Photo Hunt - #9
By The Numbers
First Released: February 5th, 2019
Current Version: 0.17.1 (10/27/2024)
Developed By: Moochie
Scores
- Art: 26/30
- Writing: 24.5/30
- Misc: 33.5/40
TM's Score 84/100
Synopsis
Photo Hunt begins with the Main Character (Must be custom named) returning to his childhood home to live with his 'landlady' and 'roommate'. He is immediately caught in a perverted act at school, and cast into social obscurity. It's a plot that seems as cliche as can be, so it's a relief when the game begins to subvert every element of it as you play.
It turns out there is a conspiracy afoot on the Penninsula where your 'landlady' lives, and while your shenanigans at school might not have served you well there, they will make you a player in the larger ongoing power struggle.
How the main character engages in that power struggle, and what they ultimately hope to gain from it will be up to each player.
The Review
Photo Hunt is a game that has to be engaged with on its own terms. I'm not a huge sandbox fan, and so I didn't get far my first playthrough. Luckily a dev I trust recommended it, and so I gave it a second go. If you push through, the reward is spectacular. First of all, the art is incredibly good. Several of my favorite characters in an AVN are in this game, and there is a TON of content with all of them. The writing is fine, it suffers occasionally from some minor ESL, but it is saved by being in service of a clever over-arcing plot, and some incredible sex scenes, both of which exponentially increase in quality as you dive deeper into the game. The coding in this game is well done, but as with any sandbox the opportunity for an immersion breaking event, where you get to a scene out of order is possible. The path system, while it's well designed, can also make the main character a bit of a headcase. But these are fixable problems, and minor in the grand scheme of the game. Themes and fetishes in Photo Hunt can run quite dark, and while this is typically well sign posted, vanilla players may be challenged by some of the content.
Photo Hunt is by far the best sandbox style game on the market.
Q1 2025 Update
As this is a new game on the top 10 list the review itself is the 'update' so instead I'm going to point you to this blog where you can read about the game in greater depth if you are interested. It's a worthwhile rundown: