Kick Ass Kickstarters: HuniePop

Written by Jessyca Yoppolo, February 26, 2016, at 8:00 a.m. Tweet to: @Jess_why_ca

The thing that attracted me to HuniePop was a screenshot of dialogue options, one of which said, “Fuck these birds. Am I right?” Another option in the same shot said, “Isn’t it funny how life is pointless and nothing matters?” The only thing that matters in this world is Beli. Best girl.

With me being a girl, you might not expect me to like a pseudo-dating sim like HuniePop. I have actually gotten all of the achievements on Steam for this game, not to toot my own horn. There’s a reason the achievement for getting 100 percent is called “Zero Life.” There are some things that make this game attractive to any gamer.

First off, let me just say that I love puzzles. I also like trying to woo cute girls in video games. So this game was a win-win for me, along with the silly dialogue options. I don’t need to go into an in-depth description of the gameplay because you get a mandatory tutorial when you play. It’s basically better Bejeweled, with a score limit instead of a time limit, so it’s a little more high-stakes. You can also assign yourself a gender in this game. You don’t have an appearance, so it only changes how the girls refer to you and their canon sexualities, but it’s very cool.

The characters are three-dimensional, which is not something I expected. The girls have relationships with each other as friends, frenemies, or enemies. They have likes and dislikes that you have to remember (the game helps you out with that). The girls aren’t all cute, either; they can be mature, sexual, and foul-mouthed. The more you discover about the girls and their lives through the dialogue portion, the more interesting they become, and eventually you will develop a favorite. Like real girls, the HuniePop cast is diverse and complex.

If you liked Deadpool, you will appreciate the fourth-wall-breaking awareness this game has about the fact that it is a video game. It actually helps make the story more believable. If it wasn’t about a magic fairy helping you get laid, how would puzzles help you during a date?

The other thing this game has in common with Deadpool is the surprisingly low budget. With $53,536 pledged of $20,000 goal, this Kickstarter game was an amazing hit pulled together by a fabulous small team. Ryan Koons is the single, lead programmer and Brad Brown is the single, voluntary lead writer. The rest of the team members are artists and voice actresses. The team created a great game that they wanted to make, which is something that’s hard to find nowadays.

The only problem I have with this game is the art. With the new HunieCam Studio, by the same developer, there has been a lot of controversy about the new art style. They took a strawpoll regarding the art on Steam. When they got the results, they basically said, “Screw you, I do what I want,” and the art is staying. The art in the original HuniePop varies in quality, and that’s my only complaint, but I am definitely on the side of the poll-takers for HunieCam Studio. They made my waifu look like Baby Grinch…

This is definitely a solid game for the budget, with good writing and game design. I recommend it to all gamers.