More Than Meets The Eye: An Attack of The Karens Review

By Manuel

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC

I have to admit that I had a lot of doubts when a game called Attack of The Karens showed up for review. I thought that there would be no way a roguelite shooter whose story centers on the entire Karen... thing, could ever be good. But can it? Well, that's what we're going to be discussing today. Coming soon to the Nintendo Switch by way of developer Studio Primitive, and publisher Flynn's Arcade, we're going to see if this game has what it takes to rise above its very meme-y premise. We have a heck of a game to cover today, so let's get right into it!

This is basically the game's set-up.

The Karens attack!

Attack of The Karens takes place in a world where an alien pathogen has mutated four of the worst Karens into cyborgs who now command massive robot armies. Of course it's up to put a stop to both them, and The Pathogen itself before it spreads throughout the entire world. You're not showing up to this fight empty-handed though, instead you're armed with a rather amazing ship named the Manager X-15. Though rather weak at first, it has the ability to become very powerful through its highly customizable nature. You're also joined by a wingman named Rebecca, who provides you with tutorials, intel, and plenty of one-liners along the way. Do you have it what it takes to cancel these Karens once and for all? That last part is a bit silly, but it's the kind of thing you're going to have to get used to if you want to play this game. I'm going to cut to the chase now and say that I think Attack of The Karens is a great game despite its reliance on the somewhat over-played Karen meme. Who knows, maybe it's a great game because of that, though I wouldn't say so. I will say that it's become one of my new favorite roguelite shooters, and that I loved every minute I've put into it. That said, this isn't a AAA game, so you have to place my words accordingly if you're trying to compare it in your head to other titans of the genre. My big problem with the game, and pretty much only real one I have with it at all, is that I think the game could've benefited from just about any other setting. Though I won't deny that a game where you shoot robotic Karens IS a funny set-up, I also have to say that the premise makes it easy to dismiss outright. I'll definitely be coming back around to this point later, so keep it in the back of your mind.

Gameplay follows your standard roguelite shooter in that you start out as a weak, underpowered ship that gets more powerful through upgrades both temporary to your current run, and permanent for all future playthroughs. Your goal is to defeat the four Karens in four different levels, but which four you play shuffles a bit on each playthrough. From what I can tell there are six playable levels in the game. (Disclosure: I had to start writing them down because I was having trouble telling some of them apart for reasons I'll explain later.) These levels are The Farm, The Suburbs, The Streets, Bayside, Main Street, and The Tunnels. While they all offer similar challenges, they differ in that they each have a few enemies you'll only find there. Also worth noting is the fact that each level has several variants within it that change each time you play. We'll talk enemies later on, but each level in Attack of The Karens takes place in a near infinite loop. The only way to clear a level is to fill up the progress bar. You do this by defeating enemies, with two points on said progress bar being very important. While filling it all the way up takes you to the boss, filling it up halfway triggers the miniboss encounter of the level you're on. While the Karen you'll be facing at the end of the level shuffles on each playthrough, the miniboss you face will always be the same. All this together means that each run of the game features four levels chosen out of six, each with their own miniboss that's set to the level itself, with a Karen waiting for you at the end. It doesn't take long to see everything the game has to offer, but the variety is much appreciated. You might notice that there's a fifth "???" level at the end of the stage order, and that of course is the final stage where you'll face off against The Pathogen that caused all of this nonsense.

"Live, Laugh, Love" indeed.

This robot looks kind of out of place.

Let's talk a bit about the enemies, as I think that's where the Karen meme either will either make or break the game for first-time players. Since this game is called Attack of The Karens, it stands to reason that you'll be facing off against hordes of them. The main type of enemies you'll be encountering are robots that are styled as stereotypical Karens. These enemies won't ever fire at you, but they will clog up the screen real fast when they arrive. Going along with the meme, you'll also face off against "Live, Laugh, Love" signs, armed robots with questionable haircuts, and surprisingly normal-looking robots too. I'm actually glad that the game didn't go too hard into the Karen trope when it came to enemies, but I have to admit that some enemy types clash simply because they look like they came from completely different games. The Karen robots do come in lots of varieties though, such as ones that carry a laser that needs to warm up before firing, ones that snipe you if you stand still too long, and others that carry pitchforks that they'll throw in your general direction. Similar to how several enemies don't seem to stick too hard to the Karen memes, some of the mid-level bosses don't either. I don't want to reveal all the game's surprises, so I'll just talk about some of my favorites. Main Street has a giant mecha that seems right out of an anime, Bayside has two volleyball-playing girls, complete with volleyballs, and The Streets has a giant spaceship that you have to navigate through. That last one is pretty neat and made me wish that there were more segments like it in the game. Also, each level you play is harder the later it's placed in your current run. That means The Farm might be totally easy if it's your first stage, but significantly harder if it comes at the end of your run.

