Don’t Stop, Girlypop! Is the FPS Revolution!
Leopard print, deadly weapons and a very questionable relationship with the future. We dive into the Y2K chaos of Don’t Stop, Girlypop! to see what this hyper-girly shooter has up its sleeve. ♡
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The chaos of Don’t Stop, Girlypop!, developed by Funny Fintan Softworks, evokes a nostalgia for an era I barely remember. A moment in history when pop culture was defined by the rise of the internet, an uncertainty about the future, and an overwhelming amount of leopard print. This fast-paced Y2K arena movement shooter combines this romanticized version of the Y2K aesthetic with an arsenal of deadly weapons to create an evolved, much-needed, hyper-girlypop addition to the genre.
FPS (First-Person Shooter) games are usually met with a mixed reaction. The gritty, dystopian settings that dominate the FPS genre alienate a significant demographic of gamers. The gameplay is either fending off enemy troops or surviving the zombie apocalypse—and sometimes both. Don’t Stop, Girlypop! Breaks this monotonous curse by switching the standard grey, red, and brown colour palette with acidic pops of pink and green.
Storyline
The intro to Don’t Stop, Girlypop! takes place on the planet Xyanthynum in the year 2099. The mining corporation Tigris Nix, has come to extract The Love, Xyanthynum’s life force. It’s your job to lead the Pink Squad and stop the corrupt mining corporation. After a Sailor Moon-style transformation and a quick tutorial delivered by your bestie over call on your pink, semi-transparent flip-phone, you are ready to take on Auctus, a representative of Tiris Nix. Unfortunately, things don’t go as planned, and Imber is defeated…but only temporarily. The game cuts to five years in the future, and Imber is once again ready to lead the revolution.
Aesthetics
The concept is simple: Make your way through a series of battle arenas connected by narrow hallways and platforming segments using the game’s unique Wave Hopping movement ability (ground slam + dash + double jump). Wave Hopping increases your speed and therefore damage, but it also blooms a filigree VFX effect at the corners of your screen. Don’t Stop, Girlypop! isn’t rooted in functionality or realism. Frutiger Aero-esque bubbles and vines “clutter” your screen for no reason other than aesthetics.
Weapons
Bedazzle your weapons? Why not? It’s aesthetic! Inspired by the character customization in Bratz: Rock Angelz (iconic btw), Don’t Stop, Girlypop! incorporates a weapon dress-up mini-game. Choose from a selection of fabrics, colours, and Y2K bling to decorate a weapon fit for the Cupid of death. I easily spent ten minutes rotating my Bubble Machine Gun to place each butterfly and shimmering stone exactly where I wanted them.
The unapologetically garishness of Don’t Stop, Girlypop! doesn’t take away from how deadly the arsenal of archetypal weapons is. As you make your way to the centre of the corruption, you “remember” skills and collect weapons with unique attacks, such as the Magic Wand, inspired by the Gravity Gun in Half Life 2. There is something extremely satisfying in swapping between guns and their alternative-fires to quickly reduce enemies to a puddle of pink blood and Love hearts.
Sound Design
Don’t Stop, Girlypop!’s soundtrack is a hot girl anthem. The experimental, maximalist soundtrack turns each battle arena into a neon-pink, electric-green basement club. The songs effortlessly bounce between bubbly pop sweetness and industrial hyperpop camp. Hype-girl lyrics are softly delivered overtop electric glitches and metallic bangs. Think: a dream collab between Charlie XCX, PinkPantheress, and Kesha. Each boss battle has a unique catchy track designed to infiltrate your mind and stay stuck on loop for days. Personally, “I Am the Revolution” has been playing in my brain 24/7 since I finished the game.
Our Verdict
Don’t Stop, Girly Pop! is fast-paced, challenging, and violent…but it’s also about fairies and corporatism. The game is a love letter from a “girly” gamer to FPS icons like Doom and Quake, which paved the way for shooters. Now, Don’t Stop, Girly Pop! is beginning its own mini-revolution by paving a glittery path for hyper-feminine shooter games. Whether it is because of the sensory overload, Y2K aesthetic or the addictive pop soundtrack, Don’t Stop, Girly Pop! is attracting a demographic of gamers who normally wouldn’t touch FPS games (aka me).
