Is also a game developed by Eek! Games for PC and released in early access in 2017 before a full release appeared in 2022.
Now. Hands up who liked those grossout sex comedies from the late 1990s and early 2000s? You know, American Pie, There's Something About Mary, Girl Next Door, that sort of thing. If you're a crusty old millennial like me, you probably guffawed along to them. They all had the same plot. High school or university students make Herculean efforts to get laid, but end up humiliating themselves in a thigh slapping welter of awfulness usually involving bodily fluids. But they were funny, damn it. And they still are! Well. If your hand is up, have you considered what it might be like to actually be in a grossout sex comedy from the early 2000s? Well, thanks to House Party, now you can! That's right, it's a game for PC in which you, the player, make Herculean efforts to get laid, and usually end up humiliating yourself in a thigh slapping and hilarious way. Or possibly actually do get laid. Because that sometimes did happen in those comedies as well, of course. I mean, this one time at band camp she did in fact stick a flute up her pussy, so stranger things have happened.
The plot, such as it is, is fairly simple. You're an unnamed person aged between 18 and 30 of either sex and you're at a loose end trying to find something to watch on TV, when you get a call from your friend Derek, if you're a man, or Brittany, if you're a woman, inviting you to a house party at the house of two sisters named Ashley and Madison (yes, the reference to the no strings attached swinging website is intentional). And you go. The rest, is up to you.
The people you encounter at the House Party are as follows:
- Derek. Your friend, if you're a man. He's a handsome black guy but who's sensitive about his nipples because they're unnaturally long. He is at the party because he's carrying a torch for...
- Madison. Co-host. Likes to think of herself as an artist and all spiritual. Was convinced spirit animals are real by a drunk homeless guy she sat next to on the bus. Is engaged in a semi-lethal prank war with...
- Ashley. Hates her sister but has to share a house with her. Is consigned to the smaller bedroom but has something nasty in her closet. She's there because her aunt told her to keep an eye on...
- Patrick. Cousin of the sisters above. Blonde. Wears a Hawaiian shirt. Is permanently drunk to the point at which other characters think he might actually have given himself brain damage. Incorporates the word "brah" into everything. Has a very successful, if immoral, business running a website called Neighbourhood Watch, which isn't about crime rates. Often gets beaten up by...
- Frank. Tank top wearing meathead gymbro. Straight edge. Hates alcohol. Likes martial arts. Claims his very large testicles have super powers. Has a side hustle dealing drugs which is why he hates alcohol. Also bisexual but refuses to admit it. He is followed around by...
- Leah. The obligatory sporty girl. Considers Frank her sensei and also likes martial arts and fancies herself as a samurai. Quite a good dancer. Goes to the same gym as...
- Brittany. Shy Southern girl who's self conscious about her extremely large boobs because she hates the attention they bring her. All round good egg. Dabbles in professional wrestling and extremely hot gumbo. Gay. Fancies the absolute pants off of...
- Amy. Cute and Asian and likes pop punk. Is prepared to experiment with Brittany but secretly fancies Derek and even despite his french fry nipples will happily try to get him to take his shirt off. Wants to joint a sorority because they're like free friends, particularly the one containing...
- Stephanie. Party girl. Gets wasted on everything. Dances non stop. Actually extremely intelligent but would prefer wasting her life getting high all the time and working at a breastaurant. If you get her to take her top off Brittany will follow her around in a state of doglike lust. Absolutely hates...
- Katherine. Is smarter than you and knows it and acts horribly to everyone else. Has a boyfriend not at the party who is a biker, and not the leather and moustaches type but the sort that is known only "The Spandex Daddy." Frank admires her for her complete inability to give a fuck about anything. Is a massive fan of...
- The Game Grumps. Some sort of real life Youtube people. It says here. They were put into the game because in early access they streamed it a lot and were huge fans. Not at the party to begin with but can be invited by the player's actions. Similar to...
- Lety. A Youtube person who has a channel called Lety Does Stuff. No, me neither. If you can get her invited to the party she can cause chaos with hot chilli and Spanish lessons and things get extremely surreal if you get her friendly with...
- Rachael. A mildly paranoid young lady who is convinced that the party isn't real, and neither is anyone at it, and everyone there is trapped in a weird simulation. She is, of course, right.
There's been two paid DLC expansions as well, which have added:
- Doja Cat. A singer or rapper. It says here. I don't know. I'm a crusty old millennial and I have no idea what the kids are into these days.
- Liz Katz. A cosplayer and former porn actress. Her DLC is subtitled "A Gritty Kitty Murder Mystery" and turns the game into one of those murder mystery dinner parties.
There is no real end to the game, the party lasts forever and you can keep causing chaos or not or exploring the various stories or things as much or as little as you want. However there are certain paths that result in the game coming to an end, such as sex with Madison in front of Derek and then bragging about it enough causing him to go totally nuts and burn the house down, or following Rachael's path while Lety is at the party results in Rachael escaping the Matrix and winking the game out of existence. Often stories or paths are mutually exclusive, for instance, if you side with Madison in her semi-lethal prank war against Ashley you not only cut off Ashley's path but also by extension Leah's (because you can't get into the closet to free Ashley's snake and thus can't convince Leah to slay a monster - it makes sense in context, don't worry). Similarly, if you take the short cut to retrieve Katherine's hipflask by simply baiting Frank into beating up Patrick and then stealing it, you cut off the whole path where you get to unlock the secrets of CompuBrah (Patrick's AI powered laptop - once again, it makes sense in context).
And yes, there is 3D sex and yes, it's completely uncensored. It's also extremely uncanny valley though thankfully they took it out of first person because it was making some players feel seasick. But that is only there basically because in all those grossout comedies of the 2000s, sometimes people did succeed in getting laid. The real selling point of House Party is the writing and the dialogue. Even the ambient dialogue can be pants-wettingly funny. And the situations as well, especially if you like comedic sociopathy. Though I'm still slightly miffed that we don't ever get to meet Spandex Daddy.
There is a sequel on the way called Office Party. Once again, the target audience seems to be crusty old millennials like me, who can remember the days (just) when the works Christmas do was considered boring if it didn't result in a flurry of disciplinaries on 2 January. But if you liked those grossout sex comedies, and wished that they hadn't fallen out of fashion in the latter half of the 2000s, I recommend House Party. It is clearly a labour of love and in a gaming scene which is hamstrung by budget busting and snouts in the trough and yet generates a cavalcade of bland over-monetised sludge, that sort of thing is worth backing.
Finally, it's interesting to note (as the initial content warning screen upon opening up the game does) that you will be banned from video and streaming platforms from this game because it can have nudity and explicit 3D uncanny valley sex in it, yet games which allow you to unapologetically commit war crimes are not so banned. Hmmmm.
(IN24/4)