Ticklish Tessa

I'll put a disclaimer on this review: if you're looking at the screenshots for this game and you find it offensive, this game probably isn't the kind of game you'll enjoy. The game was clearly developed for a particular demographic, niche as it may be. This review is therefore mostly going to be for those who do enjoy this niche, and for the curious few who want to know what the game is all about Ticklish Tessa is a dating sim game about tickling. The majority of the game play loop is spent tickling the character Tessa, a businesswoman who wants to be tickled by you, the player. Tessa is also a mouse, but this doesn't have any bearing on the gameplay. During each "session" you will be tasked with using a set of tools to tickle Tessa until she is satisfied, without overwhelming her. You start off with a single tool, your fingers, but you unlock more tools and options to "spice up" the sessions as the game goes on. The gameplay is simple, and pretty well designed. Tickling with fingers is a simple as just clicking on the feet, and each tool has a slightly different mechanic that is mostly the same but feel unique. Between each session, you'll have a short scene where Tessa will talk to you about the session. You have the option to remain professional or flirt with her. It offers a fun bit of character developing between each session, and I think it would have been fun to see it more fleshed out The game is clearly a labor of love with a lot of work put into it. Small touches here and there such as deciding how Tessa is dressed each session, changing Tessa's appearance and gender, even being able to caress her ears or massage her feet during a session. It isn't necessary but a fun addition to include. You can even interact with the character by tweaking her nose on the title screen. It's such a small detail, but I think it goes to show just what kind of person the developer is. If I had one criticism of the game it is that it is very short. There are six sessions in total, plus a seventh "endless mode" with all options unlocked. Completing a session doesn't take very long to do. And each session is more or less the same. The only difference is how many options are unlocked. There aren't any major challenges or any incentive to change up your technique outside of curiosity. As far as I can tell, you can complete the whole game just using the fingers tool and not changing Tessa's outfit, and the "dialog options" between you and Tessa don't significantly change anything outside of Tessa providing a slightly different response to each prompt. I'm not knocking this game, however. It is a very well-designed experience for what it is. And maybe I'm a bit jaded by the market of Adult gaming that seems to churn out low effort game parodies with hentai slapped on top, or puzzle games that bank on the promise nudity or Kink material, that seeing a game deliver what it claims to deliver is incredibly refreshing. I cant recommend this to everyone, since it does target the niche crowd of people who like feet/tickling/furries. But if the premise of tickling a cute anthropomorphic mouse's feet doesn't turn you off, I'd say it's worth giving a look. Just note that the short length and lack of variety/challenge might be something to take note of.