The chaos of Don’t Stop, Girlypop!, developed by Funny Fintan Softworks, evokes a nostalgia for an era I barely remember. A moment in history when pop culture was defined by the rise of the internet, an uncertainty about the future, and an overwhelming amount of leopard print. This fast-paced Y2K arena movement shooter combines this romanticized version of the Y2K aesthetic with an arsenal of deadly weapons to create an evolved, much-needed, hyper-girlypop addition to the genre.
FPS (First-Person Shooter) games are usually met with a mixed reaction. The gritty, dystopian settings that dominate the FPS genre alienate a significant demographic of gamers. The gameplay is either fending off enemy troops or surviving the zombie apocalypse—and sometimes both. Don’t Stop, Girlypop! Breaks this monotonous curse by switching the standard grey, red, and brown colour palette with acidic pops of pink and green.
Storyline
The intro to Don’t Stop, Girlypop! takes place on the planet Xyanthynum in the year 2099. The mining corporation Tigris Nix, has come to extract The Love, Xyanthynum’s life force. It’s your job to lead the Pink Squad and stop the corrupt mining corporation. After a Sailor Moon-style transformation and a quick tutorial delivered by your bestie over call on your pink, semi-transparent flip-phone, you are ready to take on Auctus, a representative of Tiris Nix. Unfortunately, things don’t go as planned, and Imber is defeated…but only temporarily. The game cuts to five years in the future, and Imber is once again ready to lead the revolution.
Aesthetics
The concept is simple: Make your way through a series of battle arenas connected by narrow hallways and platforming segments using the game’s unique Wave Hopping movement ability (ground slam + dash + double jump). Wave Hopping increases your speed and therefore damage, but it also blooms a filigree VFX effect at the corners of your screen. Don’t Stop, Girlypop! isn’t rooted in functionality or realism. Frutiger Aero-esque bubbles and vines “clutter” your screen for no reason other than aesthetics.
Weapons
Bedazzle your weapons? Why not? It’s aesthetic! Inspired by the character customization in Bratz: Rock Angelz (iconic btw), Don’t Stop, Girlypop! incorporates a weapon dress-up mini-game. Choose from a selection of fabrics, colours, and Y2K bling to decorate a weapon fit for the Cupid of death. I easily spent ten minutes rotating my Bubble Machine Gun to place each butterfly and shimmering stone exactly where I wanted them.
The unapologetically garishness of Don’t Stop, Girlypop! doesn’t take away from how deadly the arsenal of archetypal weapons is. As you make your way to the centre of the corruption, you “remember” skills and collect weapons with unique attacks, such as the Magic Wand, inspired by the Gravity Gun in Half Life 2. There is something extremely satisfying in swapping between guns and their alternative-fires to quickly reduce enemies to a puddle of pink blood and Love hearts.
Sound Design
Don’t Stop, Girlypop!’s soundtrack is a hot girl anthem. The experimental, maximalist soundtrack turns each battle arena into a neon-pink, electric-green basement club. The songs effortlessly bounce between bubbly pop sweetness and industrial hyperpop camp. Hype-girl lyrics are softly delivered overtop electric glitches and metallic bangs. Think: a dream collab between Charlie XCX, PinkPantheress, and Kesha. Each boss battle has a unique catchy track designed to infiltrate your mind and stay stuck on loop for days. Personally, “I Am the Revolution” has been playing in my brain 24/7 since I finished the game.
Our Verdict
Don’t Stop, Girly Pop! is fast-paced, challenging, and violent…but it’s also about fairies and corporatism. The game is a love letter from a “girly” gamer to FPS icons like Doom and Quake, which paved the way for shooters. Now, Don’t Stop, Girly Pop! is beginning its own mini-revolution by paving a glittery path for hyper-feminine shooter games. Whether it is because of the sensory overload, Y2K aesthetic or the addictive pop soundtrack, Don’t Stop, Girly Pop! is attracting a demographic of gamers who normally wouldn’t touch FPS games (aka me).
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