Although PAX EAST 2022 was two weeks ago, we still want to provide you with content from the event, especially for some of our favorite games. We intended to do this the week after PAX East, but sadly, I was the only one from the Maroonersrock team that contracted COVID. Despite being under the weather and busy schedules, we have tried to provide you with content you would enjoy. Now, I am pleased to share with you my Dread XP hands-on previews; at PAX East 2022, I sat down to preview My Friendly Neighborhood and Sucker for Love. Here is our Sucker for Love and My Friendly Neighborhood coverage.
For full disclosure, most of the Dread XP appointment was spent playing My Friendly Neighborhood. Sadly, there was not enough time to dive deeply into Sucker for Love. Sucker for Love is already out on Steam for $9.99. The moral of the story for Sucker for Love seemed to be, that you never know what you can expect, but sometimes it can be a pleasant surprise. Since our Sucker for Love experience was shorter, we will quickly cover it.
Sucker for Love
In Sucker for Love, the protagonist is waiting for the Necronomicon to arrive for his nefarious plans; instead, he receives a pink-bound book with an ancient text. After reading the book, we learn that the book is not a book of the dead, but instead a dating manual. With a new mystical being to appease, the player must complete rituals to appease the magical diety.
When it comes to gameplay, Sucker for Love‘s gameplay is rather straightforward. Players read the dating book to figure out how they can appease their lover and avoid eternal damnation; instead of eternal doom, you might be able to win the heart of a magical maiden. Moving throughout the level is simple enough and following the ritual requirements will dictate how you do in the battle for love. For our playthrough, we only completed the summoning and the first ritual meant to appease our summoned guest.
From the little bit we played, we are curious to see what might happen. At the moment, we have a slight backlog of games to review, but we do plan on reviewing Sucker for Love.
My Friendly Neighborhood
As previously stated, during my appointment with DreadXP, I spent most of my time playing My Friendly Neighborhood. My Friendly Neighborhood is a cross between Sesame Street and Resident Evil. At first, I grew frustrated with the demo, because I lacked direction and found myself stuck. Thankfully, I was able to call over the developer and ask for assistance. Once he explained what I was doing wrong, I felt like an idiot. Based on previously playing Resident Evil, I should have known better.
What really stood out for us was the blend of friendly childhood puppets with a variety of horror elements. Searching for the parts, it was exciting to feel our heart racing. We never knew what to expect. We could shoot a puppet and it could explode into multiple enemies or they could fall down. The game’s use of duct tape to disable the puppets from attacking gives players a way to survive without worrying about them. The game’s use of a currency system to save and reload ammo makes the player think of when they should save; also the game makes the player choose if they want to spend their money on healing or saving.
Our greatest takeaway from the demo was how much fun it was to blast away puppets while solving puzzles. Yes, it was frustrating to try and explore when we didn’t know what we were doing, but once we did, the world was our oyster. The puzzles that we did get to complete were fun and thought-provoking but not too difficult to comprehend. The demo did a great job building suspense through the use of music, lighting, and puppet mechanics.
With how much fun the game was, the blend of horror with childhood props, and ingenuity, we awarded My Friend Neighborhood a Writer’s Choice Award. A demo is currently available for the game, but no official release date has been announced. The game is currently planned to be released on PC, Steam, and itch.io.
Both DreadXP titles were a lot of fun to play and we’d love to play more of each. Make sure to wishlist both titles on Steam and consider joining the DreadXP Discord.
