Nerial and Devolver Digital’s latest creation, The Crush House, is an eccentric blend of reality TV chaos and strategic gameplay.
The Crush House Story
The premise is simple: manage a cast of characters, film their interactions, but most important, keep the audience happy.
At least, it seems that simple at first.
As players navigate the day-to-day tasks of filming the drama, they will begin to uncover hints of a secret plot unfolding behind the scenes. In a story that maybe reflects the reality of reality TV a little too closely, the show’s producers and TV network have their own plans.
Gameplay
The Crush House offers straightforward gameplay mechanics: press X to start filming, press X to stop, and run ads to keep the cash flowing.
The initial thrills of choosing a cast, setting up shots, and satisfying the audience are genuinely fun. Players will find themselves trying to line up the perfect show to please multiple audiences simultaneously. And the audiences have particular tastes. The Drama Queens want to see fights, the Suburban Moms want to see Emilio in a bathing suit, and the Plant Lovers want to see the gardens.
While fun and quirky, the gameplay loop quickly starts to feel repetitive. The gameplay is essentially the same for each in-game day; the only difference is the number and types of audiences to cater to.
Overall
7/10
The Crush House is a great idea that falls a little short of true brilliance. It has the potential to be an entertaining and satirical commentary on the reality TV show genre. Still, the game stops at saying anything through its story, and the gameplay is a little too repetitive.
Still, for fans of reality TV and offbeat games, The Crush House is worth checking out for the novelty and absurdity it offers. Despite its shallow story, it is a unique experience bound to entertain players.
The Crush House is available for PC via Steam.
Related: Reviews by Michelle Jones
I'm a completionist gamer who just needs to find that one last object and clear that final dungeon. I love all video games, from open world sandboxes on a console to a mindless match three on my phone. In addition to gaming and writing, I am a graduate student working on a thesis about the ancient Icelandic Sagas. Feel free to ask me anything about Vikings.
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