Thirsty Suitors Reviews
That’s how so much of Thirsty Suitors feels to play: stylish to look at and perhaps pleasurable in the moment yet ultimately quite shallow. As a whole, it’s a bundle of middling mechanics carried by strong writing. The story may be about Jala coming to terms with her past while she figures herself out, but the game itself never settles on a cohesive vision of what it should be.
As well, the game is certainly visually impressive but lacks depth to its mechanics and character growth. I'm incredibly happy to see more cultural representation in games, but I wanted more from the story than what Thirsty Suitors was giving me. It's an outlandish take on the Scott Pilgrim story but lacks the same kind of fun.
Despite underwhelming combat and gameplay mechanics, Thirsty Suitors has stellar style and character writing wrapped up in a charming and sincere package.
Thirsty Suitors is a hilarious romp that focuses on family, culture, and the mending of broken relationships. While the execution of its gameplay has some flaws, the game has a lot of heart that makes players root for this crazy cast of characters.
Thirsty Suitors has a surprising amount to say about culture, acceptance, self-expression, and growing from your mistakes. That being said, I did not grow past my lifelong videogame mistakes, and, as I’ve done so often in the past, I failed to manually save the game at regular intervals. So when a glitch wouldn’t let me restart a battle after dying, I had to quit the game and return back to the start of the level. Much like Jala my mistakes caught up to me, but, unlike Jala, I doubt that will make me change my ways.
Thirsty Suitors is a great example of what happens when a developer's ambition outstrips the ability to fully realise that vision, for whatever reason. The story and visual style here are top-notch, but the actual mechanics lack the depth needed to make this one of the best indie games on Switch. Despite its flaws, the heart and humour of these characters still make it one of the most fun narratives of the year.
Like its hero, Thirsty Suitors is a charmingly messy game that juggles a little more than it can handle. Its multipronged gameplay loop wobbles between inventive and repetitive over the course of its eight-hour story. What it lacks in polish, though, it makes up for with a nuanced narrative about how the past isn’t always a haunting specter to hide from.
Thirsty Suitors is a wildly unique game that blends together a whole lot of genres, but too often it feels like a bit of a chore to play.
Thirsty Suitors succeeds because it delivers on story. Memorable characters, top-notch voice-over work, and stand-out dialogue all help elevate the average gameplay elements. Ultimately, Jala's is a story that you'll enjoy from beginning to end, even if it does involve suffering through a deluge of QTEs.
Thirsty Suitors oozes charm with its creative mix of narrative RPG, skateboarding and cooking. It's engaging to follow Jala on his journey of redemption and self-discovery because of the humorous dialogue, the unusual characters and the many interesting themes covered by the story. Furthermore, its universe brims with style with its extravagant combats, exaggerated movements and colorful atmosphere inspired by Indian culture. The attempt to bring a little of everything is commendable, but, unfortunately, the game doesn't do the job. The combat is basic and lacking strategy, the cooking bits are repetitive and skateboarding is clumsy. Luckily, the narrative manages to tie everything together consistently, however, individually, the various aspects leave something to be desired. All in all, Thirsty Suitors is a unique and surreal experience with its extravagant combination of genres. Despite its problems, it's a narrative adventure worth experiencing.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Thirsty Suitors’s main story is deep and really aims right at the heart, even if it feels disjointed at times. Regardless of your relationship with your parents, loved ones, and past friends, you will find ways to connect with Jala’s troubles. Beyond that, the game feels quite simplistic, for better or worse. The combat is stylish and fun but quickly gets repetitive.
Overall, Thirsty Suitors is a fun experience. If you can overlook the rough skateboarding sections and repetitive encounters, there is a good coming-of-age story and some fantastic music and mini-games.
Thirsty Suitors is a little thirsty with its mechanical ambitions but never fails to charm in one way or another. With a beautifully diverse cast, mature writing, and unmatched expressiveness, it breathes new life into the genre.
It’s also relatively short to complete as the game only has a few Chapters, meaning you can wrap up the story in between 10-15 hours. This makes it the perfect game to pick up and play on a weekend, especially if you’re looking for something that combines simplistic and fun gameplay with a strong narrative and a quirky plot. Trust me, taking on Jala’s role of an ex-battling skater girl in the early 2000s is a wild and entertaining rollercoaster ride, sure to have you laughing along every step of the way.
While on the outside Thirsty Suitors seems like a tongue-in-cheek game about reconnecting with your past, it reveals so much more beneath the surface. That's not to say it isn't humorous, but it's also doing much more besides. It's a commentary on societal expectations, living as a second-generation immigrant in a different culture, finding yourself, and accepting others. It's a deep experience packaged in such a light-hearted box, and never feels overbearing. The story of Jala, her family, and friends, each with their own lived experiences, feels so important and relevant to today's society, and it's a joy to play through.
Your bitter exes are the enemies in this turn-based adventure, which has you talk through your feelings even while delivering kick-ass martial arts moves
While there are RPGs out there with deeper systems and more engaging mechanics, Thirsty Suitors' story more than makes up for any shortcomings. You don't have to be the child of an immigrant to appreciate the story, but it helps. Even if you aren't, the narrative is filled with raucous humor and laugh-out-loud moments that will make you glad you picked it up.
The story can feel a bit rushed at times, but cooking under the pressure of a judgmental family and reconciling with exes through exaggerated battles makes Thirsty Suitors very worthwhile.
A heartfelt and hilarious couples therapy session, disguised as a stylish RPG. A gem.
Although mechanically monotonous, it manages to entertain until the end with its dialogues and characters. Don't miss it if you are interested in relationships, social pressure, responsibility and food.
Review in Turkish | Read full review