The Quick-Lived Household Man Video Recreation That Has Been Completely Forgotten

In terms of video video games which might be based mostly on films or TV exhibits, you may actually do quite a bit higher than “Household Man On-line,” a short-lived MMORPG sport from 2012. The sport allowed you to create your individual character and stroll round Quahog, finishing essential duties for the characters like “Beat up Chris’ bully” or “Assist Quagmire out on a date.” 

That won’t sound that thrilling for you, and it did not sound all that thrilling to avid gamers on the time both. That is why the sport was by no means common sufficient to justify shifting out of the beta part. After simply eight months of being obtainable 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 By January 2013 the sport was no extra; the closest factor you may get to enjoying it’s watching outdated walkthrough movies on YouTube:

If I needed to guess why the sport by no means took off based mostly 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 onerous to think about a non-“Household Man” fan discovering something fascinating about this “Household Man”-centric sport. There’s little or no talent or technique required to perform any of the duties; to win the combat towards Chris’ bully, for example, all it’s important 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 obtained it. 

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 a substitute choosing only a string of references to the present. Typically, your prize for finishing a job 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 identical, a cellular one known as “Tapped Out” the place customers obtained 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 gentle provide of dopamine boosts. I began enjoying the sport in highschool and needed to give up after a couple of weeks as a result of it was taking over all my free time; in the meantime, gamers even at this time will speak about this sport prefer it’s an addictive drug. 

“I cherished 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 midst of the evening throughout particular occasions to make sure I obtained all of the collectibles. It consumed me and I cherished it. Tried to print my metropolis out at work in colour and obtained in bother then everybody wanted a code to make use of the printer.”

“Tapped Out” lasted for over a decade earlier than the builders, EA Cell, shut it down in January 2025, and loads of its gamers are nonetheless scuffling with the information. The sport’s subreddit, which has 74,000 customers, is now full of posts lamenting the sport’s shutdown and questioning if there’s any manner it may come again. However very like “The Simpsons: Hit & Run,” it looks like “Tapped Out” is gone for good. 

It was unhappy to see each of the key “Simpsons” video video games go, however each of them had an enormous affect, a lot bigger than the “Household Man” RPG may ever dream of. To not rag on “Household Man” an excessive amount of for not being nearly 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.