Seeing as this is a game where you fight Karens, let's talk about the main four villains. I've said it already, and I'm sure I'll say it again, but I wish this game didn't take on the entire Karen meme. Besides the Karens who are probably upset that a game exists that makes fun of them, I'm sure that a lot of other potential players will simply find it to be an unfunny meme. With that in mind, I am glad to say that the developers managed to create a very unique cast of characters. I'll leave most of their backstories for unsaid, but I do want to show that the game's slightly one-note joke can have some variety to it. Cassie is probably the most prototype Karen of the bunch, and she also looks quite a bit like Kate Middleton. Jordan is a social media influencer who attacks you with her mobs of fans. I probably enjoyed her character the most, as she is definitely is a type of person a lot of us know in real life. Tiffany looks like a typical housewife, and she has the best character design of them all in my opinion. I do with that Tiffany had a bit more character to her, as she was the one whose name I kept forgetting. Marva is the oldest of the bunch, and she gives off major "final boss" vibes. I actually prefer fighting her last for this very reason, and her overall characterization made me wish that she was a special pre-final boss instead of being shuffled in with the rest. The only other characters worth mentioning are The Pathogen itself (Can you even call that a character?), The Harbinger (Which is you.), and Rebecca. It's a well-rounded cast all things considered, and they all add to the charm of the game. There's enough banter before, during, and after levels where you get to know them all fairly well. If only they didn't all have to be "Karens" too...

Kurses & Kushions

Halfway to a full upgrade!

There's one last thing we need to cover when it comes to gameplay, and that's your ship and its upgrades. I know I said earlier that there were two forms of upgrades, permanent and those for the current run, but there are technically three. After you play the game at least three times, you unlock several modifiers that you can turn on and off between runs. These modifiers come in two types: those that make the game harder, and those that make the game easier. Though I barely used these beyond trying them out for the purposes of the review, I like that they're available so that gamers of all skill levels can have a great time. Back to the upgrades, the common ones you'll come across give you stronger bullets, faster firing speed, more lives, or even a faster ship. Lives are probably most important early on, as one hit takes your ship out unless you have an upgrade that prevents that. This is still a fairly challenging game, so don't expect to get many life upgrades. Chances are you'll be hovering around ten of them even fully upgraded. This might sound like a very small amount, but it works well in context of the game. The other upgrades are probably too numerous to mention in full, but I'll get in a few of them at least. There are various helpers you can pick up along the way, and they do things like add extra attacks, launch a grenade towards enemies, protect you from a hit or from death, and other things like that. If you're lucky, you'll have several of them flying around your ship by the end of a run. There are also shields, items that replenish or add to your life meter, upgrades that split your gun into multiple beams, others that let you fire behind you, and so on. Many of the power-ups also have levels to them if you manage to pick them up a second or third time. I'm actually shocked at how many upgrades there are in the game, and I swear I find a new one each time I play. Though this is a rather small release in the grand scheme of things, the sheer amount of content it offers is very impressive.

