In the satirical dark comedy The Crush House, it’s all about capturing that perfect shot while navigating a blend of entertainment and untold secrets.
From developer Nerial and publisher Devolver Digital, The Crush House is the hottest reality TV show on the air and it’s your job to keep it afloat by selecting a dynamic cast, satisfying critical and niche audiences and getting the juiciest shots possible. However, there’s more to the story than what is in front of the lens.
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Don’t tell anyone, but I have a guilty pleasure for reality TV! I can’t get enough of the drama, the superficiality, and just watching people be human, whether it’s genuine or staged. My personal favourites are Love Island and Too Hot To Handle. I felt instantly gratified when it was time to dive in and play The Crush House.
Your Role In The Drama
It’s 1999, you play as Jae, the newly hired Production Assistant to film the next hot reality TV show. It is your job to film juicy scenes and also keep the viewers happy by moderating comments as they come in. You arrive on set where you not only work but live in a very dark and dingy basement, and the only communication you have with your Producer is through a walkie-talkie. The Producer makes it clear that the show is solely on your shoulders and you need to make sure it survives to make it to the season finale.
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The Producer has two golden rules for you to follow: 1. Do not speak to the talent, and 2. The audience is always right.
The Perfect Cast
Now it’s time to dive in and select your cast. With 12 personalities to choose from—including cliché sexy singles, geeks, gym enthusiasts, and aspiring celebrities—you’ll need to pick just four to enter the mansion. For ultimate drama, I opted for four conflicting personalities to see what kind of chaos would unfold.
Lights, Camera, Action!
As your cast enters the Malibu Mansion that even Barbie would be proud of, it’s time to film! Each day you will be given a target audience such as “Film Students”, who want all the artsy angles, or on the creepier side “Butt Guys” who are looking for sleazy shots. You need to reach specific target audience satisfaction levels to complete a day successfully.
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As each day progresses, whether you’re capturing a passionate kiss in the garden or a full-on brawl by the pool, you’ll notice that cast members may try to tempt you into breaking the rules and talking to them. If you give in and engage in conversation, they’ll start making specific requests, which will drive the story forward. Their tasks can vary from simple to complex, such as avoiding certain body parts in shots or focusing the camera exclusively on them.
Whilst trying to not get caught mingling with the talent, you will soon realise that someone is always watching you as an unfamiliar voice comes through the walkie-talkie. This voice leads to a couple of mysterious characters that encourage you to keep helping the cast members with their tasks as this will start to uncover the dark secrets of The Crush House.
Get That Perfect Shot
The gameplay is very simple, as the game humorously describes itself as a “thirst-person shooter” —which is basically what it is, just with a camera instead of a gun — you use your keyboard to run across the map and line up the camera to start filming.
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In the house, you’re a jack of all trades and the game requires a lot of observing. Though it may seem repetitive, the conversations you lurk upon are entertaining. The characters speak in gibberish, so thankfully speech bubbles of dialogue are provided. The game offers variety with each day bringing in certain niche audiences and tasks for you to switch up how you film.
If you fail a day, the show will be cancelled and you’ll need to restart from that day. Once you complete a full week, marking the end of a season, you’ll bid farewell to your cast and start a new season. Each new season is like starting fresh: you’ll choose a new mix of cast members and continue working to satisfy your audiences.
The only downfall this game has is that even though characters have unique traits, their dialogue is not unique to them. I found that a conversation I captured between Emile and Ayo was repeated between Charlie and Coco on a new season, the conversations seemed very out of character for what they were described as.
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Although each character had their distinctive catchphrases, it would have been great if the dialogue itself felt more original. This is especially true when you have a caring and bubbly cast member who suddenly starts picking fights.
Is The Drama Worth It?
The Crush House excels at capturing the essence of reality TV, offering a blend of drama, trashy dialogue, and satirical comedy that’s sure to entertain. Even though filming can feel repetitive, The Crush House keeps things fresh by changing the targets daily.
I enjoyed getting creative with my shots to boost ratings and loved the challenge of tackling the cast tasks, even when they were at odds with certain niches. Despite the lack of connection between characters and dialogue, the game brings comical value to how the characters act and how their relationships with each other can change in the space of a week.
The Crush House is now available on Steam priced at $24.99 AUD, with an introductory offer of $22.49 until the 24th of August.
Quest Daily scores The Crush House:
7/10
A review code for The Crush House was supplied to Quest Daily for the purpose of this review.
