HuniePop

Genre: Tile Matching (Match 3), Dating Sim, Adult

Original Release: January 19, 2015

Developer: HuniePot

Publisher: HuniePot

Platforms: Windows, Mac OS, Linux

Played on: Windows

*NOTE: This game contains sexually explicit scenes and situations, including nudity. It is not for children.*

I think I’ve mentioned it before, but it’s worth reiterating once in a while: the purpose of this blog is for me to work through my game collection, discover potentially underappreciated gems, and develop a better understanding of my own preferences in regards to video games. That last one is something I’ve always had a lot of trouble articulating. And if you look through the previous entries, you’ll notice I run something of a gamut in terms of the quality of the games I like. Some are objectively bad. Others are objectively good. And then we have some, shall we say, outlandish entries. I want to say that it boils down to clarity. You know, the feedback you get from your in-game choices or how well something is explained. That’s why I like a game like Superman 64 despite it being objectively bad while 7 Grand Steps is of higher quality, but not something I like because of how poorly mechanics and responses are explained.

Fortunately, HuniePop is nice and clear from the get-go. You’re, for lack of a better explanation, a down-on-your-luck virgin with no skill when it comes to talking to women (even if you choose to play as a woman, the game does allow you to make that choice at the beginning). Fortunately, you catch the attention of a love fairy named Kyu who’s hellbent on turning you into what the Wikipedia article describes as “a successful Lothario.” I have never read Don Quixote, so I can’t speak to the accuracy of that statement, but I digress. Kyu explains how dates work and afterward you’re off and running, set on wooing nine different girls with three unlockable secret characters if you meet the right criteria.

The meat of the game revolves around talking to each of the girls to learn more about them as well as to earn Hunie that you can exchange to improve your stats, thus earning you more affection on dates based on those states, increasing the likelihood of a power token being created from four-of-a-kind or five-of-a-kind matches, and reducing affection loss from broken heart token matches. I’m not very good at Match 3, but I’ve always enjoyed it. I think part of that comes from watching my older sister absolutely destroy Bejeweled whenever I had the chance to see her play it. Or really any puzzle game. She’s very good at Tetris and I’ve always felt kind of jealous. Anyway, there’s a layer of strategy, especially since you have a limit on the number of moves you can make before the end of any date. You start at 20, but you can reach a maximum of thirty moves if you set things up properly. For example, if a girl’s appetite meter is full, you can start the date with 24 moves, and if you match joy tokens (the bells), you can earn more moves. There’s even an achievement for finishing a date with 20 or more moves remaining, but I’ve never managed it.

Anyway, once you’ve successfully completed three dates with any of the girls (each date becomes progressively harder following a success, by the way), you can go on a night date and if you succeed, the girl you’re out with will come home with you and you’re treated to another match 3 session. This time you have unlimited moves, but the goal is to max out the pleasure meter, which constantly drains. If you can manage it, the screen fades, there’s a lot of moaning, and you get a very naughty picture of them that I choose not to share because I like to think this is a tasteful blog and if people under 18 read this post I’d prefer not to get them in trouble with their parents.

And of course, once you’ve successfully spent the night with all of the girls (including the secret characters), you’re given the option to activate Alpha Mode. It’s been a long time since I actually sat down and played long enough to unlock it myself, but if memory serves me right, Alpha Mode increases the difficulty of each date you go on regardless of whether or not you succeed. So if one date requires an affection of 1200, the next will require more no matter what. It’s brutal, but I like the challenge.

So yeah, that’s HuniePop. I had thought that I would have more to write about, but I’ve covered the majority of the game without diving into some of the more explicit stuff. Obviously there’s more to the game than what I’ve written here, but I’m kind of at a loss for what else to write that won’t eventually lead to my writing “it’s porn” in all caps, bold text, and underlined in its own paragraph. I can safely recommend this game though. Gameplay is pretty simple by nature of a match 3, but also enjoyable as a result and if you’re interested in seeing some gameplay, there are plenty of folks who have played it on YouTube! Just don’t play it on Twitch if you pick it up, alright? It’s on the banned game list and I don’t want you guys to get kicked off of a platform because of me.

Anyway, here’s some gameplay from Lucahjin if you’re curious! I enjoy her commentary and she is much better at Match 3 than I am so hopefully you’ll get an idea of the mechanics from her videos!