When you think of boomer shooters, you tend to think of gritty, grimdark affairs. It’s the same with most games that feature guns as their primary mechanic. However, Don’t Stop Girlypop challenges those preconceptions, offering a vision of what a Quake would look like if tit was designed by a teenage girl in the ’90s. Equal parts pink and punishing, this high-octane fever dream of a shooter is one of the best ideas for an indie game I’ve seen in a long time, and I’m itching to play it. Luckily, a demo just released on Steam, so we can see if the gameplay lives up to the aesthetic.
Don’t Stop Girlypop looks like Doom played in Barbie’s Dreamhouse, as if the Doom Slayer found a chest of rhinestones locked away somewhere in the depths of hell and decided to make them his whole personality. But there’s more to this game than a tutorial that feels like it should end by telling you, ‘Good luck, and don’t fuck it up.’
There’s a fight against capitalism, a dying planet to save, and some serious enemies to kill. Does it matter if you’re murdering demons with a pistol that fires crushed-up skulls or a bubble gun that shoots pink hearts? I didn’t think so. If the combat feels good and the narrative holds up under light scrutiny, shooters gonna shoot.
My demo is downloading as I write this, and I’m hoping for a classic boomer shooter with a maximalist ’90s aesthetic and tunes that hit as hard as those in Sayonara Wild Hearts. In a week when the girlies have been let down by the most mid Taylor Swift album ever, hastily written to grab as much cash as possible before the Eras bubble bursts, we needed this.
Don’t Stop Girlypop is more than just an aesthetic, though. In a twist on the classic formula, you deal more damage the faster you’re moving. You should never stand still in any game of this nature, but this just cranks up the action to fever pitch. With dashes, double jumps, slams, and bunny hops all in our protagonist’s arsenal (not to mention those bejazzled rifles), movement is at the core of everything Girlypop does.
The Don’t Stop Girlypop demo is available now. You can download it on Steam here.
If you’re after more great experiences, girlypopped or not, check out our list of the best FPS games for those shooting thrills. Or have a browse of the upcoming PC games to see if anything takes your fancy.
Can’t stop jamming out to Don’t Stop Girlypop’s brilliant title track? Join us in our community Discord server, where we discuss all the latest gaming news with charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent.
