Seeing the Leisure Suit Larry series quietly vanish from digital storefronts recently got me digging back into my own library. Digital licences come and go, but seeing my Steam list reminded me how much fun these games were growing up—complete with the classic running joke of the missing Larry 4 floppies ;)
Created by Al Lowe at Sierra, Larry Laffer was the classic hopeless 40-something lounge lizard: polyester suit, tacky gold chain, awful pickup lines, and stumbling from one ridiculous disaster to the next.
Checking into La Costa Lotta
My proper introduction to the series came back in the day with Leisure Suit Larry 6: Shape Up or Slip Out!. While I eventually worked backwards through earlier instalments like Larry 5 and explored the older floppy releases, Larry 6 was the one that truly hooked me when I was younger.
Checking into the fictional “La Costa Lotta” luxury health resort was fantastic fun, especially in the SVGA CD-ROM “talkie” edition. The voice acting made the whole game—the late Jan Rabson gave Larry his definitive voice, paired with Neil Ross’s deadpan narrator. Solving bizarre inventory puzzles with gym towels, cell phone batteries, and spa treatments made it an instant favourite.
Sierra vs LucasArts (1993)
Looking back at 1993, it really was the golden year for comedy point-and-click adventures. Much like my look back at Day of the Tentacle Remastered, the rivalry between LucasArts (SCUMM) and Sierra (SCI) was peak PC gaming.
Where LucasArts went for time-travel madness and cartoon slapstick, Sierra leaned into adult jokes, witty dialogue, and lush resort backdrops. It was just a brilliant era for PC adventure games.
For more classic 90s PC gaming memories, have a read of my notes on Day of the Tentacle Remastered and the Command & Conquer and Red Alert Remastered announcement.