Attack of the Karens

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In "Attack of the Karens" on Steam, defend your city against four cybernetic Karen bosses and their minions in this roguelite shoot 'em up. Upgrade your stats and weapons with modules earned from fights, and enjoy the fully voiced dialogue and pixel art graphics. With over 40 in-game upgrades, 20 meta progression upgrades, and six diverse areas, there's plenty to discover in your mission to cancel the Karens forever.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

86%

Audience ScoreBased on 37 reviews

graphics4 positive mentions

replayability3 negative mentions

The game features a charming and humorous theme with great voice acting, making it entertaining and light-hearted.
It offers a good variety of power-ups and customization options, enhancing replayability and allowing players to adjust difficulty to their liking.
The randomized levels and boss orders keep gameplay fresh and engaging, making each run feel unique.

Some cutscenes are not skippable, which can disrupt the flow of gameplay, especially the ending.
Collecting power-ups requires shooting them for a few seconds, which feels awkward compared to simply moving over them.
The small size of the player ship can make it difficult to track during intense action, and there are currently no options to rebind controls.

gameplay
24 mentions
13 % positive mentions
75 % neutral mentions
13 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a light, rogue-lite experience reminiscent of "Vampire Survivors," featuring randomized stages and a polished control scheme that rivals some AAA titles. Players can enjoy a sense of progression through on-screen upgrades and a leveling system, although the shop mechanic has received mixed reviews, with some preferring a performance-based approach. Overall, the game offers a fresh and engaging experience, particularly for those who appreciate its unique art style and theme.
- “The stages and bosses' orders are randomized, so it keeps gameplay nice and fresh!”
- “Both in gameplay and in the menu, you can get stronger in short and long-term play that feels like you are truly leveling up.”
- “The controls, gameplay, and mechanics all have a level of polish on them that you won't find even on some AAA titles.”
- “There is a shop mechanic that, to be honest, I'm not a huge fan of.”
- “(I prefer shop mechanics to be isolated to a run and based on performance vs grinding up upgrades).”
- “To the art style, the gameplay loop involves rogue-lite elements as well as randomly generated stage order and other simple features.”
replayability
12 mentions
17 % positive mentions
58 % neutral mentions
25 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its strong replayability, primarily due to its roguelite mechanics and diverse power-up options, which encourage players to pursue high scores and speedrunning. While the game offers a solid replay experience, some players note that after completing it, the focus shifts to upgrading and achievement hunting, indicating a potential limitation in long-term content. Overall, the combination of upgrades and penalties enhances the replay value significantly.
- “I feel like that's a critical functionality in platformer/shmup games in general for replayability—replayability as in achieving high scores and/or speedrunning.”
- “- very replayable with the roguelite mechanics.”
- “The penalties also provide some additional replayability, as currently after finishing the game there's not much else besides finishing upgrades or achievement hunting.”
- “I feel like that's a critical functionality in platformer/shmup games in general for replayability-- replayability as in achieving high scores and/or speedrunning.”
- “- the upgrades and the roguelite elements help add on the replayability.”
graphics
12 mentions
33 % positive mentions
42 % neutral mentions
25 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are praised for their stunning limited palette and cohesive art style, which effectively reflects the game's themes and character designs. However, some players find the monotone color scheme challenging, making it difficult to distinguish between elements in gameplay. Overall, the artwork and animation are well-received, contributing positively to the game's aesthetic.
- “Enjoyed the characters and dedication to the visuals.”
- “Aotk has a stunning limited palette art style and it's showcased brilliantly.”
- “The art style and the theme of the Karens go hand in hand and is reflected in the enemy design, attacks, backgrounds, and even in the upgrades you get through gameplay.”
- “To the art style, gameplay loop that involves rogue-lite elements as well as randomly generated stage order, and other simple features.”
- “This game is a rogue-like shmup with big set piece bosses and a cheeky aesthetic.”
humor
6 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its humor, featuring a quirky storyline filled with entertaining concepts and numerous hilarious lines, including popular Karen memes. Overall, players find it to be a consistently funny experience.
- “Story-wise, the game is hilarious, quirky, and the concept is very entertaining.”
- “There are lots of hilarious lines and Karen memes! :D”
- “The humor in this game is top-notch and keeps you laughing throughout.”
story
4 mentions
75 % positive mentions
-50 % neutral mentions
75 % negative mentions
The game's story is characterized as hilarious and quirky, with an entertaining concept that is enhanced by silly voice acting. Overall, players find the narrative to be a standout aspect that adds to the game's charm.
- “The game features a hilarious and quirky story that is very entertaining.”
- “The voice acting adds a delightful silliness to the game's narrative.”
- “The game's concept is both entertaining and uniquely engaging.”
- “The voice acting is over-the-top, and the story feels more silly than engaging.”
- “The plot lacks depth and fails to deliver a compelling narrative.”
- “The story is disjointed and doesn't seem to connect well with the gameplay.”
music
4 mentions
50 % positive mentions
25 % neutral mentions
25 % negative mentions
The music in the game features a fantastic chiptune-esque soundtrack, though some users express mixed feelings about it. Overall, it seems to be a highlight for many players.
- “It has a fantastic chiptune-esque soundtrack.”
- “The only thing I feel mixed about is the music.”
grinding
2 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Players express a preference for shop mechanics that are tied to in-game performance rather than requiring extensive grinding for upgrades, indicating a desire for a more streamlined and engaging experience during runs.
- “I prefer shop mechanics to be isolated to a run and based on performance rather than grinding for upgrades.”
- “I prefer shop mechanics to be isolated to a run and based on performance rather than grinding for upgrades.”
optimization
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
-100 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Players express a preference for shop mechanics that are tied to individual runs and performance rather than requiring extensive grinding for upgrades, indicating a desire for a more streamlined and engaging experience.
- “I appreciate how the optimization allows for a more streamlined experience, focusing on skill rather than repetitive tasks.”
- “The game's optimization features make it easy to adapt strategies on the fly, enhancing the overall gameplay experience.”
- “I prefer shop mechanics to be isolated to a run and based on performance rather than grinding for upgrades.”
- “I prefer shop mechanics to be isolated to a run and based on performance rather than grinding for upgrades.”
emotional
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players noted that the absence of difficulty options can lead to moments of stagnation, creating a sense of emotional disconnect during gameplay, particularly when the player feels overpowered. This lack of challenge may detract from the overall emotional engagement with the game.
monetization
2 mentions
50 % positive mentions
50 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its monetization model, as it is a complete experience without any withheld DLC or microtransactions, ensuring players receive the full content upfront.
- “It is a complete game, with no held-back DLC or microtransactions.”