The Crackpet Show review

Even see a chicken with a lava gun slaughter a live studio audience?

There’s no shortage of twin-stick roguelikes on Switch. Even if you’ve already blown through engrossing efforts like Iron Cryptical and NeuroVoider, it’s possible to extract enjoyment from second-tier selections such as Wildcat Gun Machine and Freakout: Calamity TV Show. Unquestionably, the genre is well-represented on Nintendo’s hybrid hardware, with a multitude of entries that range in quality and price.

As such, it would be easy to mistake Vixa Games’ The Crackpot Show as yet another undistinguished entry in an already occupied field. Both screenshots and gameplay videos reveal a menagerie of mutant animals entangled in intense gunplay, with projectiles filling the game’s mock television studio. At times, the venues become as busy as skies bursting with festive fireworks, requiring an ample amount of dashing to avoid taking damage. Since the title accommodates cooperative matches with up to four players, the screen can get mind-bogglingly busy.

But Crackpot Show isn’t a true twin-stick shooter. Instead of using the right analog nub to aim, you’ll automatically target the nearest enemy. If you want to lock onto another adversary, tapping either of the shoulder buttons will shift the focus onto another foe. This seemingly small adjustment to formula makes a notable difference. As such, you’re able to focus on evading the persistent barrage of enemy fire rather than trying to precisely target enemies.

In execution, the design decision injects a bit of strategy into The Crackpet Show. Instead of gunning down every opponent on a stage, you can coax them into floor-spike tiles or onto the paths of revolving buzz saws. Vixa Games understands that luring enemies into traps can be even more gratifying than killing them outright. The game’s wide selection of weaponry often capitalizes on this. While there are standard guns, there are also firearms that can lob shots over environmental cover as well as a weapon where electricity arcs between adjacent foes.

While the game might venture away from twin-stick tradition, Crackpet Show is very much a roguelike. Across the multi-stage journey to the final boss of each stage, you’ll encounter several different types of stages. Normal stages pit you against a horde of enemies. But weapon and perk stages reward success with the option of a new gun or ability like larger projectiles, the chance of a critical, or the ability to drop a mine when taking damage. On top of this, Crackpet Show’s contestants carry a special ability, allowing for everything from healing to temporarily turning into a revolving tornado that damages everything it touches.

What’s especially enjoyable about the game is the satirical sense of humor. Soon, each round of the imitation reality tv show escalates in intensity, and it’s easy to lose a significant portion of your health while attempting to evade the powerful barrage of enemy bullets. Pleasingly, Crackpet Show allows for the release of your frustrations, so you can massacre members of the studio audience or even rip down promotional posters that line the arena walls. You’ll probably need some kind of pressure value for the six boss showdowns that end each season. These are significantly more difficult than taking down the subordinate creatures leading up to the finale.

At present, there are a few issues with The Crackpet Show. While the framerate is steady during most common scuffles, it can waver during the boss showdowns. While slowdowns during intense battles can often be helpful, here they are indisputably harmful, damaging the pacing of the game. Luckily, the team is aware of the issue and is working on a forthcoming patch. (the issue isn’;t present in the PC version). Hopefully, there’s a way to diminish the load times between each match. While they are especially lengthy, the pauses are frequent enough to mess with your sense of momentum. Fortunately, perseverance pays dividends and you’ll regularly be able to power-up your meta-game perks and special abilities.

With visuals that recall Happy Tree Friends and play that feels like someone creating an auto-targeting mod for The Binding of Isaac, The Crackpet Show’s influences are evident. That said, several of the game’s decision decisions contribute distinction. Fans of action-driven roguelikes looking for a bit of innovation might find enjoyment in the cartoonish carnage.

The Crackpet Show was played on Switch and PC
with review code provided by the publisher