence designed to give players a quick tutorial of the interface, finds himself using a manhole cover for an elevator in order to get to street level. He recognizes Lefty’s Bar, but little else. Inside, he gets to talk to the owner of the watering hole, who tells him he has been missing for 30 years.

What comes next is around 12 hours’ worth of fish-out-of-water hijinks that has Larry staying true to himself despite the modern setting – which is to say still chasing skirts while displaying biting humor seemingly more fit in his past. His ultimate objective is to win over Faith, veritable goddess at Prune Inc. and secretary to head honcho BJ Prune. In order to do so, however, he needs to solve puzzles, collect items, and complete tasks, including, yes, going on dates via the Timber app on his PiPhone. If it sounds easy, be forewarned: it’s not. Unlike a plethora of other point-and-click adventures, Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Don’t Dry requires players to note descriptions of objects to understand how they can be properly used, and, occasionally, combined with others so as to arrive at desired outcomes.

Which should be all well and good, except that, on iOS, Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Don’t Dry suffers from glitches that bring down the user experience. Thankfully, the immersive gameplay encourages patience. Players who opt to cope with the technical hurdles should be amply rewarded. Additionally, there is the option of jumping straight to the Epilogue, but it would be spoiling the fun. After all, the game is all about the journey and not the destination. It’s a satisfying romp all told, and not at all a bummer at $4.99 despite the bugs. And since it can be enjoyed in small doses, it’s perfect on the go. Recommended.

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THE GOOD

• Immersive fish-out-of-water adventure
• Retains the tone of the series
• Challenging puzzles
• Lively audio-visual presentation

THE BAD

• Suffers from glitches
• Constant clicking can lead to repetitive audio cues
• Spelling mistakes can put off

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RATING: 7.5/10

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