Shawn Munro reviews Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game…
The trend of asymmetrical multiplayer games based on hit horror movies is, of course, Friday the 13th,recently evil dead and Texas Chainsaw MassacreAnd while you might have expected something like this: Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Streetor Hellraiser Who would have thought it would be the next big IP to receive the same treatment? Killer clown from space A cult sci-fi horror comedy film released in 1988 that never had a sequel.
While the genre's formula is certainly starting to show its flaws at this point, this latest installment packs in enough freshness and respect for the source material to provide moderate entertainment, at least for a while.
As for gameplay, you get the idea: a group of hapless survivors attempt to fight back and escape a vast map while being pursued by a group of mascot killers – in this case, the killers are attendees of an extraterrestrial carnival. And why wouldn't you? One thing that immediately appeals compared to other similar titles is the high player count. The game allows 10 players to play together, with three randomly assigned to the role of clowns and the rest playing survivors.
Playing as the Clown, the game best captures the film's blatant goofiness, and even better, it's perfectly enjoyable even if you haven't seen the movie (but you should!). From the hilarious squeals that the Clown's shoes make every time you move, to your ability to encase humans in cotton candy cocoons, there's never any indication that this game is taking itself even remotely seriously, making it perfect for some silly fun with a group of friends.
While KIowns must be busy harvesting humans in order to trigger the round-ending “Klownpocalypse”, playing a survivor is understandably not as much fun – humans generally prove to be comparatively boring, having to perform more mundane tasks such as peeling cotton candy from blocked exits and finding common trinkets to enable escape routes.
But thanks to surprisingly solid balancing, playing as a human is more fun than you'd expect: You don't have to despair the moment the Clown appears, especially if you have a teammate or two nearby to help you out; with a sharp weapon at hand, it's entirely possible to take down the Clown, even if only temporarily.
A particularly clever design choice here is that the various escape routes – speedboats, bunkers, bridges – all have capacity limits so that only a small percentage of survivors can use any one route, which makes things awkwardly awkward when a large number of players end up blocking the exits in a desperate attempt to escape.
Another nifty mechanic allows humans who escape or die early to take part in a series of retro mini-games, including a Simon-style memory game, to unlock weapons, health boosts, and even items needed to escape. It's up to you whether you gift these unlockable items to teammates who're still playing, or save them for later use yourself.
This is clearly a novel twist intended to encourage players to stick around after the main combat is over, but the limited number and basic nature of the mini-games means boredom doesn't hold up for long.
To compound this situation, if you leave the game before the end of a round, all XP you've gained is wiped, forcing you to either stay and play a mini-game or scroll through your phone. It's entirely possible to wait 10 minutes or more for a round to finish, which is a frustrating amount of downtime that could have serious implications on the long-term viability of the game. It's easy to see how players would quickly become annoyed at being forced to stay and just leave.
Additionally, as is the problem with most horror-themed multiplayer games, the limited number of maps and repetitive gameplay mechanics mean the game becomes boring after a few hours of play. Combine this with the IP's already niche fanbase, and with only a few thousand concurrent players on PC during launch week, it's hard to imagine the online community having any longevity.
Killer Klowns from Space: The Game It captures the tone and aesthetic of its inspiration perfectly, providing plenty of entertainment with a sense of its era, but it also shows the limitations of a gameplay template that's beginning to feel a bit dated. It's not shallow, but it's not deep either. It's enjoyable for short periods of time, but there are some short-sighted design choices that leave me scratching my head and I don't think it will hold up for long.
Strong Points:
+ Perfectly recreates the goofy look and feel of the movie.
+ Gameplay Loop is a fun, social experience.
+ Some welcome changes to the genre formula.
Cons:
– Gameplay quickly becomes repetitive.
– There isn’t much content.
– If you finish a round early you will not gain XP.
Rating: 6/10
Reviewed on PC (also available on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S).
Review code provided by publisher.
Shawn Munro – Follow me twitter If you would like to learn more about video games, please email us here.
