Oddly charming, interesting and super creative, Thirsty Suitors throws a lot of ideas at the wall. Part skateboarding, part turn based RPG, part rhythm based game, part cooking game, Thirsty Suitors does a lot with its relatively short experience and I'm not sure it was worth it.
All these ideas don't really mix well. While none are outright bad, I don't think I can say I enjoyed any that much. The combat/RPG mechanics are probably the closest to being really good.
Thirsty Suitors' silly energy and creativity shines in this area which is the game's biggest pro, mostly because of all the weird special attacks the game gives you.
Fighting overall is fairly straightforward. You've got a health bar, a MP/WP bar as well, you can do normal attacks, special attacks that consume WP/MP, and items to help boost your stats, your health, etc. Normal attacks will help fill up your WP bar slowly so there is some strategy to the attacks you do.
The fighting also features a taunt ability that is key to combat. Most enemies feature a weakness that you can exploit for bigger damage. Figuring out what their weakness is can be done through taunting. You can flirt with someone and get them thirsty for you to the point they can't attack you properly, you can shock them by saying something so brash and out of left field that they aren't able to attack you for a few turns, etc. etc.
Using these taunts and finding the weaknesses of your enemies will open them up to your special attacks as well. The taunt's ability will last for a few turns so you'll be able to do bigger special attacks that correspond to these types of taunts for bigger damage.
The combat itself is pretty by the book and over time, the crazy attacks and rhythm based button timing sections get old really fast since all special attacks require you to do these button timing sections.
When you're not in battle, you're skating around the two sections of this game. The skating sections are maybe the worst part of the game sadly. Skateboarding is forced upon you in certain sections of the game. This is aggravating because you just don't go fast on the skateboard. It's just way too slow. There are a few areas where you can walk instead. This is equally annoying because you can actually run and seemingly go faster on foot.
On top of that, the game is very kind with how easy you attach to grinding/trick sections, so its difficult to take shortcuts without getting stuck doing a line and getting stuck going in a direction you don't want to actually go towards, taking more time to get back on the right path and making the shortcut feel like a longer route.
You can kinda do tricks but the trick system is incredibly limited, making that section get real old pretty quickly.
There's also a cooking section that helps you make items that you can use in battle. This section isn't too bad but it's just a different rhythm based input section similar to what you get in battles with your skill based attacks.
Outside of this and a few technical issues I ran into, the game isn't all bad. The story is a bit messy, but overall a nice story. The story along with the wild creativity surrounding the ex battles and other over-the-top characters was fun enough to stick through some of the gameplay flaws. Results may vary in this but overall, Thirsty Suitors is worth giving a try if any of the trailers/clips/pictures have piqued your interest. You might not stick with it to completion, but the overall charm, story and creativity is worth a trial run at the very least. Especially since it's currently on Game Pass (as of this writing).
All these ideas don't really mix well. While none are outright bad, I don't think I can say I enjoyed any that much. The combat/RPG mechanics are probably the closest to being really good.
Thirsty Suitors' silly energy and creativity shines in this area which is the game's biggest pro, mostly because of all the weird special attacks the game gives you.
Fighting overall is fairly straightforward. You've got a health bar, a MP/WP bar as well, you can do normal attacks, special attacks that consume WP/MP, and items to help boost your stats, your health, etc. Normal attacks will help fill up your WP bar slowly so there is some strategy to the attacks you do.
The fighting also features a taunt ability that is key to combat. Most enemies feature a weakness that you can exploit for bigger damage. Figuring out what their weakness is can be done through taunting. You can flirt with someone and get them thirsty for you to the point they can't attack you properly, you can shock them by saying something so brash and out of left field that they aren't able to attack you for a few turns, etc. etc.
Using these taunts and finding the weaknesses of your enemies will open them up to your special attacks as well. The taunt's ability will last for a few turns so you'll be able to do bigger special attacks that correspond to these types of taunts for bigger damage.
The combat itself is pretty by the book and over time, the crazy attacks and rhythm based button timing sections get old really fast since all special attacks require you to do these button timing sections.
When you're not in battle, you're skating around the two sections of this game. The skating sections are maybe the worst part of the game sadly. Skateboarding is forced upon you in certain sections of the game. This is aggravating because you just don't go fast on the skateboard. It's just way too slow. There are a few areas where you can walk instead. This is equally annoying because you can actually run and seemingly go faster on foot.
On top of that, the game is very kind with how easy you attach to grinding/trick sections, so its difficult to take shortcuts without getting stuck doing a line and getting stuck going in a direction you don't want to actually go towards, taking more time to get back on the right path and making the shortcut feel like a longer route.
You can kinda do tricks but the trick system is incredibly limited, making that section get real old pretty quickly.
There's also a cooking section that helps you make items that you can use in battle. This section isn't too bad but it's just a different rhythm based input section similar to what you get in battles with your skill based attacks.
Outside of this and a few technical issues I ran into, the game isn't all bad. The story is a bit messy, but overall a nice story. The story along with the wild creativity surrounding the ex battles and other over-the-top characters was fun enough to stick through some of the gameplay flaws. Results may vary in this but overall, Thirsty Suitors is worth giving a try if any of the trailers/clips/pictures have piqued your interest. You might not stick with it to completion, but the overall charm, story and creativity is worth a trial run at the very least. Especially since it's currently on Game Pass (as of this writing).