Oh, games industry, why must you make these sorts of titles? Ones that tempt me to give into my darker impulses… to indulge a part of me I try to keep restrained? Parading out M-rated fare, marked as having anything involving nudity or being sexually suggestive. I’m sorry, but there’s only so much a reviewer like me can take, so here we go, making me revisit a sentiment I shared long ago in a review of BMX XXX, once again with more than a smidge of some sarcasm.

So where’s the smut, the depravity, or even the firm suggestion of actual nudity? You’re asking people to fork over some bucks for this, and you know damned well people aren’t really buying it to play a middling version of pachinko, or to concern themselves with topping their previous high score. They’re here to see some skin! So where is it? Sure, you’ll strip off some articles of clothing, revealing some of their preposterously proportioned bodies, but despite the Mature rating you’re holding back? Why? That’s where these games lose me. On Steam, at the moment, there are straight-up porn simulators and more. Granted, they’re rated AO, which I can’t imagine you’d ever see for a game on the Switch, but if you’ve got an M rating, and have inherently limited the potential audience you can sell to already, why be prudish?

You see, this is a problem I’ve had for quite some time with many of these titles… indeed dating back to the glory days of Akklaim being in their prime, making all sorts of Mature-rated stuff. That included a game that had a weapon where a drill bit would essentially chase something down in order to bore into its head and spit all manner of blood everywhere. So for violence, the sky was and still is the limit pretty much, but then why is nudity in games, which are already clearly meant to be merely exploitative, so often held back? One look at screenshots and promotional material for this title make it clear what is being sold. If you’re shameless enough to sell it with a straight face, why not then do a better job of honestly delivering precisely what people are looking for? Consider that the internet exists as well now, further begging the question: Since people can find nudity and all manner of depravity for free, why pay to see you exercise restraint? If you’re going to be gross, why not just be gross?

To be clear, I’m not a fan of these sorts of games for quite a variety of reasons, but I do review them for the sake of being thorough and trying to see them through the lens of those who I think are interested in buying them. The first most common issue is that, just like this example, the gameplay attached to most of them tends to be pretty threadbare. I have at least respected some exceptions like Senran Kagura Peach Ball and the likes of the Gal*Gun series, which managed to be pretty pervy and weird but at least brought a little more to the table than some mere titillation. Another problem is that in the modern world, where adult content of just about any form is available without even expending effort, why shy away from making the most of the rating you’ve opted for? If you’re in the business to make weirdo pervy games, just make them. If you’re going to make a middling-at-best play experience, and then also have the rewards for your investment of money and then time be so restrained, it just feels like a bait and switch.