Friendship with benefits is an erotic dating-simulator aimed for Bronies, developed and published on Steam by TwistedScarlett60, 4th of November, 2020. It is a game that mixes free-roaming, visual novel, dating, and role-playing mechanics to create a fantastic little adventure where you can romance well over 20 characters.
Many would probably write Friendship with benefits as a simple cheap cash grab trying to ride on someone else’s popularity but the game has actually gained a lot of positive reviews on Steam, much of it focusing on other aspects besides the erotic content, thus promising quality beyond the single reason many would normally get the game for.
In the Isekai style, you play as a random human who has found himself lost and trapped in a world known as Arcadia. The inhabitants of Arcadia are mostly monster girls and anthro girls, also mostly nude. It is here where you will begin your life anew, trying to get by while figuring out how you ended up there. See where this new adventure will take you both on the path of romance and mysteries.
With a small world open to explore, there are places to visit in Arcadia. You work to get money and you use the money to buy things. Along the way, you meet new characters who become friends with benefits and this is where the main gears of the game kick in. It is basically a full-on dating simulator.
The game is said to have; 30 romanceable girls, each with their own personalities, stories, and style. A huge open-world map with a variety of locations to visit, including a full day/night cycle which dynamically changes the opportunities available to the player. 42+ sex scenes and 50+ sex CG featuring a large variety of scenarios. 20+ hours of content and a world designed to be endlessly revisited. A helpful hint system so that you will never find yourself stuck or lost while playing. And lastly, an inventory system tied to money, shops, and other mechanics. You can buy gifts for certain girls to unlock even more sex scenes.
On paper, some of this sounds too good to be true, but judging by the player reviews, fortunately, the game appears to have delivered on its promises. The only negative reviews I could gather were mostly about people going into the game expecting pony hoofs instead of human feet, seeking the authentic pony designs that were not there to be found, and thus feeling disappointed.
To avoid copyright problems with what is obviously an erotic take on the overwhelmingly popular show, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, the developer has changed the appearance and names of some characters slightly. However, whether this will actually work in the long run is yet to be seen. TwistedScarlett60 is not the first developer trying to ride on someone else’s idea and with a big company like Hasbro owning the MLP license, it is a possibility to see the game eventually be pulled out from the Steam store.
Personally, I am not very familiar with how aggressive Hasbro is with their IP and whether they would be able to even deny TwistedScarlett60 the right to sell the product, but there is a reason why we do not often see parody games being sold on places like Steam. Naturally, it is not in my heart to hope for the worst, rather, I do hope for a successful future for TwistedScarlett60 and Friendship with Benefits.
While I have not had the pleasure to try out Friendship with Benefits just yet, I am looking to play it eventually and report back on my experience. If you can not wait to get to play this game yourself, know that the game is only 8,99€ on Steam. Not too bad for a game that promises over 20 hours of content!
Personally, I would not consider myself a Brony even though I am guilty of enjoying humanoid MLP characters and even drawing them in erotic poses both for commission and spare time. Despite having been forced to watch My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic in the past by some of my friends in school many years ago, the show never spoke to me on a personal level, though I can totally understand why it is very popular. Having said that, perhaps I am not the most qualified person to review a game like this but I will do my best.
For the lovers of Dating Sims, I recommend you to check out Koikatsu Party. It is a game where you can create your own waifu characters and date them in school. The character customization is so advanced that you can even create MLP characters if you are creative enough. For other Dating Sim games featured on the website, check the Dating Sim filter in the Hentai Games section and see what else is available.
