Thirsty Suitors overview: skating via heartbreak

If you happen to really feel unwelcome in your hometown, wait till you meet Jala. The star of Thirsty Suitors, a brand new narrative skateboarding RPG from Outerloop Video games, will get one heck of a homecoming when she returns to the childhood city she left behind and not using a second thought. Not solely does she should face her disillusioned mom and indignant sister, however an entire fleet of scorned exes out for revenge — or a minimum of slightly closure. It’s sufficient drama to make somebody need to pull a 180 and skate proper out of city.

Like a pot of water crammed to the brim, Thirsty Suitors explores the disastrous second the place all our messy life selections lastly boil over. Little issues morph into larger-than-life battles in a singular journey that blends the grand exuberance of Indian cinema with the nerdy sincerity of Scott Pilgrim. However it’s not the inventive RPG battles or over-the-top cooking interludes that make it particular; it’s the mature moments in-between the place Jala will get an opportunity to heal the lingering wounds she’s inflicted.

Like its hero, Thirsty Suitors is a charmingly messy recreation that juggles slightly greater than it might deal with. Its multipronged gameplay loop wobbles between ingenious and repetitive over the course of its eight-hour story. What it lacks in polish, although, it makes up for with a nuanced narrative about how the previous isn’t all the time a haunting specter to cover from.

Jala vs. the World

Thirsty Suitors doesn’t waste time unloading emotional baggage. As quickly as I choose New Sport, I’m rapidly pressured to confront Jala’s hometown reign of terror. A part of that may be a cultural battle, because the queer skater punk returns house to an Tamil mom who isn’t shy about telling Jala that she betrayed her household and tradition by abruptly leaving city years in the past (her TV-loving Sri Lankan father is far more chill in regards to the association). Not less than mother is form sufficient to say it to her face, although; Jala’s sister has opted for the silent remedy, even going so far as to chop Jala out of her upcoming wedding ceremony. It’s a grounded story made up of tangled threads, one which expertly unveils one other piece of Jala’s historical past because the story progresses.

Jala’s battles aren’t simply symbolic. On high of every little thing else, her exes have bonded collectively and are intent on making her reply for her reckless previous. It’s a setup that pulls clear inspiration from Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, however one which’s approached with extra maturity. Every ex (and their heartbreak) paints a fuller portrait of Jala’s evolving views on relationships and the place she sees herself in them. What begins with a innocent reconnection along with her third-grade fling Sergio builds to a extra soul-searching reconciliation along with her most up-to-date ex, Tyler. No battle paints Jala’s lovers as evil obstacles impeding her progress, however as actual people in search of understanding of what occurred.

These moments make up the center of Thirsty Suitors’ story, as Jala learns extra about herself every time she’s confronted with a chunk of her previous. Fights aren’t simply received by knocking an enemy’s well being bar all the way down to zero; every concludes with a immediate to “make up” with the individual, permitting each of them to maneuver on. With every little bit of closure, Jala positive aspects the clear-eyed confidence she must heal the larger household wounds nonetheless festering.

It’s not all the time the cleanest story. An overarching plot a few townie youth cult (led by a person in a bear swimsuit) tries too laborious to ratchet up the stakes and a few key plotlines abruptly begin and cease. I get the sense that Outerloop Video games tried to pack in additional narrative than its small indie scale allowed at instances. The whole journey takes place throughout three small places full of facet characters that battle for restricted display time. I virtually get why Jala was so keen to depart as so many individuals battle for my consideration.

Regardless of that, it’s these one-on-one moments with Jala’s exes that make Thirsty Suitors’ story worthwhile. It’s an unabashedly queer story a few girl balancing her tasks to others along with her personal private wants and self expression. There’s area for all of that as Jala grinds down the rail of life; she simply must nail the balancing act.

Spreading it skinny

Whereas Thirsty Suitors tells a grounded story, it’s dressed up with over-the-top gameplay that blows issues as much as a grander scale. That begins with its underlying RPG hooks, as Jala fights each her exes and organized suitors in turn-based battles. It’s an instantly lovable system, as Jala inflicts her foes with standing illnesses like “thirst” and (symbolically) bashes them along with her skateboard. Assaults are interspersed with vocal barbs as Jala and her exes hash out their previous midbattle. It’s a intelligent use of an RPG framework that turns what might have been a visible novel into one thing extra energetic. These fights lean into Thirsty Suitors’ stylized panache too, as Jala unleashes charmingly exaggerated assaults introduced in vibrant pop artwork fashion.

Outerloop Video games takes notes from the Mario RPGs to tug that off. Every assault is executed with fast minigames which have gamers mashing buttons or transferring their joystick on the proper second. It’s extra enjoyable than merely deciding on a transfer from a listing, although that system does get repetitive pretty quick. There are solely a handful of assaults Jala learns, and their prompts by no means change. There’s no actual ability to it after some time, because it simply turns into busy work that extends already prolonged fights even additional.

Totally different exes don’t precisely shake that formulation up both. The technique is kind of the identical in virtually each battle: inflict a standing impact the enemy is weak to, push the momentum with an assault of that kind, and hit primary ones to revive willpower. An occasional dancing minigame or narrative twist breaks up a couple of battles, however there’s not an excessive amount of depth to be discovered after getting the system down pat. Luckily, there aren’t a glut of battles both, because it’s extra of a lightweight RPG with a handful of central battles than one which requires grinding.

That concept of nice gameplay ideas being unfold skinny carries over to Thirsty Suitors’ different parts. Between battles, Jala can prepare dinner meals along with her mom to create buff-inducing consumables in battle. It’s one other ingeniously inventive concept as Jala works to win her mom’s approval with every recipe step throughout a Cooking Mama-style minigame. There are even some hilarious cultural gags peppered in, as Jala can attempt to acquire a bonus by complimenting her mom — a transfer that may backfire, as the sport notes that Indian moms are laborious to foretell. Like fight, that playful loop will get stale too because it doesn’t combine up its button timing minigames or exuberant animations a lot, even between recipes.

Skateboarding is extra diversified than cooking and fight, although it’s additionally the least essential to the expertise as an entire. Jala will get round city on her skateboard and Outerloop Video games tries to make that as clean and satisfying as attainable. Gamers can’t actually wipe out, which permits them to chain collectively huge trick combos like they’re in a Tony Hawk recreation. Gamers can take a look at these expertise much more with non-compulsory challenges that reward money, battle objects, and beauty gear, which lets them change up Jala’s fashion. It’s a enjoyable solution to kill time between large story developments, although it winds up feeling indifferent from the expertise at giant.

Thirsty Suitors by no means totally loses its stability, because it tackles every little thing it does with its complete coronary heart, but it surely does go away the entire bundle feeling a bit like Jala herself. She’s pulled in too many instructions throughout her journey house as a number of folks battle for her consideration. How can she presumably be anticipated to wrap each relationship up neatly? She’s solely human. That’s finally what’s so endearing about her journey, as Thirsty Suitors by no means calls for perfection from Jala. It’s comfy exhibiting gamers a messy character who’s attempting her finest to juggle her difficult life. The truth that she’s capable of keep standing via all of it’s a small victory value celebrating. I’m prepared to increase that very same compassion to an bold indie that dares to dream past its small city restrictions.

Thirsty Suitors was examined on PC and Steam Deck.