High School Story

Gameplay

High School Story is a choice-based simulation game. The player is a student attempting to build their own high school, with no given name. In order to build up his/her school, the player must complete quests to progress through the story, obtain Classmates (who are categorized by their cliques), Hangouts (where Students can...well, 'hangout'), and Land Plots (to put Hangouts and other various Decorations). The player is able to not only customize his/her appearance, but also the appearances of all other students in the school, excluding main characters created by the game (Autumn, Payton, Julian, etc). In order to get Hangouts and Land Plots, the player needs to acquire Coins and Rings. The player receives coins and rings from finishing quests, though they can also purchase coins and rings with real money in the Store. Coins can also be collected from Hangouts, as each student produces a certain amount of coins per hour depending on their type and level.In the beginning of the game, the player is able to choose their gender and type, though they are only able to choose from three particular cliques: Nerd, Prep, or Jock. There are various types in High School Story which range from basic types such as a Jock, Nerd or Prep to "combined" classmates like Cheerleader, Gamer or Student Government, and the player can gain other students through two different methods: They can either buy students from Admissions using Coins or Rings, or they can try "Partying" to get the type of student they want. Partying is a game mechanic which allows players to gain special classmates without having to pay directly for them in Admissions. All parties take place in Party Central, which can be found in the Buildings tab for 1000 coins and is unlocked after a certain quest is completed. You may only have one Party Central and therefore can only send two classmates to party at a time.

Plot

The game begins with the MC (Main Character) in an empty lot and is first introduced to the character Autumn Brooks. After a basic tutorial on the game, Autumn confides in the MC that she is miserable at a future rival school called Hearst High and wishes to attend the MC's school. They immediately receive a text from the main enemy, Max Warren, son of the principal of Hearst (or Kara Sinclair, head cheerleader, depending on the gender of the MC) and are threatened stating that unless their school contains fifteen students, it will be closed down.

After an introduction to Autumn's friend, Julian, the two characters try to convince him to transfer to the MC's school from Hearst due to him not being able to play because his coach benches him for Max. To their dismay, he turns them down because his being at the school is the only opportunity to be recognized by football scouts, as he is not entirely good in school or other activities. But when the MC and Autumn show up at a Hearst football game, Julian is banned from playing the game for the remaining season as a result of fighting Max.

Seeing the capability of the MC's school, Julian joins the school because he sees there is teamwork, a quality that Hearst now woefully lacks. To celebrate, they throw a party to get other students to come to their school with the help of Hearst student, Payton. The party is a success, but Payton forgets about throwing a party for Mia, Max's sister, and she and Kara swear to make her life awful in Hearst. Payton, feeling terrible, is convinced by Autumn to join the MC's school. She is initially sad because she is dumped by her boyfriend, but is happy again as she is able to date again.

Hearst challenges the MC and their school to a homecoming game. If they win, Autumn will be able to transfer to the MC's school. They are warned by an anonymous text messenger that Hearst has a plan to steal their playbook plans. Unfortunately, the text message comes to pass - Hearst uses a quadrocopter with a camera to view their plan and steal it. Julian manages to take it down in time but Max tells him that the footage has been streaming live and they have all that they need. They are able to create a new playbook, but as they practice it, Julian kicks the football to the direction of Payton's float and the have an argument with each other, leaving the MC to solve it. They work their differences out and Julian and the football team win the homecoming game.

Owing to the success of the homecoming game, Autumn finally gets to transfer to the MC's school. The MC is still curious about the quadrocopter that Max used to spy on them. Autumn tells her the only person who seems to know how to create one but to talk to him, the MC is required to go undercover. The MC is almost caught but barely escapes. Upon arrival, they meet Nishan, nerdy inventor and scientist. The Mc tries to convince him to transfer schools but he declines stating that Hearst has a better academic program and a robotics club

Reception

Google Play and the App Store both gave it a 4.5 out of 5.