Chapter One: Introduction
I received a free copy of this software from the a friend for review — thanks buddy! For the purposes of this review, I will primarily discuss the unofficially patched version of the game. Please note HoneySelect2Libido DX on Steam is indefinitely “Ver 1.0.0”; in other words, Ilusion has no intention of ever patching the Steam release or providing pre-existing DLC.
Chapter Two: Gameplay (3/5★)
Section One: Overview
I want to call HoneySelect2Libido DX a “point and click”, but that would suggest this game has more substance than it actually does. Beyond the interactive sex-scenes, the “gameplay” is but a husk. Upon meeting someone, you may either “talk” or “have sex.” Upon choosing a prompt, the screen fades to black — leading to what you paid for, an interactive collection of sexual animations. However, to unlock everything HoneySelect2Libido DX has to offer, you can expect the grind to suck the fun out of the sexual content and what little “point and click” gameplay it has to offer.
Section Three: Balancing
I didn’t think I’d have to talk about balancing in HoneySelect2Libido DX, but something has to be said about the grind. To be fair, without grinding the base game already offers quite a bit of content. “Unlockables” offer new areas, characters, positions and gameplay settings. To acquire Unlockables, you must complete “Achievements”.
Some Achievements are easily unlocked via expected gameplay, such as racking up orgasms or taking advantage of core gameplay mechanics. However, many of them require players to pursue specific sexual acts, such as raping partners to maximize “exhaustion”. It’s a slow process to level up “Sexual Experiences”, and the amount of dialogue it takes to actually attain “Obsession” is absurd. Unlocking new content in HoneySelect2Libido DX is easily the worst part of the game.
Section Three: Character Creation
After installing the game, the first thing I tried out was “Character Creation”. I immediately recognized the interface — it appears to be an exact copy from AI＊Shoujo/AI＊少女. As a matter of fact, I was able to import characters directly from AI＊Shoujo/AI＊少女 !
To test the flexibility of the character creator, I tried to create my original character, Wombae. She’s a tiny, flat-chested wombat-girl with an ass of steel! Unfortunately, the customization offered by Illusion’s official patch isn’t suitable for short and flat “partners”. Fortunately, after installing ManlyMarco’s Patch I was able to produce a more faithful representation of Wombae.
At your fingertips are a selection of presets, sliders and accessories for creating new “partners”. Outfits can be saved as presets for quick swapping during sex-scenes. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to create multiple, facially distinct characters without installing mods.
In the following image, you can see how “samey” Illusions premade partners are. Showcasing the limitations of customization, it’s difficult to distinguish between them without focusing on their hair, makeup, clothes or the size of their breasts. It’s a shame because there are lots of premade voices/personalities to choose from — but what’s the point if everyone looks the same?
If you’re using Illusion’s patch, it’s only possible to play as a man. If you’re using ManlyMarco’s patch, it’s possible to play as female character — as long as she is assigned as a “hermaphodite”.
For two female characters to work, one of them must assume a male role. If you aren’t interested in playing as a hermaphodite, it’s possible to substitute the penis for a strap-on device. However, cum animations and effects will continue to play as if it were a functioning wiener.
Despite the game revolving around the player character, it’s strange how men have less customization options than women. Granted, most players interested in this game are going to be most interested in the ladies — but it’s a detail worth pointing out nonetheless. You may be hard pressed to customize a playable female (in modded games) or create a suitable “self-insert”.
In the spirit of Wombae, I again tested the limits of Character Creation. This time, I tried my best to recreate Dante from the Devil May Cry games. Meet the worse Dante you’ve ever seen:
Chapter Three: Sexual Content (5/5★)
Section One: Content
Included in the un-modded, officially patched game alone are a shit ton of positions to choose from. The sexual content is mostly vanilla, but a handful of kinks are covered during typical gameplay — including bondage, male and female domination, voyeurism, and sleeping sex. Despite having no consent when choosing to sexually “attack” trapped or sleeping characters, the game makes it clear that it’s exactly what they want.
“Attacking” could be considered “consensual non-consensual” sex. However, it is possible to rape partners by forcing them to orgasm too many times during a single engagement. There’s no penalty for continuing (as a matter of fact, there are in-game rewards for maximizing “exhaustion”) — but you’ll have to do so as they cry and complain about “dying”.
Section Two: Implementation
You may choose to hook up with anybody at anytime. There is no build up — once you have assigned one or more “partners” to your “group”, they can be found throughout Honey Select via point-n’-click style navigation. Each screen determines dialogue, sex positions, and possible sexual “events” (such as peeping on a partner while showering). Alternatively, you may choose to simply “call” partners — allowing you to forgo dialogue and randomized “events”.
Section Three: Interactivity
Each character has a “pleasure meter” that fills as they engage in sex-acts. Different positions affect different characters; for example, “Service” sexual positions focus on the player character’s genitalia. Animations can be sped-up and down using the scroll wheel. Increasing the speed of animation will also increase the speed of pleasure gained. When either pleasure meter is filled, a climax animation may be played.
