We’re more used to sex in videogames nowadays. Mass Effect, The Witcher, and Cyberpunk 2077 – to name but a few – have bridged the divide between adult material and what’s historically been regarded as an immature medium. But back in 1987, Leisure Suit Larry, at least in terms of subject matter, was something of an anomaly. Now, 38 years later, what was once Sierra’s flagship point-and-click series is disappearing from Steam. The reasons are unclear, but the historic Larry games are vanishing from Valve’s store for good.
Leisure Suit Larry was far from the first game to include sex. As a matter of fact, Larry’s debut outing, …in the Land of the Lounge Lizards, was a pseudo remake of a text-based sex game from 1981. But for more than three decades, the series has been an icon of sexuality and sexual imagery (crude though it may often be) in gaming. It’s one of the most infamous old games and a part of the culture’s history.
And while Leisure Suit Larry has been the subject of controversy, rather than for its sexual material, it’s become infamous owing to problems with piracy and computer viruses. Al Lowe, one of the game’s creators, explained in a 2019 interview with MEL Magazine that pirated copies of Leisure Suit Larry were so extant that “at one point, we sold more hint books than copies of the game.”
Some of these pirated versions were used to smuggle viruses onto players’ hardware – as reported by the Financial Times, in 1988, the systems at various banks and trading institutions were compromised after employees used their work machines to play the bootleg copies of Leisure Suit Larry.
But now it’s time for gaming’s most prominent sleaze to (mostly) retire. Seven of the historic Leisure Suit Larry titles are being permanently removed from Steam. No specific reason is given, but Assemble Entertainment, which has republished some of Larry’s older outings, says they will soon be pulled from sale, for good.
“After decades of questionable pickup lines and unforgettable adventures, it’s finally time for Larry to hang up his leisure suit, at least the retro version of it. But don’t worry. If you already own any of these retro gems, they’ll stay right in your library, ready to play anytime you need a nostalgic dose of Larry’s misadventures.”
In The Land of the Lounge Lizards, Magna Cum Laude Uncut and Uncensored, Looking For Love (In Several Wrong Places), Passionate Patti in Pursuit of the Pulsating Pectorals, Passionate Patti Does a Little Undercover Work, Shape Up Or Slip Out, and Love for Sail are all being removed from Steam. The two latest Leisure Suit Larry games, released in 2018 and 2020 respectively, will still be available.
Take a look at some of the other best puzzle games, or maybe something more risque with the best sex games on PC.
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