Overview

Let me preface this by saying this: I’m not particularly the biggest fan of roguelite games.

The Crackpet Show is a game that I just seemingly found around about a year ago now. It piqued my interest as the game seemingly appeared to be a “cutesy animal characters crossed with guns, blood n’ gore, violence, and death a-la Happy Tree Friends” roguelite on the surface, and, well: that kind of hits the spot on for this game. In The Crackpot Show, you’re a mutated animal from a post-apocalyptic Earth playing in a game show where you’re trying to achieve fame by going through the dungeon and slaying the boss.

It’s your usual, bog-standard roguelite formula, basically: enter a room, kill all enemies, continue on. The weapons are fun to use, and the perks, while some being seemingly generic (like the one that buffs your movement speed), are still pretty fun to use.

Upon the end of a good run, you are able to upgrade weapons and perks to allow yourself to get further and further into the game.

What makes The Crackpet Show different?

What makes The Crackpet Show different to other roguelite games is the fact that it is quite simple and easy to get into for new roguelite players or people who don’t particularly enjoy them. The game takes care of aiming for you. You only need to focus on dodging and firing the weapon. While this may be a bit of a letdown for people who are looking for a little more challenge in their games — I think that personally, it’s a good choice and makes the game feel more casual compared to its contemporaries.

You also can’t move back into rooms you’ve previously explored, which I’m pretty sure is fairly uncommon in these sorts of games.

It's got multiplayer.

While I don’t have any friends, the game allows for a couch co-op party with up to 3 other people. This allows for a “cute animal party turns into a bloodbath” moment to be had with your friends when they’re over. Or, if they live far, far away — the developers have mentioned that you are able to use Steam Remote Play to play together (and the good thing is, they won't have to buy the game!). Teamplay has been thought out as there are also perks and items that can benefit the whole team, so it is very likely that you’d get very far with friends.

The Bad

The music and some sound effects are simple and are very reminiscent of a game show track. There is no variety in the tracks, however, and it does get very repetitive — however, nothing that a little bit of Spotify or Apple Music can’t fix. Personally, it doesn’t really bother me too much, but it could potentially bother you. Some sound effects are also pretty annoying and are reminiscent of nails scraping on a blackboard, for example, the sound effect that plays when you get a new perk.

There is also the case of bosses being too difficult at the end of some stages, but I really feel like that could just be a skill issue on my end from not playing enough roguelite titles.

The Conclusion

All in all, to me, it’s a pretty fun game that has come from a passionate indie studio in Poland. They do have a Happy Tree Friends DLC (although I do not own it, and thus I can’t review that part of the game. I’m unsure of what it adds, but from what it looks like, you get to play as some of the cast from the show), that might be worth a play if you’re looking for a more casual game in the roguelite scene or if you’re just nostalgic for Happy Tree Friends like I was kinda playing the game.