DISCLAIMER
I neither have a VR headset nor a PC powerful enough to run games in VR Mode, so I will focus on the game’s desktop mode in this review. Without further ado, let's go!
Developer: Frisky Bishop
Genre: Simulation
Reviewed version: Final
Censored: No
Patch Needed: No
OS: Windows
Language: English
Voyeurism and exhibitionism are featured frequently in adult games, but they rarely are the subject matter, if ever. As soon as I saw what Elise’s Peepshow was about, I got curious enough to check it out.
Pros
Original concept.
Decent performance.
Good implementation of the photography section
Cons
It's too short.
Wasted potential
Controls are awkward.
Some details in the character’s models look off.
Some subpar scene transitions.
The sex scenes could have been better
It's a tad expensive.
Story
In Elise’s Peepshow, you play as a photographer who got hired by a woman named Elise for a photo session but, what started as taking some pictures became having sex with her while she’s being watched (or spying on her while she’s having sex if you choose to). The story itself isn’t bad, but it’s so short you can finish the game in 20 minutes at most, even if you take your sweet time exploring the place and trying as many things as possible.
It frustrates me to see how much potential the game has and how wasted it is. There was a lot of room for new scenarios they could have implemented (like public sex), but the game ends right when it starts to get good.
Moreover, I think they could have implemented the transition from the shower scene to the next one more naturally, instead of waiting until the player hits the “skip” button. For example, Elise could do something when we find out she set up a camera in the shower, like winking to the viewer or touch herself, and then move to the next scene after a specific amount of time has passed.
Graphics
I have mixed feelings about the graphics because, in general, they look good, but they also have a few glaring issues. For instance, Elise’s eyes are quite off-putting. Every time there’s a sex scene with her in POV mode I feel the urge to avoid looking at her face. Switching to the doggy style sex position seems to be a good way to avoid it until you realize the male protagonist looks very blocky, like a character taken straight from a 15-years old game. I assume this is just an oversight because he looks fine in the rest of the positions, but that doesn’t make it any less distracting.
Furthermore, the way they implemented the end of the sex scenes is a bit lazy. When you click on “cum”, the scene just fades to black while the guy is still pounding Elise. There’s indeed some dialogue that indicates he’s about to finish, but the animation doesn’t vary one bit.
I have to admit they did a good job animating the different short videos you can see on the TV, even if some of them are very short loops. It’s also nice to be able to watch them in the bonus videos section. That way, you can watch them anytime on full screen.
Gameplay
The map navigation was very awkward and hard to manage. Just moving your mouse a bit makes you go up or down as if you were a drone instead of a person. Pressing the action button (R by default) makes it even worse because you can still move with WASD, but you can’t turn around. I think keeping a fixed altitude on the camera (while allowing the player to crouch) and being unable to move once you press the action button would fix these issues.
Another thing that bothered me is the lack of features in the sex scenes; it feels like you’re watching a video instead of taking part in it. It’d have been nice if it was possible to adjust the speed or add some pleasure meters (among other things) instead of just switching positions.
I liked the photography segment of the game. There’s a wide variety of poses Elise can make for you, and you can take pictures of her from many different angles. Activating the “save photos” option in the settings will save them in the game’s folder and make them appear in the “photos” menu, in case you feel like seeing them again.
Performance
It surprised me in a good way in this regard. I thought I might have some frame drops when I played it because it was made with VR in mind, but it ran flawlessly. My PC has an i5-6600K and a GTX 970, and their loads were at 20% and 60% of their capacity respectively.
Sound
In a game this short, it’s not surprising the soundtrack only has a few songs. Neither of them is remarkable, but they set up the mood well.
The voice acting was fine, even though it was limited to moans and some noises Elise made here and there. Some of the extra videos you watch on TV have voices too, but others are completely silent. It’s like they couldn’t decide whether to leave them all mute or not.
Verdict: Disappointing
I liked the game despite its issues, and I found its concept very original, but I can’t recommend it at its current price. It needs a lot more content and some improvements to justify paying 8 dollars for it.
The game is available to purchase on Steam and Itch.io if it piqued your curiosity despite my negative review. As usual, it’s preferred to buy it on Itch.io because the devs get a bigger cut.