Magnus Plays...Mister Versatile (Demo) (Patreon)

There is a lasting appeal about superheroes which has made them a constant part of mainstream culture for close to a century now, elevating characters such as Batman, Spiderman and others to be recognisable figures and symbols to many people. They are enjoying a particular period of dominance at the moment, bought in no small part by the success of Marvel's cinematic universe at the box office which has led to a resurgence in the popularity of our favourite masked heroes and villains. 

It is little wonder then that YPress Games, the studio behind Morningdew Farms and To Trust an Incubus, have turned their attention to spandex clad heroes for their latest gay visual novel game, Mister Versatile. I and my boyfriend had the chance to play the demo for the game (available for free download at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ypressgames/mister-versatile) and I can now give my thoughts on this new project.

Mister Versatile stars the self-titled hero, a vilgante with no powers but in peak physical condition and possessing amazing martial arts skills and an intellect capable of outsmarting the various villains he tangles with. He is also strictly a lone wolf, prefering to fight crime by himself; there are several hints during the gameplay that something traumatic happened to Versatile in the past which makes him reluctant to team up or take on a partner. Such a self-repressing stance though is being challenged by the affable, and quite handsome, Captain Crush, a man not put off by Versatile's tsundere-esqe attitude and who is keen to have him as a friend...and maybe more. 

It will only get harder for Versatile as he finds himself crossing paths with several other potential romantic interests, from Chihuahua, an eager young superhero who idolises him; Driller, Versatile's hot headed archenemy with a complicated lustful desire for Versatile; and Jake, an innocent young man trying to prevent the salacious alien being Luscivion from overtaking his mind and body and using them for his wanton desires...

The core part of the demo gives us the first encounters in game with Versatile's potential suitors and there is a fine mix of men to chose from. ,To my pleasant surprise there is no  stereotypical  blond stud who is the 'subtle' main choice to go for. We have a silver fox (Captain Crush); an African-American of around Versatile's age (Driller); a young adult Mexican (Chihuahua); a young redhead (Jake) and an alien, Luscivion. If there are any more romantic interests available later in the full game I'd like to see the diversity continue, perhaps with an Asian, Indian or chubby man for example. The varied ethicities and ages of the men is a delight to see and harkens my mind back to YPress Game's previous work Morningdew Farms, a trend I hope to see continued in their future productions.

 It won't be an erotic gay visual novel without a wonderful amount of sex in it as well. In fact there is quite a bit present here for a demo which took myself and my other half by surprise. There are encounters with almost every love interest in the game and Versatile stays true to his name by being flexible in a number of situations. The demo even explores some more kinky content, such as Driller's hate sex encounter and the alien being Luscivion with his excitable feelers, which will certainly wet the appetites of anyone that has a tentacle kink. I am hoping that the full game allows for the exploration of more kinky or niche content to give the romances some added depth Perhaps one of the interests could have a thing for really getting off on the feel of spandex (it would fit the theme of the game after all). 

Above: Driller & Below: Chihuahua - two of the potential romantic interests for Versatile during the game. These images perfectly capture how the feel of each relationship is distinctly different to the others potential paths Versatile can take.

Gameplay wise it is what you can expect from a visual novel, being a text-based story with multiple  choices allow you to direct how you wish the story to unfold. The choices for the encounters in the demo are quite straightforward (as you can guess where they are going, i.e. sex or no sex) so I'm hoping the paths will become more complex as they progress in the full release. This occurred in Morningdew Farms so there is a case it will be the case in Mister Versatile as well.

An aspect of the game which turned out to be a particular treat is the references to superhero and queer culture which is prevalent through the demo. It almost makes Mister Versatile feel like an ode to the gay geek sub-culture of the community at times. You get a good feel for which heroes served as inspiration the characters in the game; Batman/Ironman for Versatile; Robin/Spiderman for Chihuahua; Eddie and Venom for Jake & Venom, etc., all in a wonderful gay variety of course. Speaking of which as much as I enjoyed the geeky allusions it is the queer references in truth that intrigued me more. The relationship between Captain Crush and Versatile gives me Superman x Batman ship vibes and Syd clearly is a homage to...well, if you even have a passing knowledge of Mama Ru and Drag Race you will see where I am going with this. Versatile and Syd's snarky exchanges certainly liven up their dialogue and add a delightful element of humour to the game that will be a delight to see more of.

Overall the demo served as a worthy taster of what to expect from Mister Versatile and gave hints of what the full game will be like (although I'm hoping for some delicious unexpected twists in the stories that will take us by surprise). 

The campaign on Kickstarter has reached it's funding, so the game will be made, and has in fact achieved two of it's stretch goals; the first goal will see Chihuahua do a sexy little dance and the second goal will is post credit scenes for each of the romances. There is still over a week left of the Kickstarter campaign as of this moment so if you want to support the game and help it reach further milestones, while getting in on some supporter rewards as well, you certainly can. I for one will be waiting with interest for when Mister Versatile drops later on in 2020 (something good at least for us to look forward to at this time).

The Mister Versatile's kickstarter campaign can be found here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ypressgames/mister-versatile

You can find out more about the studio, YPress Games, and their latest news on the following links:

Website: https://ypressgames.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ypressgames

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ypressgames