LSL 5: Passionate Patti Does a Little Undercover Work

Leisure Suit Larry 5 is a classic Sierra point-and-click adventure from 1991, re-released on PC in 2017 with Windows support by Assemble Entertainment. It is technically the fourth entry in Al Lowe's series, because there is no Larry 4 - the "missing floppies" were stolen, causing Larry's amnesia, and the whole setup is played as a running joke that the game leans into with good self-awareness. If you can appreciate that kind of meta silliness, you are already halfway to enjoying this one. The dual-protagonist structure is the headline feature. You alternate control between Larry Laffer - now working as a hidden-camera technician for the sleazy PornProdCorp, tasked with tracking down three TV hostess candidates across New York, Atlantic City, and Miami - and Passionate Patti, recruited by FBI Inspector Desmond to go undercover and investigate organized crime infiltrating the music industry through subliminal messages in rock and rap recordings. Each character travels via limo and plane to three locations, solving item-based puzzles along the way. The plane rides are literally the trigger for switching characters, which is a clever structural device even if it gets repetitive by the third trip. The icon-based interface replaced the text parser for the first time in the series, giving you LOOK, TALK, USE, and the series-signature Zipper verb, all driven purely by mouse. The good news: the game is forgiving by design. Neither character can die or get permanently stuck, the puzzles are logical rather than cruel, and there are alternate solutions in several scenes that add small replay value for score-hunters. The 256-color hand-painted backgrounds still hold a certain charm. Al Lowe's humor - puns, crude gags, jocular descriptions on objects you will never need - is genuinely funny in flashes, and the score by Craig Safan (yes, the Cheers and Nightmare on Elm Street 4 composer) gives the whole thing an unexpectedly polished audio backdrop. The bad news: LSL5 is the weakest entry in the pre-Larry 6 run for a reason. The Larry segments feel especially thin - each one follows an identical loop, the camcorder mechanic (record, swap tapes, recharge) grates more than it amuses, and a lot of asset reuse means airports and limos blur into each other fast. The Patti segments are noticeably better paced and designed, but the ending lands with a whimper after a promising setup. Veterans of LSL 1-3 will feel the drop in puzzle depth immediately; newcomers may not notice but will finish it in a single sitting and wonder if that was it. Bottom line for context: if you already own or have finished LSL 3, this is the natural next step and a short, painless way to continue the story. If you are new to the series, start at Larry 1 or 3 first - this is not the entry that sells you on why the franchise matters. It is a breezy, adult-humored adventure with more charm than depth, and there is nothing wrong with knowing exactly what that is before you click buy. Alex, Scout Team