Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP Assessment (PS5)

Let’s get one factor straight: Lollipop Chainsaw is superb. This seminal, subversive monstrosity from the minds of legendary developer Suda51 and Hollywood big-shot James Gunn (in his PG Porn period, no much less) is as amusing as we speak because it was over a decade in the past; it’s outrageous, ridiculous, obnoxious, garish – we completely find it irresistible, and we’d rank it amongst Grasshopper Manufacture’s greatest work. Sadly, this RePOP remaster isn’t pretty much as good because it might be – even when it’s higher than nothing in any respect.

Operating in 4K at a barely inconsistent body price, the visible upgrades are enough – though numerous the antiquated animations stay. The unique recreation was at all times a low-budget affair, however the points stick out like a sore thumb on PS5, as objects evaporate out of existence and zombies inexplicably T-pose on the horizon. Cheerleader heroine Juliet Starling additionally doesn’t really feel fairly proper; there’s a delay to the controls which makes fight really feel swimmy reasonably than snappy, and a few ill-conceived alterations to the velocity and circulate of the protagonist’s actions don’t actually work as meant.

In additional optimistic information, a dramatically rebalanced store means you possibly can unlock lots of the character’s skills a lot earlier on this model, and that looks like a wise alteration contemplating lots of the combos within the authentic have been locked behind unfathomable grinds. The chainsaw blaster has additionally been completely redesigned, and whereas it feels OP on this model, we kinda admire that; Lollipop Chainsaw, whereas it does have rating assault parts, isn’t vying for an esports award, and so the shortage of steadiness is ok from the place we’re sitting.

We’re much less eager on the eponymous RePOP mode, which tones down the blood and gore from the unique launch and replaces it with one thing slightly extra PG-13. Whereas it’s elective, we reckon the developer may have gone additional right here, incorporating flowers and different paraphernalia to promote the household pleasant presentation. We’re additionally upset on the lack of licensed music which was a giant characteristic of the unique; The Chordettes stay, however lots of the different pop and rock songs are gone.

A contemporary batch of costumes spherical out the revisions, however this can be a pretty barebones remaster exterior of that. Some baffling adjustments – just like the elimination of comedian e book character introductions – don’t make sense to us, however don’t precisely wreck the discharge. It simply seems like this might have been extra: the gameplay feels stodgy and wanted much more TLC – and the watered down soundtrack, regardless of how comprehensible, strips it of a few of its soul.

That is nonetheless fun out loud affair, although; a raucous and completely ludicrous launch that deserves to exist on trendy {hardware}. However when the supply materials is that this sensible, it deserves an distinctive remaster – reasonably than one which’s simply adequate.