Otoko Cross: Pretty Boys Klondike Solitaire review

The Pretty Boys return, delivering a cross-dressing fashion show built around one of the more popular solitaire variants. Despite the asset recycling, an affordable price makes the game a worthwhile alternative for players who prefer card-based recreations.

Hong Kong-based eastasiasoft has pushed back at two worrisome industry trends: premium pricing and puritanism. Save for a few exceptions, such as when they licensed robust RPGs like Seven Pirates H and Xuan Yuan Sword 7, the publisher habitually sells their titles for less than ten dollars. Sure, games like Pretty Girls Panic! PLUS and Z-Warp are shorter experiences, but each manages to offer a respectable amount of enjoyment for the cost of a combo meal.

Several publishers have backed down from depicting sexuality. But eastasiasoft has defiantly tread in the opposite direction. Games like Hentai vs. Evil, Waifu Uncovered, Crawlco Block Knockers, and Moero Crystal H have all pushed at the restrictions of platform holders. The first two of those titles even managed to exhibit a bit of nudity on a Nintendo platform. Last May’s release of Otoko Cross: Pretty Boys Mahjong Solitaire doubled-down on eastasiasoft’s stance, with the PC title flaunting unambiguous male nudity without the need for any kind of patch. Pleasingly, it sold for seven dollars.

Pretty Boys Shouldn’t Wear the Same Outfit Twice

With the PC release of Otoko Cross: Pretty Boys Klondike Solitaire, the lads with an affinity for adorable attire are back. This time, they show off their progressively provocative wardrobes as players tackle multiple difficulty levels. Woefully, there’s a lot of asset recycling, so Pretty Boys veterans will have seen many of the outfits and heard most of the cheery melodies. Ideally, the developers would venture into seasonal releases, modeling goth gear for Halloween and sexy, barely-there Santa suits. But for now, consider Solitaire an option for those who prefer building card sequences over tile matching. It’s far less drab than its contemporaries.

Beyond the obvious eye-candy, another of Pretty Boys Klondike Solitaire best qualities is the sense of simplicity. With a single button press you can automatically move cards around the tableau, advance the stockpile, or add cards to your foundations. There’s no penalty for selecting cards and seeing if the CPU can identify a legal move, making the game extremely user-friendly. The only issue occurs when you run out of legal moves and have used all the assists available on some of the easier difficulty settings. Here, Klondike Solitaire forgets to let you know that your game has reached a stalemate.

Getting a Peek

Statisticians state that the chance of winning a game of solitaire is about 30%. Play on the game’s Easy difficulty and that figure catapults up to the 90s. Hard difficulty changes a rule- drawing three cards from the stockpile at a time. This scales the challenge rather nicely and brings your likelihood for success closer to that traditional estimation. Here, you’ll have to think a few steps ahead (as well as progress without any assists) which can be a bit of cerebral workout.

As the title states, Pretty Boys focuses on Klondike-style solitaire, instead of extending different variations to players. This is the best-known variation of the game, with the name “solitaire” typically referring to Klondike’s game rules. Here, seven fanned card piles are laid out, alongside four foundations, with remaining cards forming the stockpile.

Play advances by stacking cards in alternate colors across the seven piles. Meanwhile, you’re also building upon the foundations, stacking cards of the same suit from an ace all the way through king. With accommodating abilities like an ‘undo’ command, a limited number of reshuffles for all moveable cards, and the ability to expose unseen ones, Pretty Boys Klondike provides a number of useful options.

Conclusion

Pretty Boys Klondike Solitaire integrates a scoring system, which awards points every time a card is laid down on the foundations. Lay down a number in quick succession and you’ll earn a combo bonus, providing just a bit of incentive for replay. Pleasingly, as you near the end of a run, you can have the CPU automatically lay down the last remaining cards, resulting in a large point bonus. Additionally, there are online leaderboards that track both stage scores as well as completion times. Plus, there’s an indulgent gallery for admiring all the different portraits that you have unlocked.

In keeping with the publisher’s pricing model, Otoko Cross’ finest feature might just be its reasonable cost. At launch, the game can be purchased for less than six dollars, offering an extremely solid value. Although the challenge of unlocking different outfits is undoubtedly fun, the interpretation of Klondike Solitaire is proficient enough to warrant a purchase, especially if you like Pretty Boys.

Otoko Cross: Pretty Boys Klondike Solitaire was played
on PC with review code provided by the publisher.