Fashion Police Squad is a boomer shooter developed by Mopeful Games. You play as Desmond, an officer for the fashion police who takes care of crimes against fashion with an array of gadgets that fix people’s outfits.
The story is over the top, exaggerating every aspect of the plot, characters, and fashion crimes. As a connoisseur of puns, I appreciated the fashion-based wordplay, such as the police using handcuff links. The jokes that fell flat mostly came from times when they threw in a seemingly random reference or humor that aligns with the main story, such as having a hacker-based boss use a big hammer that says “ban” on it. It’s also a pleasant change of pace to have a shooter that involves fixing problems rather than murder. And at the end of each level, you get a fashion show of the folks you helped.
There are five gadgets related to specific fashion crimes, such as the 2dye4 cannon, which can add a blast of color to drab suits or use its secondary attack to suck up color from clothing that’s too loud, or the sewing machine gun that fixes ill-fitting clothing. You have to identify the crime and use the correct gadget to fix it. The sixth weapon is a dresser cannon that fixes any fashion issue but has limited ammo.
The game is at its best when bringing in new gameplay elements, such as introducing new fashion crimes, gadgets, and gameplay changes like the sniper sections and two boss fights. However, over the seven hours it took to complete the campaign, the last three hours became a bit tedious as I faced larger numbers of familiar enemies in smaller and smaller arenas.
Inconsistency is an issue that becomes a major problem in the back half of the game. Sometimes the prompt for a grab shows up, but it doesn’t work. Sometimes I’d make a jump, and other times I couldn’t make the same jump. Clarity is also an issue. There’s also a bug where, after using your ultimate move, the Fab Slap Glove, the weapon wheel becomes unusable until you restart the section.
When it sticks to its themes, Fashion Police Squad is as fun and outlandish as its premise. However, when it runs out of relevant topics and relies on jokes and references beyond fashion, the story begins to fray. The gameplay is frantic and the weapons are clever, but it eventually gets worn out as the last quarter of the game relies on throwing more at you rather than tailoring a fitting challenge. If you’re interested in a new boomer shooter, it’s worth a look. If you want more than that, its patchwork of ridiculous plot and characters might be enough to keep you invested throughout.
Fashion Police Squad is available now for $19.99 on PC and is 10% off until August 22.
Watch the Review in 3 Minutes for Fashion Police Squad.
