The Brief-Lived Household Man Video Recreation That Has Been Solely Forgotten

On the subject of video video games which might be primarily based on films or TV exhibits, you may definitely 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 vital 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 well-liked sufficient to justify transferring out of the beta part. 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 previous 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 might say it is as a result of the sport has little enchantment 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,” however it’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 struggle in opposition to Chris’ bully, as an illustration, 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’ve got received it. 

Sadly, “Household Man On-line” simply felt like an excessive amount of of a lazy money seize to be successful. There have been few coherent storylines, with the sport’s narrative as an alternative choosing only a string of references to the present. Usually, your prize for finishing a job was that you simply’d get to observe 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 cell one known as “Tapped Out” the place customers received to design their very own metropolis. Described within the adverts as “life-ruiningly addictive,” this sport is lots of enjoyable (an excessive amount of enjoyable, even) for anybody in search of a gentle 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 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 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 midst of the evening throughout particular occasions to make sure I received all of the collectibles. It consumed me and I liked it. Tried to print my metropolis out at work in shade and received 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 lots of its gamers are nonetheless combating 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 manner it may come again. However very like “The Simpsons: Hit & Run,” it looks as if “Tapped Out” is gone for good. 

It was unhappy to see each of the foremost “Simpsons” video video games go, however each of them had an enormous influence, 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.