There are many memorable characters from the halcyon days of 90s point-and-click adventures. Few of us can forget Monkey Island’s Guybrush Threepwood as he quipped his way through the Caribbean, or the moody mystery-solving of Gabriel Knight. But of these great icons, there’s only one who can brag of a career that’s lasted up to this very day – Larry Laffer aka Leisure Suit Larry, the half-pint sized sleazebag who was barely big enough to fill the cover of those giant cardboard boxes games used to come in.
Yes, Larry’s endless quest to get laid hasn’t really stopped since he first tarnished store shelves in 1987. Two years ago, publisher Assemble hired the aptly named developers at CrazyBunch to bring him back from a five-year hiatus in Wet Dreams Don’t Dry, refreshing him with a new art style and a new way to work his stunted charms thanks to the miracle of online dating app Timber.
And in probably the most controversial character reimagining since Devil May Cry’s Dante went emo, Larry’s new look has given him a growth spurt, making him actually somewhat tall. But don’t worry ladies – his pot belly, receding hairline, bad posture and ill-fitting leisure suit still remain.
Now, following his unsuccessful pursuit of beautiful business mogul Faith Less (who he managed to lose out at sea), Larry is back searching for his lost not-quite love in Wet Dreams Dry Twice.
As usual, Larry goes about this in the rather roundabout way of trying to sleep with all manner of feminine friends old and new. There are over 40 people to meet in total, but don’t expect all of them to take kindly to Larry’s louche charms.
After Wet Dreams Don’t Dry took him away from his stomping ground of New Lost Wages to Cancum (yes, the names make us squirm too), Larry’s next voyage sweeps him off to the beautiful tropical archipelago of Kalau’a, where he can work his magic on a whole new population of eccentrics, weirdos and perverts.
Despite the new look, series fans will be happy to hear that Larry’s latest outing still oozes charm, and is rammed with the kind of penile puzzles and puerile wordplay that will make you cringe, then chuckle, then go back to cringing as our hapless hero tries to make sure that volcanoes aren’t the only things erupting in paradise.
Now, we never entirely understood why Larry’s quest for true love requires him to try busting a coconut over every woman in sight, so maybe it’s just best to think of the story a F**kGuffin to Larry’s goal of getting laid. In your ignoble pursuit, expect plenty of tenuously connected puzzles like cocktail-making, Flappy Bird-like games and searching for the fabled Vagina Dentata plant in the jungle.
So if you’re looking to relive the dirty-dog days of adventure games, and have a sense of humour and passion for pun-ography that makes grown men sigh, then head over to the Steam page for Wet Dreams Dry Twice, where you can play the demo or add it to your wishlist for the 22 October release.
You can also follow Leisure Suit Larry’s publisher Assemble on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.