| The Crush House | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gameplay & Story | Release Date | Pre-Order & DLC | Review |
The Crush House is a unique take on the first-person-shooter genre, swapping guns for cameras to capture reality TV drama. Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.
The Crush House Review Overview
What is The Crush House?
The Crush House is a ‘thirst-person-shooter’ game that puts you in the role of Jae, a producer tasked with filming a reality TV show set in 1999. Instead of weapons, you'll use your video camera to capture all the juicy drama between cast members as they interact, clash, and form relationships in a luxurious Malibu mansion. Your goal is to orchestrate the perfect mix of personalities, ensuring the maximum amount of tension and entertainment to keep your audience hooked. With every piece of dramatic footage you capture, your show’s success grows, making you the ultimate reality TV mastermind.
The Crush House features:
⚫︎ Suspense Mystery
⚫︎ Choose From 12 Cast Members Each Season
⚫︎ Multiple Endings
⚫︎ First-Person Shooter Mechanics
⚫︎ Satirical Take on Reality TV
⚫︎ Vapor-wave Soundtrack
For more gameplay details, read everything we know about The Crush House's gameplay and story.
| Digital Storefronts | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Steam |
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| Price | $17.99 | ||||
The Crush House Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Unique Concept Interesting Narrative Depth Sufficient Replayability |
Small Time Frame Each Season Repetitive Gameplay Loop Flat Character Dynamics |
The Crush House Overall Score - 66/100
The Crush House is an ambitious blend of reality TV satire and mystery, where players take on the role of Jae, a producer, director, and cameraman in a twisted reality show. The unique concept and narrative depth are its strongest points, offering a fresh and intriguing experience. However, the gameplay can become repetitive, and the limited time frame for each season restricts the depth of character interactions and story progression. Despite these shortcomings, the game’s sinister take on reality TV makes it a solid choice for mystery enthusiasts.
The Crush House Story - 7/10
The story in The Crush House is a fascinating satire of reality TV, cleverly intertwining humor and horror as you uncover the darker truths behind the show. The divide between the cast and crew and the mysterious nature of the mansion create a compelling backdrop for a narrative that slowly builds tension and intrigue. The story truly shines when you start breaking the rules, leading to revelations that are both surprising and satisfying. However, the slow start and lack of initial direction can be a stumbling block, preventing the story from reaching its full potential early on. The uneven pacing and the abrupt introduction detract slightly from an otherwise solid narrative experience.
The Crush House Gameplay - 5/10
The Crush House offers a unique blend of gameplay elements, combining first-person shooter mechanics with reality TV production. This mix is intriguing in concept, but in execution, it can feel disjointed, especially when viewers demand to see the garden, the faucet, or the lighthouse instead of the cast. The daily tasks of capturing footage, managing the cast, and running the show are engaging at first, but the repetition quickly sets in, making the gameplay feel more like a grind than an adventure. The rule-breaking mechanic of talking to casts at night adds a layer of strategy, but it’s not enough to offset the monotony of the core loop. While the game’s mystery element is compelling, the overall gameplay doesn’t evolve enough to keep the experience fresh and exciting throughout.
The Crush House Visuals - 8/10
Visually, The Crush House is a standout, with its clever use of contrasting colors and polished presentation. The difference between what the viewers see on your camera and the reality you perceive adds a subtle yet impactful layer to the game’s atmosphere. The vibrant, almost artificial look of the show contrasts with the muted tones of the mansion, reinforcing the underlying theme of deception and reality distortion. The HUD is well-designed and intuitive, making the game easy to navigate while maintaining its aesthetic appeal. Although the color contrast isn’t drastic, it’s a thoughtful detail that enhances the overall visual storytelling of the game.
The Crush House Audio - 6/10
The audio in The Crush House serves its purpose but doesn’t stand out as a defining feature. The vapor-wave soundtrack controlled by the radio at the back of the mansion fits well with the game’s atmosphere, offering a customizable background that players can tailor to their liking. The characters’ voices are rendered in a gibberish style similar to Animal Crossing; occasionally, the gibberish sounds like actual words, which can be jarring. Overall, the audio is adequate but lacks the depth and creativity that could have elevated the game’s experience.
The Crush House Value for Money - 7/10
At $17.99, The Crush House provides good value for money, especially for fans of mystery games. The game’s replayability, with its multiple endings and varying narrative paths, ensures that you’ll get several hours of content from a single purchase. The unique concept and the gradual unraveling of the story offer an experience that’s worth the price despite the game’s flaws. While it does get tedious along the way, the intriguing narrative and the potential for discovering new details make it a worthwhile investment, particularly for those who enjoy unraveling complex mysteries and don't mind the grind.
