Developer: CrazyBunch
Looking back over Leisure Suit Larry’s release history is long and hard. First exposing himself on our screens back in 1987, the adventures of Larry Laffer have been received in a range of ways, from standing so achingly proud that you feel worryingly light-headed to depressingly flaccid, with the last major entry in the series, Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust, being as welcome in my bed as a genital-eating spider comprised entirely of clones of my father’s disapproving eyes that can only be thwarted by watching a looped, grainy VHS tape of myself weeping into a hessian sack filled with physical manifestations of suppressed memories as I’m force-fed burnt clown-hair.
Whilst I did play the earliest incarnations, I was too young to understand any of the jokes and it boiled down to getting frustrated by the early Sierra control scheme and giving up.
The game I spent the most time with and had the most fondness for was the 1996 release, Leisure Suit Larry: Love for Sail! which would make sense as I was thirteen at the time and hornier than the shelves of a Viking pub.
The truth is that I admittedly shouldn’t have gone in with such negative thoughts and I learned my lesson by actually enjoying the game, although I did regularly revert to a walkthrough for reasons that I’ll go into later.
The story begins with Larry ‘waking up’ from the ’80s and ending up outside Lefty’s bar, the location that starts the very first game in the series.
The visuals are sharp, colourful and striking with some really fun voice acting that was clearly recorded in high quality. The game feels oddly rich in its presentation and features really smooth animations to boot, it’s a very pretty affair.
Alongside the solid voice acting, I was also a big fan of the music, with some real ear-worms digging into my throbbing head as I thrust my way through the game.
The game strikes the right balance in the humour, whilst it is quite basic stuff, Larry’s constant '80s references and, majorly, the fact that everyone is treated relatively equally – from gay characters to women and Larry himself – it feels good-natured in where it derives the humour from if a bit base. You roll your eyes at Larry as opposed to openly frowning at him, like in most of the other games.
Whilst the zany presentation works well, it does mean that the puzzles can be baffling, especially with the numerous items that Larry can hold in his polyester jacket – hence my walkthrough usage – but this is fine, this isn’t a game that demands that you get stuck for months on a single logic puzzle, foiled until you use your wrinkly pink thing in the right way and have a lightbulb moment, it’s almost purely inventory-based puzzles that just needs the right combination of items.
For me, the enjoyment didn’t come from the challenge but instead from making my way through the game, enjoying the interactions and raising an eyebrow at the real-world jabs at certain companies and applications.
In summary, Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Don’t Die can be crude - yes, you’ll capture a rat in a condom by enticing it with a cheese-smelling dildo – but the context in which it is presented means that it comes across as another quirky, preposterous moment in the game-world as opposed to a sleazy, groin-squeezing, slobber-thon.
This isn’t going to win any game of the year awards but it is definitely a surprise of the year for me.
I’m glad I dived back into Larry’s world and look forward to his future erection direction.
Right, I’m off to find the love of my life on Timber.
❄️💦 RATING: MELTING ❄️💦
Ratings Explained
ICE COOL (Great Game Recommended)
MELTING (Recommended with reservations, one to consider if you are a fan of the genre)
MELTED (Not A Recommended Purchase)
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