Crush Crush

While they may seem like a relatively new concept, or at least as old as Flash players, erotic and porn video games go back to the origin of the electronic entertainment industry. In fact, going back to the second generation of video games, there have been a series of smut titles – albeit not well know ones – such as Bachelor Party and Custer’s Revenge, which came out during the early 80s. Both involved incredibly simple mechanics and were structured around simple scenarios like a stick-figure man tries to copulate with as many women as possible or something similar. Then as technology progressed, more sophisticated but just as figuratively crude games came out over the years like the (in)famous Leisure Suit Larry series. Starting around the late 80s and early 90s, these games became markedly more advanced not just with respect to gameplay but also the most important factor – the degree to which realistic human nudity and intercourse could be rendered. But renders approaching photorealism would not occur for about a decade, and the few of those games which were made rarely saw store shelves in part because of the controversy surrounding them. However, with the rise of the internet and accompanying improvements in graphics, processing times, and download speeds, not only producing but getting access to erotic video games has become easier than ever. While there are several which we have reviewed, one of the best examples we have found is their anime-inspired erotic RPG and romance-simulator Crush Crush.

Where Did This Erotic Experience Come From?

Considered to be an indie game, Crush Crush was published by Sad Panda Studios and promoted by the massive entertainment enterprise MindGeek in the middle of 2016. For those unaware, MindGeek is a Canadian-based company which, on its face looks like a digital development company but owns several websites which overlap with the adult entertainment industry including popular tubes like PornHub, major studios like Brazzers, and has an entire platform devoted entirely to interactive erotic entertainment Nutaku. While there are many kinds of kinky games, this website has a primary focus on producing and promoting erotic video games, which tend to have an anime, or more specifically, hentai flavor to them. This is the kind of art genre that Crush Crush fits, though its mechanics are reminiscent of a traditional role-playing game that focuses on item collection and romance simulation.

What Kind of Kink And Gameplay Does This Game Consist Of?

Described as a casual sex game by Nutaku, often reviewed by dating simulator enthusiasts, and considered to be a porn game by some, Crush Crush is a combination of all of these. While the means are not, the objective is simple: romance and seduce one (or several) gorgeous gals, all of whom have big, beautiful eyes, among other appealing assets. Through conversation during dates, item acquisition, gift exchanges, and engaging in multiple activities to get the money to finance all of this, you can win the hearts of dozens of women. In this point-and-click adventure, mechanics include applying for and working jobs, engaging in hobbies to make you more appealing, attaining achievements, and navigating dialogue trees. And for those who are wondering, no, you do not have to be a dedicated gamer to be able to play this game. In fact, the learning curve is quite forgiving, and it is structured to friendly to the 'casual' demographic.

Like Any Good, Modern Game There Are Updates and Downloads

One thing that this game, like mainstream titles, has – and unlike most porn games – are updates to improve the existing game and downloadable content to improve upon it. Besides the main story, there is a related game and a DLCs which you can play, plus more. Blush Blush – Aimed at women, or at least anyone with an attraction to men, this extension allows the player to do everything they did in the original game – just with 12 anime-boys. And keep in mind, while the mechanics are the same, the storylines are completely unique, though just as deep as the original version. 18+ Naughty – As you might guess from the title, this DLC not only presents your anime love interests in skimpy outfits but completely nude. Besides all of this, Crush Crush even has 25 total Steam achievements complete with a global achievements board on Steam. And in addition to all of that, there are limited time offers, which often give away free outfits, new mini-games, and other neat bonus material which you can get on the video game platform Steam and other websites.

There Is Even A Complete, Well Made Wiki As Well

So far, we have not reviewed a porn game that has such a loyal and dedicated fanbase that they have created an entire wiki. And the Crush Crush wiki is not some hackneyed project maintained by a couple of enthusiasts either. In fact, that platform has several editors and contributors who have developed a unique color scheme, added promotional art, included articles on how to play the game, and even included community interaction tools like opinion polls.

Fan Support Which Influenced Mobile Development

One of the drawbacks of this game initially was that there was no option to play it most mobile devices. However, in 2017, a fan-made straw poll was released, which was meant to indicate support for an Android-friendly version of the game. This may have influenced Crush Crush's developers since some of their staff announced in the middle of 2019 that, despite delays in production, they were going to release a mobile version. A few months later, a mobile version came out for Android, and from what we have seen, the fans enjoy playing it on their phones just as much on desktop devices.

