Killer Klowns From Outer Space: The Game Review (2024)

When it comes to the recent slew of classic horror films turned multiplayer-games, Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game probably wasn't at the top of anybody's list. It's closely based on the 1988 film of the same name, in which a gang of rubber mask-wearing, murderous alien clowns descend on the small town of Crescent Cove. The game adaptation matches its energy well, with voice actors delivering stilted imitations of '80s teens as they try to avoid ridiculous Klowntalities. But making a good midnight movie and making a good multiplayer game are two very different things.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game follows an asymmetric multiplayer formula familiar to anyone who's indulged in a few rounds of Dead by Daylight. Before each match, players are semi-randomly assigned to one of two teams: humans or Klowns. Seven humans aim to escape through stealth, cunning, or violence, while three Klowns try to turn them into cotton candy cocoons. But true to its nature, Killer Klowns surprises by bringing a lot of fresh ideas to the table. These new mechanics provide creative solutions to inherent problems with the DBD formula. The result can be a lot of fun, as long as everything works.

Killer Klowns From Outer Space: The Game

7/ 10

Pros

• Genuinely innovative take on asymmetrical multiplayer
• Solves problem of dying/escaping too fast in DBD
• Adherence to source material makes game unique and fun

Cons

• Bots are a major issue; they're too bad at the game to function well as teammates
• Live service nature is a concern; not a lot of room to grow IP, so where does it go from here?

See Also

Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game Review In Progress - IGNBest Killer Klowns from Outer Space Klowns, weapons, and tricksKiller Klowns from Outer Space Is a Total Blast | Video Games | Roger EbertKiller Klowns from Outer Space: The Game Review

Killer Klowns Provides A Fresh Take On The DBD Gameplay Loop

Bigger Teams & Greater Gameplay Variety

It may be a DBD clone, but Killer Klowns from Outer Space isn't unoriginal. As a matter of fact, it introduces some uniquely Killer Klowns mechanics that more asymmetric horror games could stand to learn from. For one thing, Killer Klowns allows for bigger team sizes. Where, in Dead by Daylight, it's always one killer versus four survivors, the eponymous Killer Klowns can form teams of up to three.

As a result, teamwork becomes a virtue for both humans and Klowns. In the absence of a detailed tutorial, an experienced Klown can help a new player learn the ropes. A well-armed human can be a nuisance for one Klown, but with backup, it's a much more even fight. More seasoned and communicative players can even plan out detailed strategies to corner and ambush humans, instead of just relentlessly pursuing them until they're out of options. When multiple different Klowns, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, are able to work together, an interesting metagame can arise.

That kind of variety extends to the human side of gameplay as well. Different human characters have different stats: teens are better at stealth, punks are faster, bikers are tougher, et cetera. There are also multiple escape routes in Killer Klowns, each of which has its own requirement - gas and spark plugs for the boat, an ID card for the bunker, or a key for the bridge. That means every game played as a human is different from the last. Players aren't running around endlessly looking for the same tired generators every time. Their strategies are usually informed by whatever loot they find first, which demands quick thinking and flexibility.

Altogether, these ever-changing variables allow Killer Klowns' gameplay to stay fresh. In the player's first few matches, they create a learning curve that verges on too steep - different maps have different exit points in different places, and it's not always immediately apparent where to find the right loot. Still, within a few games, it's easy to get the hang of the core gameplay loop. Although Killer Klowns' source material isn't as wide-ranging or dense as some other horror movie-based games, the game's variety pushes the entertainment value far past similar games' points of diminishing returns.

Killer Klowns Lets Players Get In On The Fun, Even After Death

Killer Klowns' Hand Of Fate Feature Explained

Perhaps the greatest new mechanic introduced by Killer Klowns is its spate of post-death diversions: the Hand of Fate. Whenever a human dies or escapes, they're treated to a series of midway-themed microgames ranging from Whac-a-Klown to Simon Says. Each time the player succeeds at one, a timer in the background will go down by a couple of seconds. When it hits zero, they're rewarded with an item card: a weapon, a healing consumable, a key, or just about anything they can pick up in the waking world. They can choose to keep it, and if they're resurrected, they'll spawn with it equipped. Otherwise, they can gift it to one of the remaining survivors.

With this one simple inclusion, Killer Klowns eliminates the most boring thing about the average asymmetric survival game: dying too early. If a survivor is eliminated or escapes alone in DBD, they've nothing left to do but twiddle their thumbs, waiting until the game ends. In Killer Klowns, players can actually keep themselves busy even after dying or extracting. The microgames are cute enough, but there's real strategy in determining which cards are best kept, and which are better off given away. Being directly invested in the rest of the team's survival, trying to guess what a teammate needs next, even makes it more engaging to spectate other humans' gameplay.

Killer Klowns' Bad Bot AI Holds It Back

Bad Bots & Balance Are Pain Points

Unfortunately, Killer Klowns is held back somewhat by its severely flawed bot system. Bots will fill any empty slots on the humans' team to get their numbers up to seven; it's still possible to start a game with fewer than three Klowns. This ostensibly helps with balance, ensuring that there are enough humans to stay competitive. But in reality, bots are poor team players, and only tip the scale further in favor of Klowns. Their AI simply isn't effective. Bots don't fight effectively, gather resources, or contribute to escape efforts. They run away if attacked, but generally make easy targets.

Killing bots gives them the same benefits as killing human players: points toward a victory and, if cocooned, an additional minion to prowl the map. Since victory is entirely determined by whether the majority of humans escape or die, a human team composed mostly of bots is basically a guaranteed Klown victory. Additional players can join a game of Killer Klowns mid-match, and if they do, they'll replace one of the bots. But that doesn't always happen, and even when it does, there's a chance it'll come too late.

Final Thoughts & Review Score

3.5/5 - "Very Good" By Screen Rant's Review Scale

Ultimately, Killer Klowns from Outer Spacedelivers a tense asymmetric multiplayer experience true to its source material. Its lackluster bot AI can make certain matches seem unfairly balanced, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem as long as the game maintains a solid player base. This could, however, become a concern in the long term. Killer Klowns doesn't have legs as long as something like DBD, which can always rope in a new movie monster every time things start to feel a little stale. There's only the one Killer Klowns movie, despite plans for a sequel, and it's not exactly heavy on lore. It could easily run out of ideas to adapt before long.

But when it works, it works. A full, active Killer Klowns lobby almost feels like a midnight movie screening, with tons of shared laughs and playful taunts. Gameplay is tense and, despite their bright color schemes and slobbering voice lines, the Klowns can be genuinely frightening when they catch a human unaware. It's best enjoyed with friends (or at least friendly strangers).

Between the random loot, different character builds, and varying maps, the thousandth match feels as fresh as the first. Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game perfectly captures the spirit of the movie, while innovating on the games it takes inspiration from.

Killer Klowns From Outer Space: The Game

Franchise

Killer Klowns from Outer Space

Platform(s)

PC , PlayStation 4 , PlayStation 5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X/S

Developer(s)

Teravision Games , Illfonic

Publisher(s)

IllFonic Publishing

Genre(s)

Survival Horror

ESRB

Rating Pending