Do I have a passion for fashion? No. Not at all. My style is a mix of old shirts I won’t get rid of and comfy shorts and pants. But while my own style is terrible and would make Tim Gunn shake his head, in Fashion Police Squad I can help the rest of the world look better using silly weapons and solid, fast-paced action that is heavily inspired by classic shooters like Doom.
Fashion Police Squad isn’t out yet, but I did check out the recently released demo on Steam following the game’s appearance during Realms Deep 2021. I expected a colourful and wacky game and it is that, but FPS is also a genuinely fun to play retro-inspired shooter that I’m excited to play more of when it releases sometime next year.
In FPS you play as an officer who goes around the city stopping fashion crimes using a variety of odd weapons. You won’t find shotguns and sniper rifles in FPS, instead, you wield things like a sewing machine gun and ink blasting carbine. You even whip off your belt at times to use during combat to stun enemies.
Each of these weapons serve a different purpose. For example, folks suffering from boring and dull grey suits will need to be hit with a few splashes of colour from your ink blasting carbine. Other times you’ll encounter folks wearing baggy, poorly fitted suits and you’ll need to tighten their look using your sewing machine gun. As FPS tosses more enemies at you in larger numbers, combat becomes a dance as you swap between weapons to help save these people from their ugly fashion choices.
That last bit is something I really appreciated about Fashion Police Squad. You aren’t running around killing people for wearing socks and sandals or baggy jeans. Instead, you are helping them, making them happy. Nobody, as far as I can tell, dies during combat. It’s more celebratory. Often, the tweaks are minor. A bit of colour, some better-fitting pants, a decent belt, stuff like that. It doesn’t feel mean-spirited, which is nice.
In the hour-or-so-long demo available on Steam now, I had a great time not only getting into fashion fights, but exploring the levels themselves. You get the ability to use your belt as a grappling hook, let you swing around areas, not unlike a certain spider-themed superhero. It’s a simple way to spice up the movement and it works. Likewise, the visuals, while heavily inspired by retro shooters like Quake and Doom, also include more modern flourishes and cleaner menus and UI.
If you are a fan of retro shooters, like myself, Fashion Police Squad’s demo is worth checking out. But if you don’t care about shooters or want something different, something less violent, I’d also recommend FPS. It feels and looks unique and I’m excited to play the full game sometime next year.
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