The original Lollipop Chainsaw is one of those games that people have been wanting to see make a return for years. Originally released in 2012, the game was a collaboration between game designer Goichi “Suda51” Suda and James Gunn — yes that James Gunn. It became a cult classic thanks to it’s over-the-top gameplay, absurd story, and ridiculous premise. However, nowadays it’s almost impossible to get a copy without having to take out a bank loan, but thanks to Dragami Games we can once again experience this colorful, hack-and-slash with Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP.
Rip and tear
RePOP manages to keep the core gameplay intact from the original. In the game you go from stage to stage, slaughtering different kinds of zombies and capping off with a boss fight. Your main three action buttons are the cross, square, and triangle button, with them acting as your sweep, light, and heavy attacks respectively. Chain these together with unlockable combos until the enemies are weak enough to land the finishing blow. It’s a simple enough combat formula that does the job right, but you do have other tools to use. As you go through the game, you’ll unlock new and helpful weapons like the Chainsaw Blaster, which spices up the gameplay just enough to not make it feel too repetitive.
The combat is overall extremely fun, but it’s not without it’s flaws. For example, there were multiple times where the enemies soft locked me and just kept hitting me with their attacks. There is a dodge button which is helpful to counter this, but I found that sometimes enemies could cancel this and still hit me if I didn’t time it right. In addition to that, on a few occasions where my attacks didn’t connect with the opposing enemies but theirs connected with me. I’m not entirely sure if this was a glitch I encountered, but it happened quite frequently and left me frustrated when I lost my combo. However, these are minor nuisances and over the six hours I played, my enjoyment with the combat remained the same, leaving me overall satisfied.
Love to shop
With all the amount of zombie slaying you’ll have to do in this game, you have to be rewarded well enough to keep playing for the second and third time. Luckily, Lollipop Chainsaw has you covered and provides you with a lot of unlockables. Coins can be found around the world or by killing zombies, and can be used in the multiple shops scattered around in the levels. These coins can be used for a variety of things such as unlocking new combos, upgrading your stats, or buying little extras like concept art, music and skimpy outfits that can give Stellar Blade a run for its money. There is also a score system that will grade you at the end of each stage. Score can be obtained in many ways such as killing zombies, how many coins you collect, your overall time to complete the level etc. If your one of those people who strive to get the perfect score, then this is definitely up your alley.
But all of these extras aren’t worth it if you don’t have a great playground to use them in. Lollipop Chainsaw’s world is just the right blend of both the gritty, muddy atmosphere of the zombie genre, and vibrant colors that stand out. Couple that with a nice, clean, cel-shaded look and you’ve got a game that has managed to craft some unique visuals. However, when comparing the original and the remaster, there are some noticeable differences. For example, I found that the remaster’s colors look a lot darker with them not popping out as much on the screen. The original, at least to me, looked a lot more visually striking and brighter, which complimented the cel-shaded art design. Even with this oversight, the character models and textures are more detailed than ever before and it still manages to keep the blend of what made the original stand out so much.
A dead romantic tale
James Gunn’s no nonsense, balls to the wall, crazy style has always been a big part of his projects. Every one of them has an undeniably obscene style that is both hilarious and heartwarming at the same time. And as lead writer of Lollipop Chainsaw, he managed to keep the wackiness he is best known for, but strangely misses the heart.
In Lollipop Chainsaw, you play as Juliet Starling, a typical blonde American cheerleader who is secretly a zombie slayer. On Juliet’s birthday, zombies come to town and it’s up to Juliet and her crazy family – with her boyfriend Nick along for the ride as a living head – to find out what has caused the outbreak and put a stop to it before all is lost. The biggest credit I can give to the game’s story is the fact that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. It indulges and embraces it’s incredibly ludicrous tone with each new character introduced and corny piece of dialogue spoken, even if it can sometimes be a bit eye rolling.
The only thing that I felt was missing from the story was the typical James Gunn heart. There wasn’t a lot of moments in the story that tried to tug at the heartstrings or tap into drama between the characters. Gunn’s best work is when he manages to blend the two together seaminglessly, with his work at Marvel and DC being prime examples of how well it can be done. There are some attempts to make us care for the characters, but it comes across as sudden and feels quite out of place. That being said, Lollipop Chainsaw isn’t the kind of game that needs a story with these moments. It’s only job is to be stylish and get the ocassional giggle out of it’s audience, which it certainly achieves in spades.
Summary
After finally getting around to playing this game, I can see why people love it so much. Lollipop Chainsaw: RePOP is a vibrant, bloody, and sexy hack-and-slash game that is nothing short of a ton of fun. A few disappointing story moments and clunky gameplay moments aside, it’s a great adventure that feels rewarding and addictive at the same time. Hopefully with this remaster the potential of a sequel could look more likely, and if that moment does come I’ll be there with a lollipop and a chainsaw at the ready.
Lollipop Chainsaw: RePOP is available now on the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
The Review
Great
