In relation to video video games which are primarily based on motion pictures or TV reveals, you may definitely do lots higher than “Household Man On-line,” a short-lived MMORPG sport from 2012. The sport allowed you to create your personal character and stroll round Quahog, finishing necessary duties for the characters like “Beat up Chris’ bully” or “Assist Quagmire out on a date.”
That will not sound that thrilling for you, and it did not sound all that thrilling to players on the time both. That is why the sport was by no means common sufficient to justify shifting out of the beta section. After simply eight months of being out there to the general public, the builders introduced they’d be shutting the sport down. By January 2013 the sport was no extra; the closest factor you may get to taking part in it’s watching outdated walkthrough movies on YouTube:
If I needed to guess why the sport by no means took off primarily based on the gameplay I’ve watched, I would say it is as a result of the sport has little attraction for followers outdoors the present. You do not have to be a fan of “The Simpsons” to understand the magic that was the 2003 sport, “The Simpsons: Hit & Run,” but it surely’s very laborious to think about a non-“Household Man” fan discovering something attention-grabbing about this “Household Man”-centric sport. There’s little or no talent or technique required to perform any of the duties; to win the battle in opposition to Chris’ bully, for example, all it’s a must to do is click on on the bully and click on the hit button beneath. So long as you are able to do that, you have acquired it.
In relation to video video games, ‘The Simpsons’ reigns supreme
Sadly, “Household Man On-line” simply felt like an excessive amount of of a lazy money seize to be a hit. There have been few coherent storylines, with the sport’s narrative as an alternative choosing only a string of references to the present. Typically, your prize for finishing a process was that you simply’d get to look at a clip from the present, however if you wish to watch “Household Man” clips you may already simply placed on the present at any time. The sport was an advert for the present first, and a playable sport second.
In the meantime, “The Simpsons” launched one other online game across the similar, a cellular one known as “Tapped Out” the place customers acquired to design their very own metropolis. Described within the adverts as “life-ruiningly addictive,” this sport is loads of enjoyable (an excessive amount of enjoyable, even) for anybody in search of a gradual provide of dopamine boosts. I began taking part in the sport in highschool and needed to give up after a couple of weeks as a result of it was taking on all my free time; in the meantime, gamers even right this moment will discuss this sport prefer it’s an addictive drug.
“I liked this sport a lot I needed to cease chilly turkey,” wrote one Redditor within the “Simpsons” subreddit. “I used to be waking up in the course of the night time throughout particular occasions to make sure I acquired all of the collectibles. It consumed me and I liked it. Tried to print my metropolis out at work in coloration and acquired in hassle then everybody wanted a code to make use of the printer.”
“Tapped Out” lasted for over a decade earlier than the builders, EA Cellular, shut it down in January 2025, and loads of its gamers are nonetheless battling the information. The sport’s subreddit, which has 74,000 customers, is now crammed with posts lamenting the sport’s shutdown and questioning if there’s any means it might come again. However very similar to “The Simpsons: Hit & Run,” it looks like “Tapped Out” is gone for good.
It was unhappy to see each of the most important “Simpsons” video video games go, however each of them had a large impression, a lot bigger than the “Household Man” RPG might ever dream of. To not rag on “Household Man” an excessive amount of for not being pretty much as good as “The Simpsons,” however man, it is gotta sting for them to know that “Simpsons” supremacy extends even past the realm of TV. And to not add insult to damage, however the “South Park” video games are constantly superior, too.
