The adventure quest Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Dry Twice brings Larry Laffer back on the scene - a 40-year-old loser who still hasn't given up hope of winning the heart of his beloved.
Larry Laffer first appeared on gamers' screens back in 1987. Not just glimpsed, but became one of the recognizable characters, and adventure games with his participation are among the best in the point-and-click genre.
Unfortunately, the series went into the sunset in the early 2000s, and it wasn't until 2018 that Friv2Online Games Studio attempted to revive it with the release of Leisure Suit Larry: Wet Dreams Don't Dry. Did the attempt prove successful? Of course, because now you're about to read a review of the sequel to that friv game with the title Wet Dreams Dry Twice.
We would like to warn you that the friv game continues the story of Wet Dreams Don't Dry, so if you don't want to miss a piece of the story (and in such games it's important), we recommend you to go through the first part first. However, you will be briefly introduced at the beginning of this one.
We will not spoiler, except for one thing - Larry Laffer never managed to win the heart of the beautiful Faith. They were separated by... circumstances, and as a result, the hero simply lost contact with his beloved. Desperate, he almost marries the daughter of the chief of the island Conchitos, where he is stuck, but suddenly comes on the trail of Faith. Without wasting a second, Larry sets off in search of the lady of his heart, not forgetting to bring her panties.
However, he is not the only one looking for this girl. The head of the company "Sliff" (a parody of Apple) is also interested in the beauty, but exclusively from the commercial side. Who will win in this "race"? And will anyone ask Faith herself what she wants? That's what you'll have to find out.
Leisure Suit Larry games are famous for their frankness, because first of all they are quests with adult overtones. Therefore, get ready that vulgarity and revelations will pursue you at every step. On the locations you can often see provocative interior items, and every conversation between Larry and a girl is reduced to one topic.
As for the gameplay, it's a 50/50 formula. Half of the friv game is occupied by dialogs with the possibility to choose an answer, and the rest part is classic point and click puzzles. And both parts are connected - after solving, for example, one task, you will find out that the characters have new branches for conversation, which will lead to new puzzles.
The tasks are not easy - to complete them, you'll have to keep in your head most of what the characters are talking about, as well as carefully examine the locations and turn on your wits. Fortunately, there's an option to highlight all the objects you can interact with, and the assistant "Pai", which is installed in Larry's smartphone, will generate a list of all the tasks.
When solving quests it is worth remembering the subtext of the friv game. For example, in the starting location you need to fix the meat grinder. And to do this, Larry must use grease, piled in his cozy lair.
Can a quest with cartoon graphics be serious? Well, we don't think so. In Leisure Suit Larry - Wet Dreams Dry Twice you'll find a ton of jokes, both overtly "lame" and with a twist.
There is room for parody, references, and mockery of everything in our world. For example, as mentioned, the company "Sliff" is an analog of "Apple", and "Pai" came to replace "Siri". The app "Titker" is a parody of "Tinder". And in the background of one of the locations - a hotel - you can find a cap of a McDonald's employee in a pile of garbage.
There are also more subtle, low-key references. Let's go back to the same hotel, where the guests relentlessly mention the Russians and Americans who often came here in 1985, the year the hotel was founded. And at that time, as you know, the Cold War was in full swing. In the aquarium in one of the locations you can see Nemo's fish... And this is only a small part of what awaits you.
With all the features that we highlighted in the review, Leisure Suit Larry - Wet Dreams Dry Twice is not a masterpiece - especially when compared to the previous installments of the series. The friv game is good, but no more than that: the plot doesn't offer any surprises, and the humor, although there is some, often falls short. The lack of any hints is also disappointing, because the puzzles with each passed location become much more complicated.
But still it is inspiring to see that Larry Laffer in 2020 pleases both fans of the series and those who love adventure quests. We recommend playing for fans of the genre.