The Crush House Review: A Bubblegum Dystopia That Almost Pops
When I first stepped into The Crush House, I was both intrigued and slightly bewildered. The premise of being the producer, director, and cameraman for a twisted reality TV show was unique enough to catch my attention. Yet, the game’s opening left me feeling a bit lost. I was thrown into the role without much context; it was an unsettling start and not in the way you’d expect from a mystery game. But as I pushed through the initial confusion, The Crush House slowly began to reveal its true colors, and what I found was a game that, despite its flaws, had something genuinely special to offer.
The initial hours of the game were a bit of a grind, and I struggled to connect with the experience. The gameplay loop felt repetitive; each day was a cycle of fulfilling the same tasks: managing the cast, ensuring the viewers stayed entertained, and hitting the targets set by the network. The fact that each season was only five days long added to the sense of rushing through the motions without enough time to dig deeper into the story or the characters. This short time frame felt like a missed opportunity to develop the narrative and let the relationships between the cast members evolve naturally. It was frustrating, especially for a game that clearly had a complex story simmering beneath the surface.
But then came the first rule I decided to break, and that’s when everything changed. Up until that point, The Crush House had been playing it safe, sticking to the formula of reality TV simulation with a slight mystery twist. But the moment I broke the network’s rule of not interacting with the cast, the game took a sharp turn.
A mysterious phone call, a voice I’d never heard before, suddenly added a new layer of intrigue. The rule-breaking mechanic became the game’s saving grace, injecting much-needed excitement into an otherwise predictable routine. It was at this point that the game began to hook me, slowly drawing me deeper into its web of secrets.
As I continued to push the boundaries, ignoring the network’s demands and interacting more with the cast, the story began to unravel in unexpected ways. The calls became more frequent, each one revealing a little more about the dark reality behind the show. What initially seemed like just another reality TV parody quickly morphed into suspense, where the lines between reality and fiction started to blur.
The game began to play with my expectations, making me question everything I thought I knew about the characters, the setting, and even my role as the producer. The more I uncovered, the more the game’s narrative depth became apparent, and I found myself captivated by the twisted story that was slowly being revealed.
However, The Crush House isn’t without its flaws. The game’s pacing issues, particularly in the early stages, can be a significant barrier to entry. The repetitive gameplay loop, coupled with the short time frame of each season, means that it takes a while before the game’s true potential shines through. The lack of context made the first few hours feel like a slog, and I almost gave up on the game before it had the chance to show me what it was really about. This slow start is a significant drawback, and I can see how it might turn off players who aren’t willing to push through the tedium to get to the good stuff.
Another aspect that left me wanting more was the character dynamics. Despite the game’s large cast of characters, their interactions often felt flat and uninspired. Whoever I chose from the 12 cast—Alex, Ayo, Bea, Charlie, Coco, Diya, Emile, Gunther, Joyumi, Milo, Priscilla, and Veer—for the season, the dynamics between them didn’t vary much. This eventually makes sense as to why this is the way it is, but the lack of variation made the different playthroughs feel too similar, diminishing the impact of my choices. The cast members, though interesting on paper, didn’t quite live up to their potential, and I found myself wishing for more depth and nuance in their relationships. This was particularly disappointing in a game where the narrative is such a crucial element.
Yet, for all its shortcomings, The Crush House managed to redeem itself in ways that I didn’t expect. The more I played, the more I appreciated the game’s commentary on the nature of reality TV and the entertainment industry as a whole. The game cleverly uses its repetitive structure and limited time frame to mirror the often shallow and cyclical nature of reality TV, where the same tropes are recycled season after season.
This meta-narrative became increasingly apparent as I delved deeper into the game, and it added a layer of meaning to the experience that I hadn’t anticipated. By the time I reached one of the game’s multiple endings, I realized that The Crush House had managed to weave a narrative that was both a critique of and a homage to the genre it was parodying.
In the end, The Crush House is a game that requires patience and persistence to be fully appreciated. It’s not an easy game to get into, and its flaws are hard to ignore. But for those who stick with it, the rewards are substantial. The game’s unique concept, combined with its narrative depth and replayability, make it a standout in the mystery genre despite its rough edges. While it may not be perfect, The Crush House offers an experience that is both thought-provoking and entertaining, and it’s a game that I’m glad I didn’t give up on.
