HuniePop (Steam)


*Note, this game contains a lot of uhh... adult content. Let's leave it at that.

So in my quest to expand my gaming repertoire, I decided to play a full-on dating game. I enjoy playing matchmaker in G rated games because romance is cute, but I've never actually had an interest in the more adult ones. So why not, I said, and gave this game a try!

HuniePop is a dating sim/puzzle game in which you play as a dude or a lady and try to pick up chicks. Your characters is apparently pretty hopeless in the romance department though, but not to worry, the scantily clad love fairy is here to help you!



In this game, there are 8 women initially available for romancing and an additional four are unlockable. The game is split in to four periods of the day: Morning, afternoon, evening, and night. The time will only progress once you move from one girl to the next, making conversation and the like. Different girls have different schedules. As you talk to them, you can get to know them by asking questions like where they work, what their hobbies are, how old they are, etc. They'll also ask the questions back to you occasionally to see if you've been paying attention. They'll also ask you some personal questions, and answering to their liking will earn you more "Hunie", which is used to upgrade your stats for the puzzle aspect of the game.



Aside from talking to them, you can also give them gifts. Ones they'll like are marked with stars and hearts, and giving them gifts can reward you with new hairstyles for them. They have a hunger meter which will deplete the longer you talk to them, and you'll need to feed them to keep their attention. I can't speak for all women, but this is pretty accurate for myself, honestly. Or you can go talk to some other ladies and return later to talk to her some more. You can also give them alcohol at night which makes them more open to affection but I never did that so I can't comment too much.



You can also ask the girls on dates. After each successful date, the girls will gain a heart (up to 5), which will award you more hunie and monie. Depending on the time of day you ask them out, you'll go one one of three different dates, which will give you another outfit for them. After the first few dates they will send you uh... increasingly erotic pictures. After four successful dates, asking the girl out at night will result in an overnight visit, IF YA KNOW WHAT I MEAN!! (I mean sex time). There is some nudity, mostly of the upper region, but you won't actually be watching the deed or anything like that.



The dates are a kind of Candy Crush-esq type mini-game. There are different tokens that represent different stats (romance, talent, etc), and each girl has a specific stat she likes the most and dislikes the most. These can be leveled up with your hunie stuff. There are also three special kinds of tokens that have extra purposes, such as allowing the use of a gift on a date for benefits, or restoring turns. There will also be broken heart icons which are to be avoided at all cost. The date is won if you fill up the point bar before running out of turns. Winning the date also awards you with cash (I wish) for buying more gifts and stuff.

Characters:
(Ordered from favourite to least favourite)
Beli: A yoga instructor, she's a somewhat spiritual person and feels slightly insecure about herself. Very kind.
Kyanna: A single mother and hairdresser, she's not afraid to stand up for herself but wants a bit more stability in her life.
Lola: A flight attendant, she's pretty confident and likes to live life to the fullest. She's also very passionate about sports, especially tennis.
Tiffany: A college student, she's very sweet and open-minded, but she doesn't get along well with her family.
Aiko: A college professor who doesn't take her job too seriously, but instead prefers activities like napping, gambling, and sleeping. Very direct.
Kyu: Your special helper fairy, she's very crude and brass and swears a lot. Not shy in the slightest.
Jessie: A heavy drinking, flirtatious porn actress who isn't shy about the flirting.
Nikki: An antisocial shut-in who works at a cafe, but spends most of her time brooding. Likes video games.
Audrey: Audrey is a uh... loud person who enjoys insulting others, drugs, and feeling superior to you and everyone else.

Overall the game was more fun than I expected. I'm pretty sure you can romance however many of the women you want on one save file without consequence, but Pumpkin don't roll that way so I dunno. The characters definitely fit in to some stereotype cliches, but I was surprised at how natural some of the conversations felt. I was also impressed that the game had a diverse cast of romance options and allowed you to play as a girl. With that being said, some of the text was not changed properly to suit the female character, but overall it was changed appropriately. The dating game was pretty fun. Beli was awesome. So um, I guess if you enjoy this type of game, it might be worth a check out. It does get a bit repetitive, but I had fun with it. It was pretty alright.

Verdict:
IT WAS OKAY