​Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Don't Dry Review

By Kevin Mitchell  |  Posted: January 28, 2020

Every kid who grew up in the '90s knew of a friend (or was one themselves) who had access to the classic Leisure Suit Larry games. These "fabled" games were kids' easy access to pornographic material in video game form that made every ten-year-old giggle. However, the games disappointed in that aspect, offering more sexual innuendo and crass humor than pixel-based titillation. There were attempts to resurrect the series in 3D that failed horribly after two spin-off entries (on PlayStation 2 and 3 respectively). Seven years ago, in 2013, a Kickstarter-backed project served as a remake of the original title on PC.

Waking up in a dark underground room, everyone's favorite sleazeball Larry Laffer, the series protagonist, miraculously arrives in the 21st century. Yes, he's still wearing his trademark white suit and partially unbuttoned blue collared shirt. While fumbling in the dark, he manages to activate an elevator that deposits him directly in front of Lefty's, or what remains of the rundown, decrepit, disgusting bar. One nice touch: the same pixelated nude poster of a woman hangs on the wall behind the bar. While things look much different, this is the same point-and-click gameplay from the originals, complete with vulgar toilet humor and genitalia references packed into almost every conversation and background environment. For better or worse, Larry remains unchanged, a character frozen in time, still motivated by the same thing he was over thirty years ago: trying to score.

Early on, Larry (and stop me if you've heard this before) finds a missing prototype mobile device at Lefty's. Following the AI's instructions, he takes it to the nefarious Prune headquarters (a satirical take on Apple) to return it to CEO Bill "BJ" Jobs. Naturally, Larry is more concerned with hooking up with Jobs' attractive assistant Faith. Given her busy schedule, she only dates men with a Timber app score of 90. After receiving his own phone and getting instructions from two stereotypical tech support individuals, Larry sets out to complete tasks for his Timber matches to earn points for his ultimate goal: performing the horizontal mambo with Faith – I mean, going on a "date" with her.

Wet Dreams Don't Dry maintains its classic point-and-click adventure roots, requiring players to scour every inch of the screen. The experience becomes problematic when using the DualShock 4 on PlayStation 4, with the right stick emulating a mouse cursor. The touchpad, which smoothly simulates a mouse in other games, cannot be used here. The lack of sensitivity options creates mild frustration, especially when clicking on tiny objects. Though our womanizer awakens in modern times, the game mechanics haven't evolved – there's no hint system or item highlighting to improve accessibility. The game also lacks an autosave feature, and on multiple occasions, it has frozen mid-conversation, forcing a complete reset. Losing an hour or two of progression is never fun. Be careful when skipping through previously read dialogue, as this can also trigger game-breaking freezes.

Like the original, you'll either chuckle at the harsh and crude humor or be completely put off by it. Developer CrazyBunch has adhered to the series' formula, creating a self-aware project that pokes fun at current digital age trends, social media apps, and modern stereotypes (vegan hipsters), while maintaining classic point-and-click adventure gameplay. It's unfortunate that the technical aspects falter, especially the confusing menu system. The hand-drawn character art and backdrops look great, although you'll find anatomical references plastered throughout – the Prune headquarters is literally a massive squirting phallus. Some interactable objects are downright deplorable, such as a cheese-encrusted adult toy, a rat trapped in an extra-large condom, and a suggestively shaped chess piece.

While the narrative follows a linear path, you can tackle tasks in any order. Without an objective list to follow, your progression depends on which items you find first and, more importantly, how you figure out their proper use and sequence. Larry can move around the environment manually using the left stick, but it's pointless – you'll still need the right stick to move the cursor to examine, interact with, or combine items.

Simply put

Without a doubt, Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Don't Dry targets fans of the originals. The narrative is actually quite enjoyable if you can look past the toilet humor. It's a very formulaic, paint-by-numbers, old-school adventure game featuring the same repugnant Larry Laffer, lacking many modern amenities. The throwback gameplay certainly has its appeal, but optional quality-of-life features could have made the game more widely accessible. No auto-save? Come on (pun intended).