Pros of The Crush House
| Things The Crush House Got Right |
|---|
|
Unique Concept Interesting Narrative Depth Sufficient Replayability |
Unique Concept
The Crush House stands out for its original approach to the mystery genre, combining the familiar tropes of reality TV with a dark, underlying narrative. The idea of being a producer, director, and cameraman in a reality show that slowly unveils sinister secrets adds layers of intrigue and complexity.
This concept creates a dual experience where you’re both controlling and uncovering the story, offering a fresh perspective that keeps the player engaged. Its commentary on the nature of media, entertainment, and boundaries between reality and fiction born from the blend of satire and suspense that makes The Crush House not just any game.
Interesting Narrative Depth
The narrative in The Crush House gradually reveals its depth as you break the network's rules and dig deeper into the sinister reality of the show. What starts as a seemingly straightforward simulation of a reality TV show evolves into a complex mystery that challenges your perception of the game’s world. The divide between the cast and crew, and the eerie secrets you uncover, contribute to a story that is more than just surface-level entertainment. It’s a slow burn, but once the pieces start to fall into place, the narrative delivers a powerful impact that makes the earlier frustrations worth it.
Sufficient Replayability
The Crush House offers significant replayability thanks to its multiple endings and the various ways you can approach each season. The rule-breaking mechanic of talking to casts at night and not answering to the whims of the audience adds a layer of strategy to the game, encouraging you to explore different narrative paths and uncover all the secrets hidden within the mansion.
Each playthrough can be a new experience, depending on the choices you make and how you interact with the cast. This replay value is further enhanced by the game’s ability to surprise you, with new details and story elements emerging each time you break the rules, making The Crush House a game you’ll want to revisit.
Cons of The Crush House
| Things That The Crush House Can Improve |
|---|
|
Small Time Frame Each Season Repetitive Gameplay Loop Flat Character Dynamics |
Small Time Frame Each Season
One of the major drawbacks of The Crush House is the limited time frame for each season. With only five days per season, the game restricts the amount of character development and plot progression that can occur in a single playthrough. This pace can make the game feel incomplete or unbalanced, as it doesn’t allow enough time for a deeper story or relationship to fully unfold. Players who enjoy a more immersive experience may find this limitation frustrating, as it prevents deeper exploration of the game’s world and characters.
Repetitive Gameplay Loop
The Crush House’s gameplay quickly becomes repetitive, especially as you progress through multiple seasons. The core loop of meeting daily goals, managing the cast’s requests, and running ads to maintain your budget quickly loses its novelty. While the rule-breaking mechanic and narrative twists add some variation, it doesn’t help the day-to-day tasks, particularly in longer play sessions. This repetition detracts from the overall experience, as the gameplay doesn’t evolve enough to keep pace with the unfolding story. As a result, what starts as an intriguing concept can start to feel like a chore, potentially disengaging players before they reach the game’s more compelling moments.
Flat Character Dynamics
Despite the variety of cast members you can choose each season, the character dynamics in The Crush House often feel flat and repetitive. The interactions between the cast don’t vary significantly, regardless of which characters you select, leading to a sense of sameness across different playthroughs.
This lack of distinctive character interactions reduces the impact of your choices and undermines the replayability of the game. While the story itself is intriguing, the characters often fail to live up to the depth and complexity of the narrative, making it harder to become fully invested in their fates or the outcome of the show.
Is The Crush House Worth It?
For Fans of Dark Twists
If you’re the kind of player who enjoys unraveling complex stories, appreciates a unique concept, and doesn’t mind pushing through some slow pacing, The Crush House offers an experience that is well worth your time. At $17.99, the game delivers enough content, multiple endings, and replayability to justify its price, especially if you’re into games that mix psychological thrills with social commentary. However, it does become very boring after a while, if you’re someone who would prefer to focus on the narrative and not the grind, then The Crush House may not be for you.
| Digital Storefronts | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam |
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| Price | $17.99 | ||||
The Crush House FAQ
How Many Cast Combinations Are Possible in The Crush House?
With 12 casts to choose from, there are about 495 possible cast combinations in The Crush House.
What Exactly Are The Rules to Break in The Crush House?
There are only two rules that you can break in The Crush House, and those are never to talk to the cast and make sure the audience are always right.
What Languages Are Supported by The Crush House?
The crush house has English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Portuguese, and Chinese language interfaces and subtitles.
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The Crush House Product Information
 | |
| Title | THE CRUSH HOUSE |
|---|---|
| Release Date | August 9, 2024 |
| Developer | Nerial |
| Publisher | Devolver Digital |
| Supported Platforms | PC(Steam) |
| Genre | Simulation, Shooter, Horror |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| Rating | RP, Likely ESRB M 17+ |
| Official Website | The Crush House Official Website |