Where You Can Find Crush Crush

Unlike some other erotic games which tend to be limited to being only playable or downloadable on one website, you can find Crush Crush on a number of platforms. Besides Nutaku’s website where you can play in the browser, you can download a copy of this game for free off of the popular video game site Steam as well as the Google Play store, and, of course, Sad Panda Studio’s own website. While these sources can be a bit sketchier, you can also download – though not without risk or guarantee of quality – on other video game torrent hosting sites like Tech Spot, Softronic, and Free Games Utopia.

You Can Enjoy This Game In Multiple Languages

Having been developed by a small team of Canadians all subtitles, audio, and the game’s interface is set to English by default. However, despite being made by such as small team, you can set the game (albeit without spoken dialogue) in Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, and two versions of Portuguese – traditional and Brazilian.

What We Enjoy About Crush Crush

Most contemporary internet-based porn games tend to be low-rent Flash games, which may provide thirty minutes to at best a half an hour of cheap thrills and mild titillation. Not so here. The art style of Crush Crush, like the polish applied to the programming, is as admirable as the thought put into the plot. Speaking of plot, the number of girls (or in one DLC guys) you can interact with and romance is impressive and written with enough depth to keep you fascinated and invested in them just like a mainstream title. This is especially noteworthy since Sad Panda Studios is made up of only half a dozen people. The fact that, while on the maximalist side, the game mechanics are streamlined and optimized for both pick-up-and-play causals as well as hardcore gamers. All it takes is some amount of time to learn the fundamentals, and you should be fine. Even if you are not, consult the wiki page, we mentioned.

What We Dislike About Crush Crush

Structurally speaking, there really are not any problems with this game in terms of gameplay glitches, rendering issues or similar problems. However, there are a few aesthetic and incidental features which some of our readers may not care for. For one, the art style strives to combine a cute (though not quite chibi) look, and not every drawn character looks maximally erotic all of the time. We think that makes sense since the developers likely did not want to overstimulate the player, but some gamers may find that aspect a little disappointing. We should also note that this game splits the line between erotic entertainment and simulated dating, so there is not as much emphasis on explicit sex as some people may prefer. It is also worth noting that to download the game, you will have to have an entire gigabyte free on your hard drive, and that is not including data for updates and expansions. The biggest problem some people may have is that to get the characters to appear totally nude, you will have to pay $6.99 for that content if you download the game. Having said that, you can play the Moist & Uncensored version for free on Nutaku. You just need to sign-up to get an account on that site for access.

Apparently, Other Users Agree With Our Assessment, Too

While developing our opinion of this site, we also were sure to look at what other gamers had been saying. And since this erotic experience is available on so many websites, we had a lot to read through. But to sum up, assessments on most platforms are consistently full of praise, and this game has maintained a Very Positive rating on Steam out of literally thousands of reviews. To give some specifics, many fans have reported being surprised at how "serious" this game was, and by that, we mean that it is neither a parody porn game or a hastily slapped together erotic simulator. It is the depth of gameplay with a well-crafted, unique erotic aesthetic, which made them continue playing. Indeed, a lot of reviewers have found that the humor, alluring erotic character designs, and skill progression to be quite addictive. Furthermore, many who have reviewed this game have sunken in as many hours as a mainstream title or even more, which averages to around 30-35 hours and has exceeded 200 hours in some cases. It is this following, we think, which has promoted additional DLCs and will likely lead to more multi-media content coming out of this franchise. On that note, this game has not only been so well received that it has seen consistent updates and expansion, but as of the publishing of this review, Sad Panda Studios is in the middle of working with Warner Bros. Pictures to create a hand-drawn Crush Crush movie.

Should You Check It Out And Start Playing?

At first, this erotic entertainment and dating simulator may seem like it would only appeal to hentai fans – and based on third-party reviews, it certainly does. However, even if you are not normally into anime-inspired erotica or even video games, you should still consider everything Crush Crush has to offer. For free, you can get access to a game that allows you to flirt with and seduce multiple women through a number of different mechanics, which, once you get the hang of it, become easier but also more challenging as you progress. The one significant downside is that you will have to pay to see full nudity, though all of the characters are generally dressed in highly revealing outfits, and the DLCs are free to download like the main game. Further, unlike most other porn games, this one has been so well received that there is now a fan-based wiki to make figuring out the best way to play the game even easier. For all of these reasons, we consider Crush Crush to be one of the finest titles promoted by one of our favorite sites, Nutaku and award it four and a half out of five hands. So, yes, we do strongly recommend you try playing Crush Crush.