Don’t Stop, Girlypop! review: this is what makes us girls

Don’t Stop, Girlypop! is a wonderfully stylish first-person shooter, and it feels like a rarity in a genre that’s become too-used to bland greens, browns and beiges in delivery. Rather than conforming to the stereotype, Don’t Stop, Girlypop! is brash and colourful, defined by a palette of neon pink, turquoise, blue and purple.

Picking up an ever-expanding array of guns that shoot hearts or bubbles, you’re greeted by glowing pink, star-shaped reticles, and flashy effects that dance across the screen. All the while, you bounce and dash across screen accompanied by a toe-tapping soundtrack worthy of any decent streaming playlist.

Don’t Stop, Girlypop! brings the vibes in spades, and its unique aesthetic colours a feminine, fast-paced ‘girly’ shooter that really sets your heart racing. But the aesthetic serves a dual purpose, distracting attention away from the core gameplay loop and world of Don’t Stop, Girlypop! – which feels underbaked, in comparison.

Don’t Stop, Girlypop! is a patchwork of strange elements

Don’t Stop, Girlypop! is a real case of style over substance, but with its grand pops of colour and moreish, fast-paced shooter gameplay, you’ll be temporarily mesmerised enough to believe otherwise.

Unique aesthetic choices, such as using a live-action actor to deliver mission briefings, are a distraction. With many line readings delivered flatly – kindly, we’d call it camp – these cutscenes create a dissonance in gameplay, which in a way underlines the strangeness of the game.

Enemies are very basic, with figures represented by colourful polygons that can blend into the background. Bosses are slightly more interesting, with many being layered, gruesome beasties brought to life in flashy stoushes.

This is a patchwork of elements, stitched together.

Don’t Stop, Girlypop! is janky and odd, and certain parts seem unfinished. Environments are relatively bland spaces, with combat taking place in long corridors or in unpopulated mountain regions. UI elements and menus are simple and unpolished.

But still, there’s something endlessly fascinating about Don’t Stop, Girlypop! and its curated mix of styles and gameplay features.

A solid shooter that is strangely compelling

What’s most compelling about this game is that while it does feel bizarre and discombobulating, it remains moreish and exciting to play. The root here is a solid shooter, with unique movement and gunplay that makes you want to forge onwards.

The crux of the game is this: the world has fallen to corruption, and you are a warrior of love, wielding heart and bubble bullets to rid the world of evil, and make it a brighter place.

Using an array of cool, neatly-designed weapons, you’ll choose how to strive forward. With every shot, and every jump, your pace increases, allowing you to run faster and shoot faster – to save the world with love.

This system is encouraging, and while the fast-paced nature of gameplay means you’ll occasionally overshoot your target and end up careening into space, there’s a real sense of elation in gliding, jumping and spinning through the air.

Combining this system with novel gunplay – there’s a gun that shoots bubbles that can be popped for high damage, and a rifle for precision heart firing – and Don’t Stop, Girlypop! can be euphoric.

What elevates the action is a soundtrack absolutely filled with girly bops. As you’re running and gunning, you’re accompanied by pop beats that thump, so that every single shot is accompanied by a glow of encouragement and a sense of loyalty to your mission. You must succeed. You must do it for a world that needs love.

You must do it for the girls. They’re cheering you on. They’re singing your song.

Go with the flow, and live and breathe camp

Don’t Stop, Girlypop! is a game that demands your attention. It is frequently camp. It is frequently janky. There are elements here that feel broken and ugly, and enemy design is a major letdown for an adventure that demands better world-building.

But with unique ideas of style and flash, it remains a fascinating, layered experience, and one that delivers just enough high-speed elation to feel satisfying in each of its siloed missions.

Over time, you’ll get faster. You’ll reach further. You’ll unlock your potential as a reaper of love and feel the wind fly beneath your wings.

Accept its oddness, and Don’t Stop, Girlypop! will find an easy place in your heart.

_{A PC code for Don’t Stop, Girlypop! was provided by the publisher for the purposes of this review.}

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