Graphics in Attack of The Karens are a hard thing to judge, and that's because I'm going to inevitably bring up that one point yet again. First off I want to say that I love this game's retro art style. The enemy designs are great, the bosses are simply massive, and even your rather plain ship takes on a certain endearing quality after a while. My only true complaint would have to be with the lack of variety in some of the level backgrounds. I actually had a hard time telling The Streets, The Farm, and Main Street apart because they look extremely similar right up until their respective minibosses show up. I guess one can forgive the developers for creating some levels that look a bit too much like each other when the game's this good, but my next point is where I think the real problems lie. Each playthrough starts the same: I'm excited to play, I get into my next run, and then all the Karen stuff pops up again... The fact that the main enemies in the game are a bunch of generic robotic Karens has to be my least favorite aspect of the game. Even seeing them in the screenshots I took for this review makes me cringe. I can't get over that THIS is what a game this good is about. That's a feeling that permeates other aspects of Attack of The Karens too. I love the many boss designs, and I especially like that they all have several stages to them, but then things like Cassie's haircut, Jordan's voice, and Marva's weird antics just take me out of the fun I'm having. I don't want to make it sound like any of this is a deal-breaker, because it really isn't, but it kills a not-insignificant part of the fun I'm having. I guess I'm going to have to move on from making this same point again and again, but it's honestly how I feel. Anyway, the game looks amazing, and runs surprisingly well all things considered.

I really like this mid-level boss.

Nothing like an influencer to ruin your day.

The best part about covering this game's music and sound is that I don't think I have to mention Karens at all. Music is probably where the game shines the brightest, and the entire soundtrack simply rocks. Like that's it, that's the paragraph. The music here is retro-inspired, just like the graphics, and sounds like it was ripped form an undiscovered NES Sunsoft shooter. Many of the tracks are living rent-free in my head as we speak, and there isn't a dud in the bunch. Then there's the voice acting. Every time when I review smaller indie titles I say that voice acting is an "easy" way to add to a project's production values. It makes even the smallest of game's feel all the better with its very presence. If there were ever a game that epitomized my views on this topic, then it has to be Attack of The Karens. The voice acting here is on point, and purposefully silly. I honestly think that the only reason the humor lands at all is due to the acting and line delivery. The repeated Karen jokes and tropes probably would've gotten old fast if it weren't for the amazing voice cast breathing life into them. I'm not sure if the cast are well-known voice actors or not, but they all did an amazing job here whatever the case. Special shout out to whoever did Rebecca's voice acting, as she really sells the game as far as I'm concerned.

This is the part of the review where I talk about a game's replayability, amount of content, and its price. Where do I begin when it comes to Attack of The Karens? Well, let's begin with the price. At the time of writing, you can pick up this game for a very reasonable $4.99. Not only do I think that price is worth every penny, but I'm actually shocked that it's that far below ten dollars. This isn't exactly an infinitely replayable roguelite, but there's hours and hours of fun gameplay to be had. I spent over well over five hours just for the purposes of this review, and I am nowhere near close to putting it down. From the sheer variety of customization options, the way levels change and shuffle on each playthrough, and the challenging final boss, I think fans of the genre are in for a treat if they can put aside the weirdness of owning a game that focuses on Karens.

Karens located!

See what I mean about "Final Boss" vibes?

If you had got in a time machine and told 2019 Manuel (Hi, that's my name by the way!) that he'd be recommending a game called Attack of The Karens to players everywhere, I'm sure he'd say you were crazy. But here I am in 2024 doing that exact thing. I don't want to make it sound like this is the one roguelite shooter to rule them all, but it's simply a great game that provides hours of fun at a very reasonable price. If you're even remotely a fan of shooters, roguelites, or roguelite shooters, then pick this up now and thank me later. If you ever wanted to shoot robot Karens, you now have a chance to live your dreams! Anyway, consider this review done and dusted. I'd love to stay and chat, but it's about time I started my next run!

Check Out Attack of The Karens on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/attack-of-the-karens-switch/

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Story: B
Gameplay: A
Graphics: A
Music/Sound: A
Value: A

Overall: A-

Pros:
+ A surprisingly fun, in-depth roguelike shooter.
+ Lots of difficulty options make this very accessible to gamers of all levels.
+ Both the soundtrack and graphics are far better than a game literally about Karens has any right to be.
+ Though some might find the idea of a game that deals with Karens to be in bad taste, there are several humorous moments.
+ At just $4.99, this is a must-buy for fans of the genre.

Cons:
- The core game almost feels too good for a plot involving robotic Karens.
- Can be quite difficult at times, especially on the first few runs.
- Though there are a lot of level options you can get in any single playthrough, it doesn't take too long to see everything the game has to offer.
- Even though it can be funny at times, the humor is fairly one-note.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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