Developer: CrazyBunch
Publisher: Assemble Entertainment
Platform: Switch, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tested on: Switch
Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Dry Twice – Review
The Leisure Suit Larry franchise has been around in one form or another since the late ‘80s. Most people have at least heard of the series, even if they haven’t actually played one of the games. For the uninitiated, Leisure Suit Larry revolves around the titular Larry Laffer, whose aim is to get laid. Various developers have worked on the Larry IP, with the most recent incarnations coming to us courtesy of German studio CrazyBunch. They released a soft reboot of the series, titled Wet Dreams Don’t Dry back in 2018. That game was successful enough to warrant a sequel, Wet Dreams Dry Twice, which is the subject of today’s review.
Story
Wet Dreams Dry Twice is a direct sequel to the previous Leisure Suit Larry title, Wet Dreams Don’t Dry, the latter being a soft reboot that sees protagonist Larry Laffer arrive in the 21st century à la Austin Powers. If you haven’t played the previous title in the series -which we hadn’t- then Wet Dreams Dry Twice is off to a very confusing start. There is a brief recap of the events of the previous title, but it’s too short and not in-depth enough to really get newcomers up to speed with the story, and as such, we highly suggest that you skip Wet Dreams Dry Twice until you’ve played the first “modern” Larry title. The game assumes you’ve played the first title anyway so unless you’re up to speed with what is going on, you’ll spend more time puzzling together the plot of the previous game than that you’ll actually be having fun with the new one.
In Wet Dreams Dry Twice, Larry finds himself in the Mexican town of Cancúm (get it?), where he is about to wed the most beautiful girl in town. However, Larry learns that his dream woman, the aptly named Faith Less is still alive, after having drifted out to sea and seemingly died at the end of the previous game. Larry is now determined to find the amnesiac Faith, who has become the leader of a cannibalistic all-women tribe. Meanwhile, Wang, the CEO of the evil Prune Corporation is also looking for Faith, as she has knowledge of an algorithm necessary for new robot technology. As you’d expect, this leads into a veritable rollercoaster ride of an adventure filled with wacky characters and infantile sex jokes. Low ball humor is the hallmark of the series, and while the game never crosses the line into cartoon porn during its 15-hour run, rest assured that you’ll be tired of Larry’s innuendos long before the credits roll. In a way, it’s kind of endearing to see that a politically incorrect game like Wet Dreams Dry Twice can still be made these days, but we’d rather have good jokes than cheap offensive ones, no matter how tongue-in-cheek they are.
That’s not to say there isn’t any fun to be had here. While the constant barrage of bad pick-up lines coming from the main man himself might get tiring, the game’s saving grace comes from the other characters that make up the game’s cast. Wet Dreams Dry Twice is very self-aware and takes delight in juxtaposing Larry’s 1980s flirting techniques against modern-day sensibilities. The standout character here is Pi, the AI that inhabits Larry’s phone, as she often openly questions Larry’s train of thought, although he is oblivious to her remarks. The game isn’t afraid to take shots at other characters and situations either, although the parodies tend to go for low-hanging fruit and cheap shots rather than clever satire. It’s a bit of a missed opportunity, but that shouldn’t come as a surprise after three decades of the same.
Graphics
Admittedly, the colorful, hand-drawn aesthetics of the game are appealing and give it a sense of fun. The environments are filled with visual gags, and there are plenty of genitalia-shaped paraphernalia to be found spread across the levels -including the not-so-subtly shaped office of the antagonist- but the game never explicitly shows any naughty bits. We weren’t a fan of character animations though, as these were choppy and repetitive and felt like they came out of an early 2000s Flash video. For a game at this price point, we’d expect more fluid character motions, especially given that the game isn’t too taxing with its graphics.
Sound
Surprisingly, Wet Dreams Dry Twice’s soundscape stands out as one of the game’s highlights, thanks to some stellar performances from the voice cast. Jan Rabson takes on the role of Larry himself and it’s obvious that he’s having fun hamming it up as the failed ladies man. Given that he’s voiced the character since 1993, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he really knows how to get into character. The rest of the voice cast may not have been part of the Larryverse for three decades, but there isn’t a single performance here that feels phoned in. The game’s music and ambient sounds set the mood as well, even though the audio quality could’ve been slightly crisper.
Gameplay
It seems like Larry himself isn’t the only thing in the game that’s still stuck in the past, as Wet Dreams Dry Twice’s gameplay is reminiscent of classic point and click adventure games from the ‘90s. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, however, and when Wet Dreams Dry Twice is at its best, it’s vaguely similar to LucasArts classics like the Tales of Monkey Island series. That’s not to say that the gameplay here is even in the same ballpark as the excellent point-and-click offerings from CrazyBunch’s direct competitor Daedalic Entertainment though, as Wet Dreams Dry Twice is far too simplistic for that. Some of the puzzles can be a bit obtuse, although most are fairly straightforward as long as you try to get into the same mindset as our sex-crazed protagonist.
You’ve got the usual tools at your disposal: Larry moves from screen to screen and is able to talk to the locals, look at and pick up items and use things in his inventory to solve puzzles. Naturally, items in the inventory can be combined as well. Larry’s AI-powered phone provides a handy checklist that lets you keep track of what needs to be done, and there is also the option to highlight anything that can be interacted with so that you don’t need to aimlessly click around in hopes of picking up that one specific object that you’re still missing. It’s a helpful little feature, but it’s also indicative of how the developers behind Wet Dreams Dry Twice aren’t too concerned with actually providing the audience with a challenge.
Should you choose to sit out this ride until the end, you’ll have a journey of roughly 15 hours ahead of you. On the one hand that doesn’t seem like a lot of game time, especially given the game’s price point. On the other hand, this is plenty of time to spend in the company of a character that is as insufferable as our protagonist. Mind you, Larry being annoying is deliberate and part of his character, but as we said before, his one-sided personality grows really old really fast. The issue here isn’t that the game itself is inherently bad, but if you strip away the colorful side characters and absurd situations, what you’re left with is bland and mediocre gameplay and a thoroughly unlikeable protagonist.
Conclusion
Wet Dreams Dry Twice relies on cheap jokes to lure in its audience and doesn’t really offer anything up beyond what it promises. The production quality is fairly high, albeit not perfect, and there is certainly fun to be had with the title, but the constant stream of sex-related gags grows tiresome very fast. Add to this that the game really relies on you having played the previous game in order to make sense and it becomes a tough sell. If you’ve played Wet Dreams Don’t Dry, you already know what to expect and the question is whether you want more of the same. If you haven’t played the previous title, however, this is an easy skip -at least until you’ve given the predecessor a go.
Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Dry Twice - Review,
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