Thirsty Suitors

“Thirsty Suitors elevates the turn-based RPG genre to the modern day with skateboarding, South Asian diversity, accessibility options, and cooking.”

“Thirsty Suitors, while not for everyone, is full of wit, charm and everything good about indie games.”

“Thirsty Suitors is a great example of what happens when a developer's ambition outstrips the ability to fully realise that vision, for whatever reason. The story and visual style here are top-notch, but the actual mechanics lack the depth needed to make this one of the best indie games on Switch. Despite its flaws, the heart and humour of these characters still make it one of the most fun narratives of the year.”

“That’s how so much of Thirsty Suitors feels to play: stylish to look at and perhaps pleasurable in the moment yet ultimately quite shallow. As a whole, it’s a bundle of middling mechanics carried by strong writing. The story may be about Jala coming to terms with her past while she figures herself out, but the game itself never settles on a cohesive vision of what it should be.”

“Mix the madness of a blind date, the unknown of a homecoming and slippers on your mother's teeth, and you get Thirsty Suitors, a video game that overwhelms the rules and follows its own vision, going to define with awareness and maturity an enveloping and enthralling game design. Above all, it is strong in game design that mixes with real-life events and a number of events that follow one another, while outlining an extremely scholastic exploration. Try it if you're in a midlife crisis (now in your thirties), if you have a lot or a lot of exes ready to take revenge and if, in a sense, you've finished Alan Wake 2 or any other work released in the last six months. In that case, you would understand why someone left you.”

“Thirsty Suitors is a wildly unique game that blends together a whole lot of genres, but too often it feels like a bit of a chore to play.”

“Thirsty Suitors has a surprising amount to say about culture, acceptance, self-expression, and growing from your mistakes. That being said, I did not grow past my lifelong videogame mistakes, and, as I’ve done so often in the past, I failed to manually save the game at regular intervals. So when a glitch wouldn’t let me restart a battle after dying, I had to quit the game and return back to the start of the level. Much like Jala my mistakes caught up to me, but, unlike Jala, I doubt that will make me change my ways.”

“It’s also relatively short to complete as the game only has a few Chapters, meaning you can wrap up the story in between 10-15 hours. This makes it the perfect game to pick up and play on a weekend, especially if you’re looking for something that combines simplistic and fun gameplay with a strong narrative and a quirky plot. Trust me, taking on Jala’s role of an ex-battling skater girl in the early 2000s is a wild and entertaining rollercoaster ride, sure to have you laughing along every step of the way.”

“Thirsty Suitors is a little thirsty with its mechanical ambitions but never fails to charm in one way or another. With a beautifully diverse cast, mature writing, and unmatched expressiveness, it breathes new life into the genre.”

“Overall, Thirsty Suitors is a fun experience. If you can overlook the rough skateboarding sections and repetitive encounters, there is a good coming-of-age story and some fantastic music and mini-games.”

“Your bitter exes are the enemies in this turn-based adventure, which has you talk through your feelings even while delivering kick-ass martial arts moves”

“A heartfelt and hilarious couples therapy session, disguised as a stylish RPG. A gem.”

“Thirsty Suitors has well-crafted RPG mechanics and satisfying combat, but its gleefully wild and colorful style and superb dialogue and characters are truly its biggest strength. It's the type of game where you find yourself tempted to try every activity possible, either to see a loving ode to South Asian cultures, a well-written character moment or both. It's an inspired bit of lunacy that still has a ton of heart at its core, creating an emotional journey in the end that still has a lot of room for more humorous bits. Jala's life may be a mess at the start of the game, but cleaning up the mess leads to a grand amount of fun.”

“While there are RPGs out there with deeper systems and more engaging mechanics, Thirsty Suitors' story more than makes up for any shortcomings. You don't have to be the child of an immigrant to appreciate the story, but it helps. Even if you aren't, the narrative is filled with raucous humor and laugh-out-loud moments that will make you glad you picked it up.”

“Thirsty Suitors succeeds because it delivers on story. Memorable characters, top-notch voice-over work, and stand-out dialogue all help elevate the average gameplay elements. Ultimately, Jala's is a story that you'll enjoy from beginning to end, even if it does involve suffering through a deluge of QTEs.”

“Like its hero, Thirsty Suitors is a charmingly messy game that juggles a little more than it can handle. Its multipronged gameplay loop wobbles between inventive and repetitive over the course of its eight-hour story. What it lacks in polish, though, it makes up for with a nuanced narrative about how the past isn’t always a haunting specter to hide from.”

“The story can feel a bit rushed at times, but cooking under the pressure of a judgmental family and reconciling with exes through exaggerated battles makes Thirsty Suitors very worthwhile.”

“While on the outside Thirsty Suitors seems like a tongue-in-cheek game about reconnecting with your past, it reveals so much more beneath the surface. That's not to say it isn't humorous, but it's also doing much more besides. It's a commentary on societal expectations, living as a second-generation immigrant in a different culture, finding yourself, and accepting others. It's a deep experience packaged in such a light-hearted box, and never feels overbearing. The story of Jala, her family, and friends, each with their own lived experiences, feels so important and relevant to today's society, and it's a joy to play through.”

“A memorable experience that left me wanting more (in a good way).”