The Game Review – A Weak Punchline

At this point, it feels like every horror franchise of note has been made into an asymmetric multiplayer game or, at the very least, been fed to the genre-dominating beast that is Dead by Daylight. Perhaps because of this, IllFonic (a studio that’s tackled the likes of Friday the 13th, Predator, and Ghostbusters in the past) has had to dig pretty deep for their latest, dredging up Killer Klowns from Outer Space, a video store “classic” few have actually watched.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space may not be the hottest horror IP out there in 2024, but hey, it’s the gameplay that counts, right? Is IllFonic’s latest venture a barrel of laughs or begging for a pie to the face? Time to unpack this particular Klown car…

If you’re expecting Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game to offer up any sort of deep worldbuilding, well, I’m afraid I have to dash your dreams. This game has no story mode and everything you need to know about the franchise is summed up by its title – there are Killer Klowns, they’re from space, the end. While most folks don’t expect much of a story from this type of game, it is disappointing that the game is rarely, if ever, funny. The original Killer Klowns movie isn’t high art, but it at least provides a few legit chuckles.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game offers your typical asymmetric multiplayer setup, albeit with a few tweaks. Instead of pitting a single killer against a group of survivors, this title opts for a 3v7 split between Klowns and humans, with the differences between the two sides not feeling quite as dramatic as in other games of this type. Each individual Klown isn’t too terribly overpowered and humans aren’t just helpless victims in waiting.

As a human, you’re dropped onto a map with nothing to your name, but you’ll quickly accumulate a variety of useful items, such as food and energy drinks to buff your abilities, balls, and other noise makers to distract the Klowns, and even weapons like bats, knives, and guns to fight back with. Humans are also generally the more agile of the two factions, with the ability to vault through windows and over obstacles to escape their floppy-shoed pursuers.

The Klowns are pokier and more awkward, but are pinged whenever a potential human victim makes noise by moving too fast, firing off weapons, or attempting certain tasks, like breaking down the gate blocking an escape route. Keeping quiet as a human and keeping your ears open as a Klown is central to this game. Klowns come to the battle with a loadout, including one of several melee weapons and a gun that can encase humans in a cotton candy cocoon. These cocoons, which are also found lying around the map, can be hooked to generators that spawn AI Klown lackeys to patrol the area. Klowns also have a number of abilities on cooldown timers that allow the player to, say, instantly jump to a different section of the map, lure opponents in, and even summon a human-sniffing balloon dog. Ultimately, though, perhaps the Klowns’ biggest advantage is that they respawn after being killed (you can be resurrected once as a human, but go down a second time, and you’re done for good).

Both sides have their own goals with humans having a variety of ways to escape the map (a boat, bunker, portal machine, and more) most of which only accommodate a portion of the seven survivors in a match. While it’s nice to have multiple paths to safety, most of the humans’ escape methods play out more or less the same – scavenge a couple of items (gas, spark plugs, keys, etc.) and take them to a designated location. More variety in the actual step-by-step process of escape would be appreciated.

On the flip side, the Klowns’ goal is simple – kill as many humans as possible before the match ends. You can do this by cocooning survivors, beating them down and performing a finishing move on them, or waiting for the Klownpocalypse to take them out. The Klownpocalypse is about what it sounds like – a big explosion that wipes out all remaining survivors when a match’s time limit expires, or Team Klown hooks enough cocoons.

While the Klownpocalypse is a big advantage for our interdimensional jesters, IllFonic has done a fairly good job of balancing the game. For instance, humans have a lot of different ways to flee the map, but Klowns can coat escape routes with cotton candy, making getting away harder. As powerful as the Klownpocalypse is, a last-second escape route for the humans always opens up just before it hits. Also, even if you do die as a human, you can continue to play minigames in order to earn items you can gift to still-active players to help them survive. Granted, the Klowns won the majority of the games I played, but there are tons of mechanics, both big and small, that keep things fair, and with proper teamwork, the survivors can definitely come out on top.

At this point in the review, Killer Klowns from Outer Space may sound like a pretty solid asymmetric multiplayer game, and in terms of base mechanics and balance, it is. That said, this is a very crowded sub-genre at this point, so the question has to be, is Killer Klowns as good or better than other top games of this type? I’d be hard-pressed to say yes.

Compared to most of its competitors, playing as a killer in this game just doesn’t feel that exciting, although due to the 3v7 split, you get to do it fairly often. So, would you rather playing as a killer be a rare and exciting thing? Or a more common, yet less unique, experience? That will largely come down to individual taste, but speaking personally, I prefer the former.

Beyond that question, Killer Klowns is pretty rough around the edges. Combat is unsatisfying, with ranged weapons being largely useless and melee battles just being frantic button-mashfests. The game’s visuals are ugly on both an aesthetic and technical level, and the audio is largely grating. Glitches, crashes, dropped games, and progress not being saved are all common occurrences.

Then there’s the issue of content. Killer Klowns from Outer Space serves up a sum total of five maps and a single game mode of launch. Those maps are a decent size and feature some randomization, but after only 4 or 5 hours, I felt I’d pretty much mastered them. I give IllFonic credit for not stuffing the game with microtransactions at launch, but with the lack of content on offer, $40 is a big ask, particularly given how thin the source material is. While IllFonic has vaguely promised some post-launch content is on the way, I question how many scarves they can pull out of their sleeves.

This review was based on a PS5 copy of Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game provided by IllFonic Publishing.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game

Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game

Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game is a solidly-conceived asymmetric multiplayer horror game, but a lack of polish and content means it’s unlikely to become a long term go-to for most fans of the genre. There’s some quick and easy fun to be had with Killer Klowns, but a $40 entry fee and an uncertain future make these cheap laughs feel a bit overpriced.