Lollipop Chainsaw is about a high school cheerleader who fights zombies with a chainsaw while carrying around the magically reanimated head of her boyfriend. No, that’s not a Mad Lib. That’s the actual premise of the game. Suda51 and Grasshopper Manufacture have gone into some strange territory before–No More Heroes and Shadows of the Damned have plenty of outlandish moments–but this represents an entirely new frontier of strangeness, and, yes, even stupidity. Luckily, the game is so ridiculous that it circles around and becomes almost a crass kind of genius.

The crazy plot of Lollipop Chainsaw is a real attention-grabber, but first impressions can be deceiving. The game isn’t really about running around a high school slicing through hordes of the undead. Only about a quarter of the adventure takes place in the cleverly named San Romero High, as protagonist Juliet Starling ends up chasing the rotting hordes from one end of the city to the other, through farms, a stadium, and even into the skies above. Gameplay is strictly linear, and operates similar to “stylish action” titles like Devil May Cry and Bayonetta.

Chainsaws don't need gasoline. They run on rainbows.

On a purely fundamental level, combat is pretty standard. You need to decapitate your foes, but you have to stun them with weaker pom-pom attacks first, or simply just drop-kick them into a vulnerable state. Defeating enemies contributes to a meter which can be spent on a power boost akin to DMC‘s “Devil Trigger,” albeit with a much peppier accompanying soundtrack. You can spend the currency you loot from your enemies on statistical upgrades and more complicated combos, which offers incentive to rack up high scores and maximize the efficiency of your play-throughs. It’s a good thing there are upgrades to buy and high scores to earn too, as the game clocks in at a mere 6-8 hours.

The strength of the game’s structure is in its distinct levels and simple scoring system. Even if you blow through the game in a day, you’ll likely want to go back to your favorite part and try to beat it faster and with greater skill. Perhaps the biggest weakness to be had is the simple fact that the rudimentary action just never reaches the lofty heights of its fore-bearers, like the similarly orally-fixated Bayonetta. It seems as though we take the silky action of Platinum and Sony Santa Monica games for granted, as Lollipop Chainsaw‘s fighting is noticeably slow and ungraceful. Unfortunately, the low complexity of the combat, combined with its noticeable lack of smoothness, means this isn’t really a game you’ll want to play for the zombie slaying action.

This is the game I wanted brutal legend to be.

Luckily, there is quite a bit more fun to be had. Variety comes in the forms of minigames like “Zombie Basketball,” in addition to Quick-Time Events involving the disembodied head of Juliet’s boyfriend, as well as sequences which require you to defend an objective with long-range weaponry. Moreover, each boss fight is modeled after a sub-genre of music, which makes for some quite memorable encounters. As long as you can put up with an occasionally sub-optimal camera placement, there are definitely things worth seeing between the stilted fights. Even if the core combat never really elevates itself from a tamer version of games that have come before it, the overall gameplay experience is an enjoyable one.

The real joy of a Suda51 joint isn’t really about complex combos, deep RPG elements, or thought-provoking characterization though. Lollipop Chainsaw is best enjoyed as a comedy, as it pokes fun at high school stereotypes, musical clichés, and the accumulated silliness of popular culture. There are plenty of jokes that don’t land, as well as out-dated references, but they are far outnumbered by the genuinely funny moments. Some of the gags require the player to have some knowledge of specific subjects (subtle references to Slayer and The Doors may go over the heads of many), but there are plenty of lowest-common-denominator punch lines.