KOP KILLER 22XX Review

I was recently approached by the fine development team over at Morningstar Game Studio about doing a segment on my stream about their newest game KOP KILLER 22XX. I had to deep dive the game, like I always do and suggest any other content creator should, and came to find out how much this game fit my retro, indie, nostalgia laden aesthetic to the t.

WHAT IS KOP KILLER 22XX?

Story

In the grim 23rd-century future of KOP KILLER 22XX, vile oligarchs lord over the Americas from KAPITAL, a floating fortress-city. They control the populace with KAPITAL OPERATIVES, brutal thugs better known as KOPs. You play the KOP KILLER: a humble miner turned CYBORG KILLING MACHINE through human experimentation. After being arrested and sold to the highest bidder, a mysterious accident interrupts the prison overseers before they take full control of your mind. Now you must dole out your own brand of JUSTICE against the KOPs.

Gameplay

Behind a retro aesthetic and side-scroller perspective is gameplay you can’t find anywhere else. KK22XX grants the player a robust move set with more than 260 frames of animation. Climb ladders and ledges, leap from walls, shoot in eight directions, and execute a variety of melee attacks from any vantage. Advanced enemy AI controls hordes of KOPs that equally leverage the environment to hunt you down. Punch, kick, and shoot your way through endless hordes of fascist foes.

Early Access Info

• This initial Early Access release will feature a thrilling ARCADE MODE:

• Experience white-knuckle arcade action in procedurally generated arenas.

• Battle over a dozen AI enemy types that jump, climb, and fly to hunt you down.

• Collect loads of power-ups to customize your build as you advance.

• Recruit AI comrades with unique abilities to join your fight against KAPITAL.

• Compete globally and with your friends on Steam Leaderboards.

As Early Access progresses, we will add chapters of KOP KILLER’s carefully crafted STORY MODE. Filled with engaging platforming and compelling narrative, STORY MODE will offer a fully fleshed-out adventure. Battle bosses, make friends and foes, and discover KAPITAL’s secrets.

I sat down with Morningstar Game Studio and got to ask a few questions :

Why did you make this game?

I’d worked with Dr. Shameless Cat on a very broad in-scope enemy AI/Pathfinding system, and we were toying with different project ideas but never nailed down a direction. Then, in March 2020, the Louisville Metro Police murdered Breonna Taylor. I’m from Kentucky and have quite a few friends in Louisville who knew first-hand everything the recently released DOJ report revealed about the LMPD. I felt very angry, frustrated and hopeless. DSC and I jokingly discussed a kind of cathartic Smash TV-style game, Kop Killer 3000. It’d be set in a grim-dark Judge Dredd future where fascistic police were judge, jury and executioner. Then there was George Floyd, then Andre Hill, and scores of others. We had a lot of discussions about the risks, the edgy title, but we ultimately said “fuck it, we’re going to do this.” The project kept growing and became more serious. The themes got more complex. The Arcade Mode is pretty faithful to our original idea, but the story mode coming soon has a lot more depth.

How big is your team?

KOP KILLER 22XX is being made by me (as Morningstar Game Studio) and a good friend of mine over in Europe, Dr. Shameless Cat. My wife has handled the lion’s share of marketing and PR stuff. We’ve also gotten voice work from some cool folks: Kroze Kresky, Amirah M, and Dena K; and some rad promo art from ArtByAtlas.

22XX is a catchy nostalgic throwback or is that coincidence?

So the original title was KOP KILLER 3000, but the world we were building didn’t feel 1000 years away. We’d already been playing up the “video-game”-ness of everything with the 8-bit graphics, the chiptune soundtrack, the “New High Score” announcements, etc.. We didn’t want to make Grand Theft Auto, we wanted something that felt like an old-school video game, a comic, a cartoon. Something that was camp, with a safe distance from reality. DSC pitched the Mega Man reference and it abbreviated really well as KK22XX. It just fit better.

What has been the best part of making this game?

The game itself. Designing the game, grappling with the heavy themes, and having hard discussions has been a huge challenge, but playing the game itself, as it evolves and keeps getting better has been a real joy. I created A Robot Named Fight essentially by myself, and had to cut things there just wasn’t time for. Working with DSC we’ve really been able to not hold back.

What has been the biggest hurdle thus far?

Getting the word out to people who’d be interested in this game has been the biggest hurdle! It’s a challenge to do all the steps of creating a game (programming, art, animation, sound, music, etc., etc.) and also figure out a marketing strategy that helps your story stand out and catch users’ attention enough that they’re willing to actually make a purchase. That’s why we’re grateful to team up with folks like General Andrews!

Final thoughts?
Another challenge worth mentioning is co-developing a game with someone who literally lives on the other side of the world. Dr. Shameless Cat is in Europe, and I’m in the U.S., so dealing with a 7 hour time difference has been tricky, but we’ve both been so dedicated to making it work. We met online through his interest in A Robot Named Fight! and have become great friends since then. He even came to visit for a bit last summer!

Overall, I have loved the experience of this indie title and I feel that those misconstruing the title will be missing out on a gem in KOP KILLER 22XX . I highly recommend anyone check this game out on the steam store here. And if you do not believe me, come on by my live stream on Twitch at 7pm PST / 10pm EST to talk about this game and to check it out live with me once again. Overall, indie titles need more love and recognition especially those that pull on our pixelated heart strings.