The Crush House
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The Crush House Trailers
Critic Reviews for The Crush House
A fun and frenetic reality TV sim, The Crush House delivers thoughtful commentary on virtual voyeurism.
The Crush House feels like a victim of its own confidence. It’s so self-sure of its premise and big-brained twist that it fails to dig a little deeper under the surface to actually justify any of it. The gameplay itself is incredibly shallow and dull when it isn’t being a frustrating exercise in dice-rolling. The characters are basically all the same person and interact with each other the same ways, repeating the same small set of possible events over and over. Your involvement in the whole equation is to sit there and watch, and hope the emojis and numbers on the screen are doing the good thing instead of irritating you. The payoff is just as shallow as the gameplay, making the whole subversive twist as commentary gimmick a bust.
While the more randomized elements of The Crush House can make it frustrating at times, this "thirst-person shooter" still delivers quite the unique and fun experience. After all, how many games can claim that they provide a challenge in seeing if players can find a way to capture three butts on camera at once while also getting a glimpse of the Success Slide in order to please both the Conspiracy Theorists and Mega Fans? Throw in a good spoof of reality shows with a memorable cast and some bright '90s Malibu visuals, and you have something worth toasting over with a nice glass of Crush Juice...
The Crush House gives you your very own reality TV show to produce and film, full of drama, naughtiness and a whole lot of butts.
As is the case with an actual reality show, I’m left grappling with conflicting feelings when I roll credits on The Crush House. It’s a sharp social satire wrapped up in one of the funniest puzzle games I’ve ever played, but the mechanical simulation leaves me wanting more. As I sit down to map out my criticisms, that’s when it hits me: I’m an emoji in my own audience segment. Maybe The Crush House would playfully nickname me a “snob,” one who keeps saying the term “high-concept” in the chat at random intervals. Maybe the things I’d want to see would clash with an audience hungry for this sleeker design that’s still perfectly functional and creative. The Crush House serves as a reminder that you can’t please everybody, or else you’ll end up in the backyard filming lawn gnomes.
I can’t wait to be able to talk about this one in detail, it surprised me how much I liked it. Even if it kind of feels like a roguelite, I don’t care; being able to mastermind this show by picking the cast and placing things around to evoke emotions was fun, every. single. time. If you like dynamic games where you, the player will kind of set up the dominos and watch them fall I feel like you will be hard pressed to find a better game than The Crush House. Not only was it fun setting up the various shots and seeing things unfold amongst the various castmates but the mystery here is the real draw. Go into this one as blind as you can, you will thank me for it.
The Crush House is a clever and entertaining spin on reality television - one that has its tongue firmly in cheek, but which also speaks to deeper themes in the metanarrative I'm working hard not to spoil here. It's repetitive and a little unfair at times, but also compelling and enjoyable - and there's a real thrill to getting good footage.
Finally, Crush House should also be commended for its representation, full of varied and complex characters that slowly reveal themselves through conversations, or even acts as simple as changing into a swimsuit. It’s incredibly refreshing to see characters living their authentic selves without fear, or without apology… though, again, it’s insane how many have expert knowledge into the science behind ripples in pool water.