Each partner has an assortment of “Sexual Experience” stats affected by which positions you choose. For example, spanking or whipping animations will increase their fulfillment from “Pain” or “Rough Sex” situations. “Kinks” determine preferred sexual positions, but there’s nothing stopping you from doing anything they don’t like. There are a variety of “Unlockables” tied Sexual Experiences, allowing new areas, positions and gameplay settings to be unlocked.
Section Four: Quality
The animations, models and scenery are amazing, borderline “triple-A”. Jiggly tits are fun to watch, but the cum shots are disappointing. I love how cum builds up on actors, sticking around until your next encounter. Dialogue before and after sex enhances the believability of partners –` but it’d be nice if the player character could speak too. Changing the speed of animation changes the animation itself, providing a more convincing progression. I wish HoneySelect2Libido DX animated the transitions between speeding up and down, but I can cope with fade-in effects.
As long as you maintain equal-sized characters, there are little visual errors to contend with. The characters I made for reviewing this title were half the height of the shortest possible, unmodded character — extensive clipping happened during some animations, but I was impressed by how easily the game adapted to my tiny partners. Then I tried pairing my pint-sized partners with a full sized male character — once again extensive clipping happened during some animations, but once again I was impressed by how well the game coped with big and small characters.
Chapter Four: Story (2/5★)
Section One: Plot
You’re the newest paying member of Honey Select, a place to “find your perfect partner” to garner “love, sexual gratification” and “fantasy fulfillment”! It’s up to you to decide whether or not to be “an ideal life partner” or “satisfy each other’s carnal urges”.
I guess that make’s Honey Select a sort of brothel?
Section One: Character Development
BY regularly visiting (and fucking) partners, they will become increasingly enthusiastic to see you; however, any form of character progression is skin deep, even for the hostesses of Honey Select. I understand why player-made characters might be intentionally shallow, but I feel Fur and Sitri could have been fleshed out as integral characters to the setting.
Chapter Five: Sound (4/5★)
Section One: Soundtrack
The soundtrack is mix of sensual melodies and what I’d call “waiting room” music (but not in a bad way). The soundtrack is suitable given the upscale setting of Honey Select. Unfortunately, the game is dominated by only a few musical pieces.
It’s agonizing to hear the same track on repeat for hours on end. Ultimately, I shut off the “BGM” from the “Settings” menu. Perhaps, Illusion intends on players adding their own music via the inbuilt modding support — given the price tag of this game, it’s insulting to expect players to source their own beats (but it’s great to have the option).
Section Two: Sound Effects
The sound effects are solid. They don’t overstay their welcome while navigating the user-interface. Lewd sounds are a bit exaggerated, but that’s typical for animated adult content. I’ve always find it silly when cum shots have bubbling sounds. . .
If your wiener audibly gurgles when it ejaculates, you should get that checked out.
Section Three: Voice Acting
It’s difficult for me to judge voice acting when I can’t understand a word — HoneySelect2Libido DX is voiced in Japanese. Therefore, I cannot comment on the quality of voice acting, only the quality of the audio itself. The audio is free of recording defects, including static and “pops”.
Overall, I wish there was more variety. You don’t need to be able to understand Japanese to recognize how often dialogue is recycled when meeting partners. When playing an animation at maximum speed, the same few sounds will rapidly play back. If you have some favorite characters or positions, it’s likely you’ll learn their voice lines by heart in short time.
Chapter Six: Visuals (4/5★)
Section One: User-interface
From the pre-boot “Initial Settings” menu, players may adjust basic display, language and graphical preferences. It also serves as a shortcut for HoneySelect2Libido DX‘s documentation and user files, useful for modding or patching the game. From the in-game “Settings” menu, additional audio, display, gameplay, graphical and text configurations are available.
While viewing sex-scenes, there are additional menus for tuning animations and visual configurations; “Visual Settings” controls effects such as depth of field, shadows and reflections; The “Light” menu toggles and repositions light sources; and “Sex Location” allows actors to be moved up, down, and side to side. Unfortunately, individual actors cannot be adjusted. This limitation makes it difficult to repair animations between characters of varying heights.
Section Two: Graphics
Overall, HoneySelect2Libido DX is graphically impressive. I wouldn’t call it “triple-A” quality, but it’s strikingly higher grade than the average adult offering. The animations, characters and environments are stellar — only small graphical errors and inconsistences bothered me.
If you choose a hair style that reveals the ears, upon closer inspection you will find all hair passes through them as if they were “glued” over a wig. Long hair not only grossly defies gravity, it has a tendency to clip excessively into bodies. Some outfits float away from the skin, producing equally jarring affects when viewed up close. The quality of models is somewhat inconsistent, producing jarring disconnects all throughout the game.
Chapter Seven: Verdict (3.5/5★)
HoneySelect2Libido DX is a surprisingly grindy game for how little gameplay it actually has to offer. To unlock new content and customization, you may find yourself holding “CTRL” and skipping the animations you paid for. There’s something HoneySelect2Libido DX is sorely lacking — an explorable, interactive world like AI＊Shoujo/AI＊少女. This game is nothing more than “dress up” with interactive sex-scenes. But if that’s what you want, HoneySelect2Libido DX will keep your hands full (if you know what I mean). Instead of going on Pornhub, you may find yourself playing out your fantasies with your original creations.
