To Hell With The Ugly

Bought this for the incredible art style and hand drawn animation, but holy cow, what a goofy lil romp this was. I could not in a million years predict the direction the plot took. If I had a dollar for every story I've experienced that follows a vain himbo into a Mr. Toad's Wild Ride level of wack-ass misadventure (and somehow doesn't die), I'd have... honestly, not enough dollars. More of that, please.
Also, the ending is purposefully "unsatisfying," but I liked it. Sometimes a "good" ending would disregard the story's message, and ya just gotta make peace with an ending that stays in line with the message.

If not for slightly high price tag, I'd recommend this game to everyone who's into point and click adventure games and any games like them. Sure its not 100% point and click since you need to use other buttons for combat sections, but its not a deal breaker.
Gameplay is pretty casual and simple. It's a mix of point n click puzzle solving, combat and like 2 stealth sections(well technically 3, but 3rd one is super short with 1 enemy) and a car chase mini game.
Point and Click Adventure parts are the best ones, the puzzles are very logical and dont use moon logic, so its always a plus in my book. Combat sections are ok, but a bit too simple in terms of mechanics(as in' there arent many, heck one character appears once and never again)
Gameplay is alright and it works for this type of story, which takes main focus of the game. Im not gonna spoil it, but its very refreshing breath of fresh air and doesnt feel cliche, especially the ending(althought the ending may be controversial, it does feel like it ends abrubtly, almost wish we got a sequel to explore rammifications of it)
Also the game is relatively short, you can beat it in 5-7h, technically 2-3 if you know what to do and skip dialogue, but I tried to do as many achievements on a first run as I could, sadly besides achievements theres no replayability because theres no branching paths
So if its on discount? Definitely try to check it out, but the price rn is just a bit too steep

This game caught my artistic eye with its aesthetics first, a clean and bold Memphis/mid-century/comic book art style, all wrapped up in a palette of my favorite complimentary colors: Warm, deep rusts and cool turquoise hues, perfectly capturing the essence of 1950's Los Angeles. Coupled with a game trailer and images consisting of postwar jazz-club nightlife, a moody, noir detective story, and, well, digital butts, it has all the makings for a fun, retro romp.
Having not read the book that it was adapted from, a 1948 novel by French author Boris Vian, I went in blindly. We will touch on this later. Rock Bailey, the game's handsome protagonist, is your typical self-absorbed 19-year-old trying to preserve his virginity who finds himself in the middle of a sci-fi-fueled plot to *ahem* acquire some of them high-quality eugenic genes by any means possible. (read into that what you will) Not the most endearing guy you wanna root for, but he's likable enough for a vain, flirty 19-year-old kid just trying to navigate the world.
All the elements that make up the gameplay (turn-based combat, clue-gathering, puzzle-solving) are fun and varied, but not very difficult. Little aspects, for instance, like how the cast of characters heal in battle, are cute and creative. I liked some more traditional elements of detective stories, like staking out a joint, infiltration without detection, and clue boards. Story has bizarre turns with fantasy elements that feel a bit dystopian, an unexpected contrast to the 1950's Los Angeles backdrop. The game is a bit short, clocking in around 5 hours (maybe more if you are the kind of Steamer serious about achievement hunts.) It's a fun time, and it looks good while doing so. No complaints there. That's why this next paragraph is so hard for me to write.
Towards the last chapter, this is where the story hits a major snag for me. The momentum and pacing become uneven, leaving a story that wraps up too abruptly and an epilogue that makes me feel like I deeply missed something along the way. Without divulging much, I think it lacked a bit of closure or more of something that makes you feel satisfied towards the end. It's like ordering the Spinach Steak at El Gato Diner and instead having your steak taken away before you are done and replaced with a bowl of Yesterday's soup. Both still fill you up, but leave you wanting something more substantial to finish the meal. After researching Vian's novel of the same name (and there's not a lot I could find), I took away that the game stayed true to the book, and I get why the game ends as it does. But still, I wanted to finish my last bites of steak.
Ultimately, To Hell with the Ugly excels in creativity, beautiful art, and fun gameplay. It's still definitely worth playing, has some stand-out features, and offers plenty for the player to enjoy.

I had it on my wishlist for quite some time, just because i liked the game's art style, but didn't expect much out of it.
And oh boy, how happy am I that I wasn't postponing playing it any longer. In just 4 hours of my playtime I had more fun than in any slop that's come out this year, Solid story, awesome art style, and even though most of the gameplay was added just to stretch out the game, it wasn't annoying at all. So yeah - give it a go, it's definitely worth your time.
FYI, only 47% of players lost their virginity.

The story is weird and feels have finished. The gameplay is engaging enough, although one of the puzzles is a bit of an asspull, and the game has a strong artstyle. It's a good way to spend an afternoon considering the runtime is around 2-4 hours

A zesty, well‑delivered story, pleasant-to-the-eye art style, and it actually has gameplay.

It’s good. The first half was better than the second half for me. The first half had me believing this was a 9/10, but the second half was more a slog. Beautiful art and good dialogue. Based on a novel, but the ending was abrupt and not my ideal.