Joe Tung of Nada Holdings wanted to honor the people who made the original Lollipop Chainsaw. He thanked Suda51, James Gunn, and Yoshimi Yasuda during a Tokyo Game Show stage presentation, calling their work “legendary.” That gratitude followed him into the remake, RePop, and now into the sequel, Lollipop Chainsaw 2: Back2Back.
The demo shown at the show floor suggests he is failing to live up to that legacy. Kotaku‘s hands-on report, titled “Lollipop Chainsaw 2: Back2Back Has No Idea What It Wants To Be,” argues the game is more dead than alive.
A Familiar Welcome
The demo opened with a photo spot featuring Juliet, the cheerleader heroine, standing with three zombies ready to be sliced down. Her boyfriend’s severed head remains attached to her waist, just as in the original. The setup promised comfort, but it delivered none.
Kotaku’s writer walked away from the demo with a single question hanging over it: what new ideas does this sequel have to justify its existence? The answer, according to the report, is not much.
Rough, Missing Everything
The demo was rough. Kotaku’s report describes it as “very rough,” and suggests it was not ready to be shown to the public. The team may have felt compelled to share it anyway because of the cost of staging the presentation.
Without any introduction to the setting, and without any of the snappy writing that made the original memorable, the demo threw players into a burning gray city landscape filled with waves of zombies. Players were asked to slice and dice their way through with no weight behind any of their actions.
“There’s no weight or impact to any of your actions in this new sequel.”
The original’s licensed soundtrack, its special attacks, and its fluid animations made players feel like they were doing more than repeatedly pressing the same button. In the sequel, every slice is so casual that it feels disconnected from the player’s own actions. Sliding through locales on roller blades feels more like wading through soup than doing anything graceful.
Comedy Is Nowhere
The original’s humor was relentless. Juliet’s boyfriend chattered with sharp quips that had not yet become groan-inducing, even a decade later. The sequel’s voice acting may simply not be recorded yet, but its absence only emphasizes how little is on offer in this vertical slice.
The demo’s visuals contribute to the feeling. The original was hardly a looker, but it had a distinct vibe, blending grungy aesthetics with Juliet’s bubblegum-cheer-squad looks. This sequel has neither the writing nor the visual energy to replace it.
A Boss Fight That Falls Apart
The boss fight should have been the highlight. It is a parody of Barbie, complete with a Barbie-esque setting resembling a dreamhouse, an army of zombie Kens worshipping their pink princess with empty wonder, and the princess tossing zombie heads at Juliet as an offensive strike.
Instead, it devolves into a disjointed mess. The developers at Dragami Games seem to grasp the absurdity at the heart of Lollipop Chainsaw, but they do not understand the blend of visual design and writing that made the original work.
Rough, and Far From What Came Before
The demo lacks any writing to bring context to the scene. The boss fight’s concept is interesting, but the execution fails it. Kotaku’s writer is not convinced the issues can be fixed in time.
The team insists the game will release in less than a year. That timeline feels potentially insufficient for the major overhaul in direction and approach that the demo suggests the game needs.
The Verdict
Lollipop Chainsaw 2: Back2Back is rough, and a far cry from what Lollipop Chainsaw once was. The demo showed a sequel that repeats the original’s premise without the humor, music, or character energy that made it distinctive.
Kotaku’s report is a warning to fans who loved the first game. This sequel may not deliver what they expect.
Source material: “Lollipop Chainsaw 2: Back2Back Has No Idea What It Wants To Be,” Kotaku.
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