Fashion Police Squad Review (AbyssalSoul)
Well, this one was surely a breath of fresh air in this stream of "boomer shooters"! No blood, gore and guts here, it's all glam, fashion, style and silly light hearted references packed in a neat set of varied missions and accompanied by an amazing OST worth the price on its own if you are a fan of SEGA-style music with a funky approach, in fact, if you like that sort of piano/grand jazz/keyboard synth ultra melodic songs that glue to your mind, this is for you. Indeed, sound design is just as prominent as the visuals here.
Anyway, quick mechanics rundown: your character is extremely agile and fast, there is no dash but there is a melee weapon used to hop and climb to greater distances. You get a small set of weapons (including one that let's you jump further ahead and move even faster) and they are arranged in a system where each one needs to be used on different enemy types to stunlock them or deal damage, that is until you get the equivalent of the BFG (which the devs kindly provide infinite ammo for if you clear the game). Each weapon fits a certain purpose and they will not be effective against certain enemy types. This is telegraphed both via audio and visual cues so you are quickly told you need to switch weapons.
Now, things get extremely chaotic and challenging once you face enemy waves with enemy combinations that require you to move around and switch like a madman until you fashionize all those terrible criminals. Each time you eliminate a target an Unreal Tournament/Devil May Cry 5 style loud voice will scream phrases and that already elevates the game above others. It just oozing style and I loved it so much more for it. It's a good way to accompany the combat! Again, it may not be the wailing of demons and electric guitars and an angry armored dude but it sure is a learning experience on fashion words in English, heh.
At the end of each mission you are evaluated by the amount of secrets, swag (basically, armor items) and enemies arrested for that sweet-yet-OCD 100% completion goal. These tallies are done incredibly well in a silly fashion parade style, with bosses getting their own special screens.
The story is kind of a spoof full of references (not gonna spoil) and certainly not quintessential to the experience although I would certainly love if the next game contains even more voiced dialogue (only the intro is voiced, the rest is what I can only describe as Banjo Kazooie noises), although the delivery and writing could make or break it. Having all enemies voiced is also great as the quotes they spew are just as ridiculous as expected, chockfull of memes that keep the arenas engaging.
While for many it may not reach the heights of some of the new torch bearers of this new old school era like DUSK or Ultrakill, the style is extremely well done, entertaining and packed with enough humor to get a special highlight. My only gripe was that a few of the encounters are confined into extremely small arenas for the amount of enemies you face and that gives you little room for maneuvers and there were a few performance hiccups using the melee belt, other than that the game ran smoothly on my PC.
I really hope the devs are working on a sequel that refines elements and ups the ante or just brings us more joy and fun to cut it up a bit with all the disembowelments and violence. Sometimes we just need a break from that with some colours and laughter. Props to the devs, hats off and suit up!
It's not a terribly long game so even aiming for the 100% should be doable. Very recommended and if on sale, even more recommended but also get it with the OST! It comes with FLACs which is always a huge plus!