Lollipop Chainsaw

Yes, it's weird. It also may seem like a ridiculous waste time, but given the chance, it can also be ridiculously fun.

Bayonetta and Devil May Cry are maybe better optimized from a game design perspective but there is no other fighting game with such a sexy look as Lollipop Chainsaw. [Issue#220]

Pick it up if you're a serious Japanese action fan, but if not, then at least wait until it's on sale.

The fascination for this game must come from the bizarre, exaggerated humor. It´s really good at that and uses it well to keep you motivated. Gameplay-wise, there is not much here, that you will remember after a while.

Erratic, smart, puerile, limited but never less than a lot of fun, Lollipop Chainsaw is something of an endearing mess. Too often its satirical tone can run into trouble, and Grasshopper's hyperactive approach to game design can infuriate as much as it impresses. But Lollipop Chainsaw's quirky edge and strong writing carries it through those shakier moments, leaving a candy-coated video game in possession of a sharp bite.

Suda 51 proves again that heʼs a special creator with a strange sense of humor. Lollipop Chainsaw is probably the best "b-videogame" ever created.

It's typically scattershot Suda fare, in other words. Some brilliant ideas rub shoulders with some pretty terrible ones, but it's almost unfair to criticise a game for trying too hard at a time when so many publishers are determined to play their safest possible hand.

Suda 51's most recent production could have been something very special, but it's just a little (very little) sweet lollipop with a bitter aftertaste.

Lollipop Chainsaw has great characters, a classic Suda 51 world and simple and direct action. But its gameplay is so simple and has too many repetitive situations.

Crazy, original and repetitive, this "not quite" recipe for success might not be the best meal, but it doesn't taste bad; nonetheless.

Lollipop Chainsaw never tries to take itself too seriously which is a good thing. It's funny and entertaining in that bad-movie sort of way.

As short as its lovely heroine's skirt, not particularly pretty and rather shallow in terms of gameplay. Still you might enjoy it if you're in a mood for some Japanese insanity. [August 2012, p.70]

Lollipop Chainsaw absolutely nails certain aspects of its B-movie influenced aesthetic, not to mention how genuinely surreal and surprisingly inspiring it is to see a major Western publisher like Warner Bros. get behind something so unapologetically bizarre. Lollipop Chainsaw at times is a lot of fun - it's just a shame it's almost as disposable as its titular confection.

An insane and wildly entertaining game, something untouched by the alleged japanese developers creative crisis; too bad its short longevity and low challenge level concur to drag the overall rating down, but it deserves to be tried.

The game's shorter than the protagonist's skirt and is filled with more cheese than a Hickory Farms gift basket. Despite its relatively shallow gameplay, Lollipop Chainsaw is worth checking out for its sheer audacity and outrageousness. At the same time, it's hard to recommend paying full price when taking into account the limited replay value.

The game has lots of spunk, for sure, but it's ultimately no deeper than its vacuous star.

Lollipop Chainsaw could have been something really special-had a variety of unpolished elements and outdated gameplay mechanics not gotten in the way. While this cheerleader is overflowing with heart, soul, and spirit, her sloppy execution unfortunately keeps spoiling her routine.

It's bizarre and disheartening that Grasshopper Manufacture's most approachable, refined, and charming game yet is so stuck in such disconcerting subject matter, so little of which is pertinent to Lollipop Chainsaw's gameplay, story, or characters. While Shadows of the Damned dealt with some similar themes in a darker story, it never dove into the weird misogyny and exploitation that Lollipop Chainsaw does.

No matter how you view the game's potentially divisive depiction of Juliet (Is her giggly, panty-flashing, stripper-pole-swinging act crassly exploitative, or just cheeky, campy fun? Lollipop's tone is frustratingly all over the map.), the gameplay seems to always fall just shy of being much more than it is.

It's hard to recommend Lollipop Chainsaw for the public. Just as other games from Grasshopper and Suda51, this is not a game for the general public, butif you are willing to ignore its problems and embark on a crazy trip that lasts only six hours, Lollipop Chainsaw is worth it.

Lollipop Chainsaw is silly, short-lived fun that won't appeal to everybody, but shouldn't fail to leave a lasting impression on players who stick with it to the end.

While the game doesn't sour our love for Suda-51's output as whole, it feels less faithful to his unpredictable blend of Western pop culture and Japanese quirkiness than last year's Shadows of the Damned was. Instead Lollipop Chainsaw seems to purposefully shift the balance in an attempt to pander to some perceived audience made up entirely of sex-obsessed American teenagers.

As a whole, Lollipop Chainsaw is worth a try, but don't expect anything less than a perverted take on zombie bashing with all the comedic qualities of a foul-mouthed school-kid.

It features a strong female lead who happens to also be a scantily-clad idiot that characters disrespect with borderline sexual harassment. It plays like a brick at times, but there are few things as satisfying as bisecting a zombie, starting at the crotch. It's intensely brutal and violent, surrounded by rainbows and glitter sparkles. Following on that theme, it's a fascinatingly entertaining video game that just doesn't play very well.

While it's difficult to ignore the surface appeal of an oddball title like Lollipop Chainsaw, what are merely workable mechanics, and some overused humor can't keep the experience afloat.

The gameplay at times feels regressive and uninspired, just things that you have to do to get to the next hilarious dialogue exchange. The story very effectively pushes you along through it, and I can't say that the gameplay is terrible by any stretch. It just never tries to be as innovative as the rest of the package and comes across as underwhelming by the end of its five hour campaign.

What's heart-breaking about it all is that Grasshopper can do better. With a few tweaks to the combat – weaker zombies, and perhaps more of them – the experience could be much more entertaining. As is, Lollipop Chainsaw is a serviceable confection, though something of a bitter one.

If you expect groundbreaking insanity and innovative gameplay based on Grasshopper's legacy, Lollipop Chainsaw falls short of expectations. If you can successfully curb those expectations, then you've got yourself something quirky for a simple weekend playthrough, even if it's a game with some ups and some real downs.

While the game's visuals, witty dialogue and chainsaw welding combat are certainly entertaining, the game is just a tad too thin on features for me to recommend it, especially with the lack of any cooperative play. On top of it all, the wonky camera issues, and other combat related issues I experienced pull the entire experience down a few notches.

I personally couldn't shake the weird exploitation feel of the game that was sexist in the worst kind of way: trying to be funny but failing. Juliet could have been an amazing character (even as a hot, 18 year old cheerleader) but is too air-headed and makes too many cheap jokes fall flat and just come across as flippant. She is not a hero on a quest, she's just a girl with some amazing skills who keeps stumbling along until she wins.