After finishing this, I'm completely at a loss for what I should rate it. On the one hand, by committing so hard to making a game about Fucked Up Shit, you're going all-in on your jokes landing with the audience and they definitely do not always land. It's pretty easy to see why people are comparing this to Always Sunny (especially early IASIP) but one of IASIP's big strengths is weaving together A- and B-plots while peppering in other jokes, and the truth is that Class of '09 never has as much going on as IASIP does in any given episode, so you kinda gotta be on board with whatever sociopathic shit Nicole is getting up to. There are entire endings whose comedic premise just did not work, leaving us grimacing for 15-30 minutes straight as Nicole accidentally gets roped into an actual hate crime. It's got some clever jokes but you're just as likely to run into a 5-minute bit where the entire joke is "this person is being horrendously mean for literally no reason". (Note: I haven't played the first game, so I've almost certainly got some misplaced sympathy)

I gotta admit, though, it was a blast to stream this thing in a Discord call. It's got some really solid voice acting and the auto-text does a lot for comedic timing that could've easily been ruined if you let players click through this at their own pace. The game loves presenting you with some wild-ass choices too, so a lot of the fun is clicking shit like "commit charity fraud" or "skip school with the violent alt girl" and watching things immediately spiral out of control into "multiple felonies" territory. Emily is the greatest character of all time.

(this whole thing has me wondering what we're in for when that 20-year nostalgia cycle really hits)

i think nicole might be my favorite protagonist in any video game ever

yeah, she's absolutely a bad person. let me ask you this: how many video games have protagonists that are good people? how many games have "anti-heroes"? how many games justify a flawed character by having them do something heroic in the end? it's repetitive. nicole is not good, but she's interesting. even when she is objectively being an asshole- "YOU BULLIED A GAY GIRL INTO BEING STRAIGHT!"- she's still a strong lead character. the writing is awesome enough to really sell someone who would be a paper-thin antagonist in a lesser game. and at the end of the day, i still love her.

ari route is so good what the hell

In one route you bully a girl so hard she relapses into being bulimic again, in another route you enter an abusive lesbian relationship as the abuser, and in another route you whore yourself out on MySpace because you don’t want to work retail. On one hand ‘understanding’ Nicole is a blaring self-report on all levels but on the other hand no other VN protagonist has ever embodied the teenage girl mindset quite like her. It’s truly incredible to witness. You will hear line deliveries that make you question what the hell the rest of the industry is even doing. Possibly essential reading

new millennium princesses

one of those incredibly special stories that resonates so hard and reminds u oh YEAH i was a rlly bad person oh yeah im still physically the same person and even if I think ive changed for the better that doesn’t necessarily mean the ppl ive hurt think the same but yeah whatever oh well it’s like the baby thinks im a piece of shit sketch from i think u should leave

in love w how midwestern this feels like everything just happens at dairy queens or dave and busters or diners. there’s nothing to do in towns like these so it makes sense why some incredibly privileged ppl end up the way they do. still find nicole’s story to be incredibly empathetic and cathartic for me

the backgrounds for each scene r so underappreciated in how they look, consistently blurring the lines between reality and not, dude could make like a rlly good horror game one day this is like basically one tbh

Pitch black comedy done right. For a game with so many jokes, the majority of them land - a fucking miracle if you ask me. The credits say that it was 'directed' by the guy who made Saiyaman Saga Was Sick, which explains why the dialogue turns between stupid and smart on a dime. Nicole is a perfect misanthrope, so when the plot turns to dealing crack or abusive relationships it's unsurprising but still hilarious. This is further boosted by the voice acting, which is superb across the board. Elsie Lovelock turns in an all-star performance as Nicole, and really brings that dirtbag to life. Honestly, give it a shot, it's quality crassness in a short package.

90

Don't understand all the hate this series has recently been getting on this site. It all just mostly feels like really sensitive people missing the point and getting butt hurt over nothing. I saw a review here saying the first game is xenophobic, despite the game very obviously making fun of it. I even sometimes see posts of people thinking the game is on Nicole's side. It isn't, with multiple routes here either having her being criticized for being a garbage person or her facing serious repercussions for her actions, sometimes both happen in a single route. The game does has a very dark and cynical sense of humor, and if those kind of jokes don't tickle your funny bone that's fine. However, it does not support shitty people or ideas. It's just portraying certain people within a certain time period in an exaggerated fashion. In my opinion, both games are incredibly funny and handle their subject matter well.

Anyways, this one is much better than the original. It's just as funny, while also managing to make the characters and story routes even more interesting and complex.

If suicide and school shooting jokes is your bag, this is your re-up.

I am biased as I've been watching SoulBro vids forever but this game is a crude, tasteless piece of shit. It will annoy the fuck out of certain people who have no nostalgia for this time period. Nor will it appeal to those who don't like the sense of humor the game has because the humor is the game and it's very much intentionally and relentlessly sardonic. I personally love this shit.

I played the original and loved it. It was short. It had the SoulBro goodness with the writing and pacing. This is a vast improvement upon the idea. These devs are growing sharper in such a rapid pace that their niche is becoming more refined and we have yet to see the best of these guys. I truly believe that.

Basically just more of the same insane shit from the first game—except there's aren't nearly as many jokes about sexual misconduct. The Re-Up (whatever the fuck that means) instead reaches out to cover more nuanced topics, such as double suicide via drug overdose, watching your mom die from a heart attack and only being concerned with her estate, and introducing at least 3 insanely repressed toxic lesbians (that's what makes it fun tho). So y'know, funnier than the first game in basically every way.
Jecka was not included in the lesbian count, but that's because we already knew she was a repressed lesbian from the first game.