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It’s nearly the end of the year and I don’t know about you but I’m mentally checked out already. This year has had some amazing ups and downs for me personally, but also for this weird little newsletter that I keep writing every week.

You allow me to share my passion for games about love, sex, and romance with you every week and I’m still extremely grateful for that. I have some ambitious plans for the newsletter going forward but those will have to wait for the new year. 🤫

Let’s talk about the best adult games of 2021. You will see that my rules for what counts as a “release” are very straightforward: I only care if the game could be bought or downloaded for the first time in 2021. So I will be including full releases as well as Early Access games and Patreon builds. My list is in no particular order, except for number 1, which is the official Naughty List News 2021 Game of the Year.

Now let’s get into it because it’s time for a good old-fashioned listicle!

11: Subverse

Subverse is a game with a production budget bigger than most adult games that ultimately fails to deliver for me. While I didn’t encounter any egregious bugs during my playthrough, the gameplay felt repetitive and ironically not as deep as I would have liked.

It has plenty of hot space lady action, though. So do check the game out if you’re into that sort of thing!

No patch is required for its adult content.

10: Summer Memories

Summer Memories is the story of a young man who stays with his aunt and cousins over the summer after graduating from university. And of course, it’s about convincing said family members to have sex with you.

The game has some interesting mini-games, like doing dishes with your aunt, or catching fish at the river. I really enjoyed this slice-of-life dating sim, even though its incestuous themes may not be to everyone’s liking.

Make sure to get the adult patch as well.

9: Driven Affairs

Driven Affairs is a game about a young man who drives around New York City in a town car. You drive to where you’re told and you don’t try to pry into your clients’ lives too much. But when you pick up the beautiful and well-connected July, that professional integrity is pushed to its limits. It quickly becomes clear that she’s interested in you in more ways than just as her chauffeur.

(It’s your penis she wants.)

Driven Affairs is just an extremely striking game. It’s such a wonderfully sexy collaboration between Manitu (words) and Teku (art) that it doesn’t even matter to me that only two chapters are available right now. But it did leave this reader wanting more, so do keep that in mind.

8: Seed of the Dead: Sweet Home

Seed of the Dead: Sweet Home is an incredible combination of a first-person shooter and a dating sim. After a zombie apocalypse, you are tasked with keeping an outpost of survivors safe by going on missions with your all-women crew. You shoot a lot of zombies together but you’re looking to improve your relationship with them at the same time.

Although it is without a doubt a janky experience, Sweet Home shows ambition and a willingness to think outside of the box. It’s an average shooter at best, but there are some really hot sex scenes in there too!

I was also very impressed with the level design that always guides your attention in the right direction. It shows an attention to detail that I wouldn’t necessarily expect from an adult game like this.

Get the adult patch as well.

7: Space Rescue: Code Pink

Space Rescue: Code Pink dares to ask: What if you were a bumbling idiot tasked with doing odd jobs on a spaceship full of sexy ladies? It paints a romantic picture of space travel that I found thoroughly comforting and enjoyable.

You do get the sense that the characters in the game don’t necessarily need your help but are willing to do you a favor. Or give you a hand, depending on the situation. Most are fiercely independent and take some time to warm up to your “charms”. I liked that about these women, it made me want to get to know them more.

The game is in active development but it’s a one-man-show kind of deal. There were several months-long pauses between updates from the developer that ultimately pushed the game to the background for me.

6: Paradise Lust

Paradise Lust is a dating sim about getting a yacht full of beauty queens home after their ship strands on a tropical island. Unfortunately, you were the bartender, so you don’t exactly have many marketable skills to do so. Luckily the ladies do have the necessary skills and just need your help to get the right equipment.

This is another dating sim with fiercely independent romanceable characters. Yes, I do have a type, and no, I’m not afraid to say it. Each character is sharply written and has their own motivations for why they need your help. The puzzles are great and the sex is absolutely worth writing home about.

5: Succubus★Connect!

