Hentai Hack-Her from GreatherGames is a PC/Desktop simulator where you’re tasked with downloading questionable software to aid you in hacking electronic bank accounts and stealing money from innocent web-cam girls. You’ll then use that money to download even more questionable software, desktop backgrounds, nudie pics, and music you can rock to while doing so. Oh, and there’s shoot ‘em up elements too!
When I first came across Hentai Hack-Her, I will admit, I didn’t have high hopes. At first glance it seemed like another one of those “Hentai” games that absolutely floods the Steam marketplace. Going beyond judging it purely by its name and its cover art, however, I was intrigued by the novelty of it being a desktop simulator. Where you would be maintaining (destroying?) your PC by downloading software and customizing it. Although I didn’t really know how the shoot ‘em up portions would fit in, it can’t hurt to have them. So I was ready to suspend my disbelief.
What was most impressive was that Hentai Hack-Her’s simulation, from a mechanical standpoint, worked exactly how you would expect! You could download software, browse the file system, add desktop backgrounds, and explore the interwebs. Even if it was limited. As for the shoot ‘em up sections, although they could be considered the gameplay focal point, were probably the least exciting parts of the game. Sure it was serviceable, and controlled perfectly fine, but it lacked variety and its challenge didn’t scale in a satisfying way.
Aesthetically Hentai Hack-Her doesn’t offer much to write home about either. Aside from some of the NSFW content, it felt uninspired and slightly amateurish. Which only contributed to our lukewarm initial impressions. In spite of that, thematically it makes sense that it would feature adult content. I mean, when you think of the internet you think porn, right? However, it didn’t necessarily need it, and because it was only really used to reward you for exploring your little sandbox, or successfully “hacking”, the game could stand on its own without it. Which isn’t a bad thing!
I was honestly surprised with Hentai Hack-Her after spending some time with it. I didn’t know what to expect, and it ended up exceeding my expectations. Whatever those expectations may have been. I enjoyed that you had to get around the various roadblocks like your antivirus software by changing system settings, so you could download the nefarious programs and acquire information you needed to progress. Also, the shoot ‘em up did offer a good distraction from poking and prodding around your OS, even if it was a tad simplistic and eventually repetitive.
Which leads me to what I didn’t like about the game. It's monotonous. After 30 or so minutes in, the novelty wore off, and with the simple shoot ‘em up sections being the only way to progress, my motivation for moving forward quickly faltered. That said, I would love to see the devs expand on the idea and I would most certainly be down for seeing how they could improve on the formula in a sequel.
