Back in 2012, Grasshopper Manufacture released Lollipop Chainsaw, an action-adventure hack-and-slash video game made in collaboration between game designer Goichi Suda (aka Suda51) and filmmaker James Gunn.
The game was a perfect amalgamation of these two legendary creators, starring an 18-year-old student cheerleader named Juliet Starling who must fight through hordes of zombies that have overrun her school and town. Armed with deadly chainsaw and accompanied by her boyfriend Nick, who is a disembodied head hanging from her waist, Juliet must hunt down the Dark Purveyors, intelligent zombies who embody the stereotypes of different aspects of music centered on themes of rock and roll.
Unlike traditional zombie hack-and-slash titles, Lollipop Chainsaw replaced the blood and gore with candy and sparkles. The game also featured some pretty overt sexual humor. The game was originally released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but now, more than 10 years later, it's set to return.
Dragami Games, the successor to original Japanese publisher Kadokawa Games, announced Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP. Billed as a "definitive version" of the original game, this remake leaves the story unchanged but adds quality-of-life improvements and additional gameplay content.
Among the improvements in Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP are full HD 4K resolution and greatly reduced load times, faster chainsaw action with the introduction of the Chained Hits Hunting system, adjusted input timings for Combat Actions to "better fit players' expectations," and an improved Chainsaw Blaster with the addition of auto-lock and auto-fire modes and an increased max ammo count of 99. Players can now also immediately use Combo Actions at the start of the game.
While Lollipop Chainsaw received fairly positive reviews upon release, the criticisms it did get were focused mostly on the gameplay execution. It seems that this remaster will address many of the complaints from the original game.
In addition to the quality of life improvements, there is also additional gameplay content. Players can choose to play the original game in "Original Mode," or opt for "RePOP Mode," which uses a unique and colorful pop art-inspired art style for damage effects. New chainsaws with distinctly different features have been added, and there are now 30 costumes as well as four new hair colors and four new chainsaws. In total, there are now more than 750 different possible combinations for Juliet Starling.
Juliet's Room has also been expanded with more features, and a Time Attack mode with ranking has been added.
Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP is being released digitally worldwide for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam) on September 25, 2024. A physical version is also coming, but a release date will be announced later.