The only reason I checked out Succubus★Connect! was because I wanted to see if its card combat mechanics were any good. Not only did it deliver on that front, but I also found a deeply engrossing narrative as well.

When Yuina wakes up lost and alone in a strange forest, she is possessed by the spirit of a succubus. The succubus wants to get her body back but Yuina just wants to go home. What results is an adventure in which poor Yuina gets corrupted more and more. Or is that what she wanted all along?

The card combat has you drawing cards to your hand every turn that you use to either attack your enemies or build up your defense. The twist is that the attacks are often sexual in nature, which makes the succubus spirit that possesses her stronger. When she becomes strong enough, the succubus can take over for a short while for maximum damage. And lewdness.

Succubus★Connect! is a game that is better because of its sexual themes, not in spite of it. I highly recommend checking it out even for its gameplay alone.

Make sure to install the adult patch as well.

4: After I met that catgirl, my questlist got too long!

Referred to as Catgirl’s Questlist from here on out, this amazing lesbian adventure has you playing as the powerful witch Vera who suddenly has to deal with an agitated catgirl named Téa that wants to return to “London”, wherever that may be. As the title implies, Vera ropes the catgirl into doing quests for her as a member of her guild. But all is not as it seems and the guild ends up learning some unsettling truths about their world, its inhabitants, and this fantasy wonderland called “London”.

Everyone is very gay for each other in this romantic adventure and it’s honestly delightful. Teá was obviously my favorite character but each of the five different romanceable characters has something unique to offer.

There is combat in Catgirl’s Questlist as well but it didn’t really stand out to me. It was fine. I played the game for the story and had a really good time with it.

3: HuniePop 2: Double Date

The original HuniePop can absolutely be credited with putting adult games on the radar for a mainstream audience. Here was a game that combined dating with satisfying Match-3 gameplay, with smart and sexy characters, and great voice acting to boot.

To say then that the sequel was hotly anticipated feels like a massive understatement. But HuniePop 2: Double Date matches those expectations and more because it wasn’t afraid to double down on everything that made the original great. It’s still the same Match-3 gameplay but now you date two ladies. At the same time!

But even saying that the gameplay is the same feels deceptive, because it’s really not. You now have to split your attention between two ladies to make sure their Stamina doesn’t deplete. And the ladies have Baggage, which throws curveballs at you during your dates and fleshes out their characters. For example, one character gets jealous when you give the other woman a gift, while another is too shy for Sex matches until you get her Passion up.

All I will say about the narrative is that it serves its purpose to connect the various dates, but that’s about it.

2: DoHna DoHna

DoHna DoHna is the latest game from legendary Japanese adult games developer Alicesoft and you will absolutely not find it on Steam. This is a game about a group of kids who fight to take back control of their city from an evil corporation by… kidnapping women and forcing them into prostitution. But it looks extremely stylish while doing so.

The turn-based combat is terrific, where four of you face off against waves of corporate enemies in a branching map. Each character has their own abilities with strengths and weaknesses that you have to balance. It’s chunky and satisfying.

The prostitution gameplay has you matching the women you kidnap against clients. Unfortunately, you’re competing against the offerings of other outfits so it’s key to your profits to deploy your girls efficiently. Therefore, it’s key to upgrade their stats with items or to “retire” and replace them with fresh catches.

Winner: Love & Sex: Second Base

I bounced off Love & Sex: Second Base the first time I tried but it got its claws on the second try. And now it’s my Game of the Year. Funny how that works. I know that will take a bit more of an explanation, which is why next week’s article will be devoted to a full review of the game.

For now, I will say that Love & Sex: Second Base is everything I want from an adult game: it has exceptional writing, incredibly hot sex scenes, and haughty characters that take some time to warm up to your advances. In a year of so many terrific adult game releases, Love & Sex showed me that adult games can have a lot to say about love and human connection while still leaving room for straight-up fucking.

Cheers to Andrealphus Games for creating an amazing game! 🥂

Thank you Mr. Hands for sharing your top 11 with us!

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