When Sally’s favorite singer and long lost love disappear from civilization, she goes on a quest to find him once and for all. Can she reunite with her long lost love?
That’s right, Sally’s back and she’s part of the Delicious cast. However, it seems that they ignore Sally’s Quick Clips and Sally’s Studio as well as the existence of Nell. The former’s justified by saying that Sally’s Quick Clips sucked and Sally opening a studio is a little outside her comfort zone. On the other hand, salons and spas go hand in hand. As for the latter, no true justification except that they wanted to make Francois Sally’s sidekick instead. Which is a good decision; since Francois is more fun, but they could have at least mentioned Nell or let her have a cameo.
I’m sure many Delicious fans remember the plot of Emily’s True Love, where Emily goes to Paris after finding a letter her French lover wrote to her long ago. This game shares similarities with Sally chasing after Julio, who she never got over from her college days. Considering that Julio left without saying a word, you can bet that it didn’t end well. I bet you’re expecting me to find a problem with this plot but the truth is, I understand. I’ve had some bad experiences with people I still dwell on and a part of me still wants to make up with these people and be friends with them again. Sally’s longing for more, but the idea is still the same. I will admit that the game has a few laugh out loud moments, such as Francois telling everyone in Snugford where Sally ran off to and then hearing it on the radio. There’s another moment on a cruise ship where Francois watches the exercise programs and talks about how watching people workout can really make you sweat. He’s even expecting to be in shape when the cruise is over. Oh, how I wish getting in shape could work like that. Sally also has more of a character as a gossiping and coffee addicted hairdresser, which was more than she had in the previous games. One of the spa owners Sally works for calls her out on her flaws. Did I mention that Sally also refers to previous Delicious games in her stories? In one instance, she even tells a story about Emily that wasn’t hers to tell. It’s something Francois called her out on. However, the plot itself can be rather predictable. Sometimes, when the characters mention something, I know right away how it will be resolved. I also have an issue with how old Sally is. The game hints that she’s almost fifty. I have to say, she definitely doesn’t look it. Either Sally ages unbelievably well, or her salon business makes so much money, she can afford expensive plastic surgery.
The game play has made significant changes due to Sally joining the Delicious cast. For instance, you have to grab items before attending to customers. You also have different mini-games to play and it takes a little getting used to. Catch the mouse in each level, complete challenges for diamonds and get one star to advance to the next level. Try for all three, if you feel lucky. You can also purchase upgrades in between levels. Like previous games, you can upgrade your products, but you have to click on each product individually instead of getting a popup about it. This gets very annoying very fast. I also didn’t like having to reset my screen whenever I wanted to play the game just so I can few all of the cut scenes and enjoy the game fully. There’s also one issue I have feminist wise. All of Sally’s customers in the first venue are women. Not a single man visits her salon, which is quite a change from the first game where men and women visit. However, in one of the spas, you can paint a man’s toenails just like you can paint a woman’s toenails.
This game is addictive, yet predictable. I give it 6 out of 10, a couple points off for the upgrade issue and the problem with my computer screen.