Killer Klowns, huh?

 We're doing this? Okay...

Adaptions are sort of fast approaching a well-earned status as the lowest of the low when it comes to creativity. Or at least; the video game adaptations are. I'm hearing that the new Lord of the Rings and House of Dragons are supposed to be great, but unfortunately Game of Thrones killed any excitement I'm capable of having for main stream fantasy anymore; I just don't think TV have endured enough fantasy to know how to get it right like over mediums have over the years. But what about when the adaptation is on the other foot? What about when it's a video game adapting a movie into it's world? These were the dreams that Geoff Keighley sparked on the night of his Gamescon show where he sent imaginations racing for what movie franchise could possible be making the rare leap to interactive play. And that franchise was... Killer Klowns from Outer Space. Which, if you're anything like me, probably made you ask: What the hell is 'Killer Klowns from Outer S pace'?

Killer Klowns is a 1988 comedy horror film spawning from a period in American film history where B budget movies were tripping over themselves to spawn anything with that kicker to stand out from the crowd. This one would have a really cool poster that teases the, inevitably disappointing, monster effect; whilst that one might take a set of adorable children's cartoon characters and turn them on their heads in a horrifying reimagination. (Huh? What do you mean 'Garbage Pail Kids' wasn't a horror movie? That film was terrifying!) Or in the case of this particular movie, maybe you'll come up with the name whilst your drunk one night and assume the name alone is going to be enough to draw in crowds. Which it was. Good job. Oh the tribulations of making a movie that got attention back in the eighties! Imagine if they required to actually make a good product as well! Gosh, what a headache that would be...

Now to be fair, Killer Klowns was made with intent to be silly with it's horror, hence the very intentional addition of 'From Outer Space' in the title. (Because apparently 80's movies were so bad, audiences would just naturally assume a movie called 'Killer Klowns' was meant to be taken seriously. But space? Nah, that's place is pure wack, bro!) Now increadibly; this is a movie with an actually positive reception on the stage of it's peers, with audiences and critics praising the amount of technical talent on display and the well balanced tone which made the whole movie fun to watch. In fact, the movie was so well received that it attained a cult status and demands for a sequel which never quite ended up panning out. Well, until today that is; because I guess this video game is the long-delayed follow up to the '88 cult hit which nobody was expecting, least of all those who liked that original.

But I have to be the arse who asks the question that we're all thinking but are too polite to voice; who actually asked for this? I mean, really? There seems to be a coming trend of the most nonsensical adaptations for videogames of all time, spurred by the recently release 'Evil Dead' game, which at least kind of makes sense for a video game in a very twisted way, and then bloated by that Texas Chainsaw Massacre game. When you hear that movie franchise is getting a video game then there really aren't any rules or limits anymore, are there? It's only a matter of time before someone makes a 'Wolf of Wall Street' game or '12 Years a Slave' or- wow, my movie references are crusty as heck. I really haven't gone and watched a non-marvel film since 'Uncut gems.' Geez...

Now as with any game in a genre of this type, the first thing you're going to be asking is what this game even is, and I then informed you to think of the lowest common denominator; you would immediately know. Yes, this is another asymmetrical Multiplayer game wherein one side of the match plays as the Klowns and the otherside play as humans. I swear, this style of game is quietly becoming the 'Survival games' of the modern world, only exclusively for video game movie adaptations; and I don't know why. It's not like it's easy to make a game like this, in fact balancing can be a nightmare, not to mention the active player base you'll need in order to make it somewhat of a success. I can only imagine it's the most conceptually easy to pitch to a room full of investors; so like it or hate it, we're stuck with the concept for the foreseeable future.

I just feel that if you're going to go out of your way to adapt a movie you might as well sit down and have a unique spin on the concept. Because otherwise you might as well just sell your franchise rights to Dead by Daylight for an add-on pack like everyone else did. Do you think Hellraiser would have made a good asymmetrical multiplayer game? No! It would have been generic and boring as all heck! But Dead by Daylight exists as that medium for horror movie franchises that want that extra kick up the ass! Do you want to know how most asymmetrical multiplayer games end their life? It's not a great secret; they end up fizzling out after a month or two. Predator Hunting Grounds? Forgot it existed. Evolve? Taken from us far too soon. Arkham Origin's Multiplayer mode? Yeah, I bet you didn't even know that was a thing! It's a recipe for disappointment.

And though all we have is a teaser trailer with brief snippets of gameplay to go off of; Killer Klowns doesn't look to be breaking any bold new grounds for what it offers. Aside from, okay this is a huge deal; there appears to be more than one clown to a map. To be fair, most asymmetrical horror games are one murderer versus a team of survivors; this set-up makes it look more like a deathmatch. Or 'Spies Vs Mercenaries'. Does that mean it will stand out? Not necessarily. I don't think it's so much the idea behind customising this style of game that rubs people wrong, I think it's the actual subgenre itself. It just feels a little played out and never quite reached it's potential. Dead by Daylight is okay and all, but it's no supreme trend setter that really awakened what the subgenre is capable of. (That game could have been Evolve; if Turtle Rock hadn't been so eager to kill it dead with every one of their bad decisions.)

But I can't pretend to know the winds of the multiplayer landscape; I'm a single player gamer. (The only reason I liked Evolve was because it allowed me to play as a single player brutally hunting down a team of players.) Maybe Killer Klown's latent cultist fans will dribble out of the woodworks to turn this game into the smash hit its longed to be for all these years. I don't know. I don't know why we keep doing these adaptations. I don't know why people keep paying developers to make them. I don't know who's asking for a Killer Klowns adaptation. I don't know what movie property is going to be next in the entertainment industries desperate ploy to slide into the lucrative video game market pool. But I'm making this blog my official petition that the next adaptation should be of 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. I want to run around as Atticus Finch serving court summons to racists!