Conan Chop Chop

Conan Chop Chop's massive amount of weapons and Gear allow for a wide array of play styles on each character. Mix the chaos of co-op into that and This game is more of an extended good time than simply an April Fools punchline.

It’s cheery, lighthearted entertainment, but the focus on local multiplayer comes with the loss of a stronger game for solo players, where it’s a lot easier to think about the missed opportunities and strange restrictions contained within its bright facade.

Conan Chop Chop is a straightforward roguelite. While it may be shallow in some regards on the equipment and the worldbuilding front, the ability to play with friends can make this roguelite a worthwhile experience for those who want to introduce their friends to the genre. Yes, Conan is on the easier end of most roguelites, but this comes at the cost of a less-than-compelling single player experience. If you're looking for a roguelite to ease you into the unforgiving nature of the roguelite gameplay loop of dying over and over again, then Conan Chop Chop won't leave you frustrated.

Conan Chop Chop offers a (mostly) lovingly violent local co-up dungeon crawling experience. Sadly, a few too many frustrating gameplay issues rather take the shine off what would otherwise be a brilliant party game.

Conan Chop Chop is the video game equivalent of running in place. For every fun inclusion, there is another aspect that feels left behind.

With a simple but cute art style that’s hard not to love, and an enjoyable gameplay loop that sees you hacking and slashing your way through a range of well-designed enemies, there’s plenty to like about Conan Chop Chop. If you dig roguelikes and enjoy being challenged to improve yourself with each subsequent run, it’s well worth jumping into.

Considering it was originally conceived as a joke, the fact that Conan Chop Chop might actually be the best Conan game of all time goes to show the sheer amount of dedication put into it by Mighty Kingdom and Funcom. Sure, it has issues, but its absolutely dumb art style coupled with a borderline arcadey “pick up and play” gameplay loop resulted in a nearly addictive roguelike experience that fits like a glove on a portable like the Switch.

All in all, the simple act of going CHOP CHOP on your enemies has been made so much more fun within Conan Chop Chop. It’s quirky and fun to play solo, but even more enjoyable in multiplayer. In fact, the game’s chaotic and funny nature makes it perfect to play with friends over and over again. With its easy to use controls and simplified gameplay set up, all abilities of gamers can pick this up and enjoy themselves. This quirky roguelite will certainly surprise you with how addictive and fun it can become.

Conan Chop Chop pleasantly surprised me, while I was drawn to it solely based on the Conan brand it really turned out to be a quite enjoyable, co-op romp through the lands of Hyboria. I mean for $20 this is a game that is complete, offers lots of replay ability and has tons of unlockables to chase by way of completing the collection of weapons, armor and runes. The family friendly approach is another great move in my opinion as it will surely help to attract a new audience, in fact after playing it my daughter has asked questions about Conan. I smiled at her and told her we can talk about when she’s older, but for now we can play some more Conan Chop Chop.

That Conan Chop Chop is supposedly a Conan title is a reminder that Conan is the only rival to Dungeons & Dragons as the most poorly used license in video games. It's time to give someone else a go, Funcom. It also fails completely as a single-player adventure, so if you were considering it for yourself, look to any of the other roguelikes out there instead. However, I still think there is a role here that the developers have delivered on. There aren't many multiplayer-orientated roguelikes, and you can certainly have a lot of fun with this over a weekend of beers and button-mashing. It's not going to last long beyond the hangover and will be rotated out of the library quickly enough, but it's still a moreish good time while it lasts.