Right away, I haven’t played a lot of games on Itch.io, but this game to me blows a LOT of other adult games out of the water! Even at the most shallow way of rating, the visuals are extremely attractive and endearing alone. Redpinescorp does great keeping the fashion of all the characters varied
enough to make the stripping feel really rewarding with a retro style that pops out a lot by the time you get down to their underwear which shows off pretty appealing figures (they’re hot). More than that though, having unique dialogue for each win makes the next get more and more engaging to me by adding small moments that can both be cute, or lore that takes you out of the moment for just a second.
Seeing The Lonely Girl not be bothered about throwing off her expensive jacket before anything else, and Lia becoming a bit embarrassed once you have her reveal much more than she began with are some fun examples. Lia is 100% the best case of what this game as well as the first does using the basic strip mechanics to me though. Her design right away can be unsettling, something to make you wonder what there even IS to be stripped here. Just like with The Babysitter later down the line though, she ends up showing off that even though this world has many more horror elements than you thought, Lia still manages to be extremely attractive, and in her case, lovable. The second win you have on her has you probably wanting to see her nude more than The Lonely Girl herself. All this because of the clever use of the stripping game as an actual opponent herself as a monster.
While that’s all interesting, the story itself has a similar way of keeping you in a mix of feelings the whole way through. I think going against Classic was actually a driving reason I wanted to see the game through because of it’s melancholy final scene, despite the fact you just got done playing a stripping game with a goofball complaining about how easy it is for the player to win. I don’t want to spoil too much of the story, but I highly suggest to the more impatient player to take their time enjoying each opponent and their official scenes. If you’re having a hard time, there’s nothing wrong with waiting till you’re back in the mood for a strip game, and more curious about the next character to unlock. It’s an understatement to say the lore and characters only get more interesting the farther you go. Since the game is so accessible both by browser and download, it’ll be nice to surprise yourself as you go through at any time or pace.
For the meat and potatoes though, it’s essential before you play to realize that in this game you WON’T be hitting Blackjacks very often. This isn’t due to the game being rigged, or some kind of disadvantage (quite the opposite), but because as you may notice, cards 1-5 of every suit are missing from the deck. This changes the game in two major ways: The MINIMUM hand you hold from hitting twice, is twelve. The second thing, is hitting when you’re at 16 (and hitting at 15 because it’s a 1/8 chance you don’t bust for that matter) will always result in a bust. This all may come off as complicated or discouraging because of how different it is to Blackjack. It’s actually much simpler than you’d think though, as the developer said in the description.
First and foremost, your advantage as the cheater isn’t actually the exemption of cards 1-5 at all. No aces especially shows that a Blackjack isn’t possible in just two hits, and three hits is extremely risky since 4/8 potential cards are values of ten. Basically, your opponents actually all play without their 1-5 cards as well (which might imply they’re ALL trying to cheat lmao) resulting in the same outcomes as you. Your real advantage against them is, as the developer clarified in the comments, that your opponents will only do what YOU do because of Blackjack’s bluffs. If you stand with nothing or hit until you bust, it will always result in a draw since the opponent must follow your lead.
What the strategy comes down to, is actually avoiding hitting as much as you’re able. If my first hit is a ten, I'm perfectly safe to stand. Even if my opponent gets a ten too, at worst it’s a draw. Once you play with this in mind, things become a lot smoother even when you have bad luck. Card counting is not possible due to each hand being a newly shuffled deck, and if you do hit Blackjack it doesn’t reward you any bonuses; worrying about getting as close to it as you can isn’t the right way to go about it.
In short, think of the gameplay as a highly modified version of Hi-Lo, where you want as few hits as possible. It achieves what it intends to in my eyes since it DOES have a strategy to it, but matches go by quick if you get used to it. Although I think this game has a lot to it weather you aren’t a huge fan of the mechanics or not, it doesn’t have to be given a complete rework or added features to make it more engaging. Being essentially trapped at a certain point in your hand because of the 16 mark CAN be frustrating, not because it’s unfair or even a big deal to lose a hand in the first place, but having the player feel limited is a reason some may become turned off by a gambling game in the first place; in the long run that is.
A more extreme suggestion would be to raise the total from 21 to something like 31 as Blackjack was originally played. That would make things more random and fun. As a result though it takes away the good pacing of the normal game, which is why I don’t believe this would do any good. Instead if there’s ever future installments, updates, or other games with the same system, I think the developer should expand on their talents of presentation and character. The quips by characters like Greenwitch and Lemonade make even losing something silly, so if just the basic dialogue was given even more, (it’s already a lot of good stuff!) I don’t see people complaining as much about how easy or hard the matches are.
Ominous quotes by people like Happy Girl are all it took to give a match like hers a whole different feeling than a showdown with someone like Jackeline. Throwing in more references to the world or just straight flirts are all things that could get someone to think about playing twice over for many characters. If it were taken a step further, maybe even selectable dialogue for just one or two choices per match that can change the things they say. On top of that, more minor set piece art could be fun to throw in just to add flair to the screen. Little differences in the cards is a good example that is already halfway there by having some opponents have hidden tattoos or scars on their body. These little things make a big impact without asking too much from development :).
This game is free (can’t believe it!), so I don’t want to just pile on suggestions and demands like it isn’t already in a really good state! One last thing though, is I think, making it from now on in any future work on this game or others like it to where you have to complete certain tasks to unlock the unofficial scenes (or at least some). Simple things like stripping your opponent in a certain order or achieving a Blackjack three times on your save only to be rewarded by the really hot stuff keeps things engaging. All in all though, if the game stays as is, it’ll still be a really well made card game. By time I reached Lemonade I realized the opponents don’t stop getting designs MADE to be undressed, and the gameplay keeps you anticipating your next win enough to string you to the end. If anything, the criticism can help to make more amazing games in the future!
I’ll for sure support any of these new projects and check out the other ones, especially seeing the considerate warnings at the beginning for later developments like the way people see Jackeline, it’s handled in a great way. If the drawn out freeze-out style of something like “Strip Poker Night At The Inventory” takes too long, check out this game. Or if you just like stripping.
Classic is cute