Friday the 13th developer Illfonic is having another crack at the multiplayer horror experience this year in the form of Killer Klowns From Outer Space: The Game, and some initial reviews are starting to arrive as the game enters its one-week early access period.
So, here's a quick look at what the critics have been saying about this new take on the cult classic horror franchise:
PCGamesN (8/10)
"For fans of asymmetrical multiplayer games, Killer Klowns from Outer Space does what many others before have not, almost perfecting the likes of balance, down time, and match length, and it deserves to be considered among the best in the genre. Illfonic's game fills the gap left by Friday the 13th and checks every box in style, but its lesser-known IP may prevent well-deserved longevity."
TheGamer (4/5)
"Killer Klowns from Outer Space is one of the best asymmetrical horror games so far, standing side-by-side with the likes of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. It’ll be interesting to see if it fares better under the enormous shadow of Dead by Daylight than Sumo Digital’s efforts, but it’s stepping out of the gate with some interesting concepts that reinvent the way the genre plays, making survivors more formidable and killers more tactical, encouraging teamwork and adding so much more depth to each match."
TechRaptor (7/10)
"Did I enjoy Killer Klowns? 100 percent, I’d be imprisoned for perjury if I said otherwise, and there’s enough here to bash any nay-sayers who’d propose a more straightforward crossover. It may look generic, both in motion and its arduously forced 80s static, but there are enough inventive ideas under the makeup to see Killer Klowns for what it is."
CGMagazine (6.5/10)
"I have no particular love for Killer Klowns From Outer Space, but the fact that Killer Klowns From Outer Space: The Game aspires to no greater achievement than to just be ANOTHER asymmetric multiplayer game, and not even one that tries anything new or pushes the envelope in any considerable way, is truly upsetting. It may not have been a great movie, but it deserved better than this."
Push Square (5/10)
"Most disappointing is the lack of clown comedy. Their shoes squeak when they walk and there are some jokey lines of dialogue, but no hilarious kills. As a human, sometimes a funny cutscene will play when you die, but that doesn't translate to combat. There’s no clown cars or circus tricks, no killer klown spaceship to fight in. Just rural, small town American levels littered with guns and melee weapons. Without the film’s silliness, there’s little reason to play Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game over other popular asymmetric horror titles."
Game Rant (5/10)
"Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game is not going to convert anyone that isn't already a fan of these types of games, and honestly, there are better, more polished versions of this already out there. Hardcore fans of the Killer Klowns movie will get the most out of the game adaptation, and it's hard to recommend it to anyone else, really. The game has its moments, but it's unlikely to keep most players entertained for all that long."
Well, that's how Killer Klowns From Outer Space is landing with early access players so far. We may see more reviews and impressions arrive early next month when the standard version launches, but for the moment, the game has an Open Critic rating of 70 and a Metacritic score of 56.