Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game Review

How do you feel about clowns? Do you consider them humorous and entertaining, or do you, like me, view them as utterly terrifying? What about Klowns? Which, in this case, are clowns that happen to be from outer space and want to eat us (by turning us into cotton candy). Well, that was the premise behind the 1988 movie Killer Klowns from Outer Space, and now there’s even a game based on that film, the similarly named Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game. The question we are looking at today is whether these unpleasant jesters are worth your time or if they should have stayed in the big house. 

Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game is an asymmetrical horror game based on an ‘80s movie in a similar vein to the Evil Dead: The Game and even, to a degree, Dead by Daylight. However, there isn’t one killer here: there are three. When you start the game, you can either take the role of one of the three Klowns (trust me, I know the spelling is goofy) or one of the seven humans. Once in a match, it is up to the Klowns to kill or capture the humans, while the people need to escape or survive until the end of the round. It isn’t anything new regarding design, but the value comes from the kills themselves.

One of the big factors of an asymmetrical horror game is the gore, whether it’s Jason cutting someone in half or the Predator blasting people with lasers. The Klowns, however, do things a little differently: while your goal is still to capture people, you do it with several wacky gadgets and weapons like invisible cars or whacking people with a comical pair of boxing gloves. It’s all ripped straight from the original movie and helps set Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game apart from others of its ilk. It was great fun unlocking weapons over time and using them against the witless humans when you could find them. 

Sadly, the game is much less fun when you don’t play as a Klown. As is usually the case with killers vs not-killers games, playing anyone other than the killer is a bit dull. Your goal as a human is to try and escape while freeing your captured friends and making life generally difficult for the alien invaders. You have a few methods for doing this, from breaking machines and hiding to grabbing melee weapons and taking the fight to the Klowns. However, it should be noted that you can’t kill the jesters permanently and will only take them out of the game for a few minutes. I will note that while it isn’t as fun as being a Klown, there is still some fun to be had as a human, and it can be tense when you hear the squeaky giant shoes of your pursuer.

One of the better additions to Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game is the implementation of minigames for any human who has either escaped or died. These minigames take the form of several quick-time events that reward you with items you can gift to your allies to help them succeed, or if you're feeling a little less friendly, you can instead keep them for yourself in case one of the survivors finds the respawn machine.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game has a bunch of great features, sadly, it’s really bad at explaining exactly how they all work. The weapons for the Klowns, while engaging, can be a bit confusing and a few are so situational that you never end up using them over the gun or hammer. However, once you know how they work you can really get the drop on some unsuspecting humans. 

Visually the game looks fantastic, and the Klowns look so like their movie versions that it is actually striking. Each Klown shows off their personality in their costumes and animations, although the humans don’t get quite the same level of detail. The maps and weapons, on the other hand, all look great and each map has several hidden paths and secrets that improve the experience drastically. The sound design is also zany yet fitting, with the Klown’s weapons and shoes sounding on point. I honestly felt like I was in the movie, and that’s something that other titles like the Friday the 13th: The Game game didn’t manage. 

However, and this is the biggest issue, Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game doesn’t have the longest life span. I played for around 15 hours, and by the end of that, I wasn’t inclined to play more. DLC could possibly solve this issue, but that’s more of a bandage than a solution. The issue is that there just isn’t that much variety in gameplay, and the Klowns, while entertaining, all play in much the same way. 

But with all that said, the 15 hours I did play were amazing, and if you happen to be a fan of ‘80s comedic horror or just like hunting your friends as a murderous circus performer, then this is one to try out. However, I don’t think it will overtake some of the established games in the genre, but it might be enough for a good distraction.