When I first read the summary for Thirsty Suitors, I imagined it would be a South Asian version of Scott Pilgrim, only you're fighting your own evil exes. But as soon as I booted up the game and stepped into a Jala's inner world, skateboard in hand and a Thirstsona quiz badgering me about my love life after every grind, I realized I was going to be in for a wilder ride. Despite its short length, it made a far deeper impression on me than the majority of longer AAA games I'd played this year with its clever writing and memorable battle system.
After a messy break-up with her older girlfriend, Jala returns to her hometown of Timber Falls. Not only does she have to face the disappointed judgment of her parents, she also has to deal with vengeful exes, a sister who won’t talk to her, an imminent meeting with her strict Indian grandmother, and a bizarre skateboarding cult run by an anonymous man who lives in the sewers and wears a bear mask. Her exes all have beef with Jala and honestly, after hearing their side of the story, I can’t blame them. She was a piece of work. Her past romances, as well as tensions regarding the skater cult, makes Timber Falls a hostile place. But as Jala works through her issues both personal and interpersonal, she starts to discover more about herself and her home.
The story focuses on themes of emotional reconciliation, as well as inter-generational trauma and the immigrant experience. There is a lot of diversity in this game when it comes to races, genders, and sexualities. However, I never felt like the writers were shoving it in my face. Their identities are a major part of their character, of course, but it doesn’t define them. The writing is snappy and witty, but fraught with emotional punches when it needs to be. This is a really hard balance to achieve. I’ve reviewed games in the past where I dinged the writing for nonstop “humor” and “Tumblr speech,” which is when the characters act as mouthpieces for the writers’ political beliefs. However, Thirsty Suitors’s jokes made me laugh out loud and its more intense moments brought me to tears. I never felt like the writing talked down to me or over-explained anything.
Jala’s conversations with her exes were really funny. Her confrontation with Irfan, for example, was hilarious, even though Jala was terrible to him when they were together. She’s so messy, it’s crazy, and it’s even worse when you put Tyler into the mix. The writing really shines in the interactions between Jala and her mother, though. I think most Asians can relate to Jala’s frustrations in the face of her mother’s passive-aggressive remarks about her life and decisions.
I actually yelled when, upon achieving a perfect score on one of the recipes, her mother said that she would serve the dish to guests. Granted, she wouldn’t serve it to desi guests. But guests?! That’s high praise! Outerloop Games is a minority-led studio and so it’s totally understandable as to how its writers could accurately recreate the Asian daughter experience. The entire conversation between Jala, Jala’s mother, and Jala’s grandmother was so uncomfortable. It brought back really awkward memories of having to watch my own mother and maternal grandmother interact.
The part about Outerloops being minority-led is what I think makes the writing hit home so well. This is not tokenism or forced diversity. The characters aren't stereotypes or mouthpieces. They're us. This is our lived experience. Thirsty Suitors writes from a queer Asian immigrant perspective for the queer Asian immigrant, which eliminates the need to over-explain anything. Why does it need to fully put into words the effort that Jala's parents put into as first-generation immigrants, or Diya's complicated relationship with her own family, when these are experiences that we can relate to? I've heard my parents talk about it. I've seen my parents live it. That's not to say that the game can only be relatable to Asians or immigrants, though. Jala's internal turmoils, as well as the real hurt she inflicted upon her community, are also struggles that I'm sure most people who had messy teenage years can see themselves in.
The story and characters aren’t the only strong points of Thirsty Suitors. As a whole, the game feels incredibly polished. As soon as I booted up the game and the “What’s Your Thirstsona?” track started to play, I was hooked. I knew I’d enjoy the game. All the songs have such a catchy rhythm, and has such a unique Indian inspiration that I don’t usually hear in games. The voice acting, too, felt great. I think that a lot of the lines in the game could be really cringy in the Marvel movie way. But the delivery is either so earnest or so funny, that I laughed more often than not. Visually, too, I love how funny the status effects are on the characters. The aesthetics of the characters really fit the overall vibe of the environment, story, and atmosphere, combining retro designs with a modern style.
There are several ways to level up Jala. You can fight against suitors and punks, of course. There is some level of customization as well. Jala's Thirstsona changes depending on your answers in the story. Flaky responses raise her Bohemian Thirstsona, for example, which has different stats than the mean Heartbreaker one. Combat is turn-based. It focuses on applying status effects, and button inputs affect damage. The better you time the inputs, the more damage you deal or the less you take. It's kind of similar to Yakuza 7. The battles can seem as ridiculous as the ones there too if you think about it too much. Jala is a grown woman beating up teenagers in a skate park, like, come on.
You can also cook and skateboard to level up. Since I cooked a lot to get free healing items, I became overleveled halfway through the game. The cooking mini-game is like a rhythm game and it’s super addicting. While I enjoyed the Tony Hawk games, I personally had a harder time in Thirsty Suitors because I had a hard time gauging how far Jala could jump or steering her around.