Summary
- Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP finally has a release date - and it's coming soon, on September 12, 2024!
- The remake will be available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam with a wider platform reach than the original.
- Fans can expect the same brutal hack-and-slash gameplay, costumes, and upgrades, with over 30 unlockable outfits for Juliet in RePOP.
Years after its initial announcement, Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP finally has a release date, and it's extremely soon! RePOP is a remake of the cult classic 2012 zombie title, helmed by Yoshimi Yasuda, the original game's executive producer and former CEO of its publisher, Kadokawa Games. Lollipop Chainsaw served as a throwback to pulpy horror classics such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, seeing cheerleader Juliet Starling fighting hordes of the undead.
DC Studios CEO James Gunn co-wrote the original game with Masahiro Yuki, with No More Heroes' Goichi Suda (aka Suda51) directing, and the game's dark sense of humor was generally well received by critics and players upon its release. Despite celebrating the 10th anniversary of Lollipop Chainsaw just weeks before its announcement, none of this team of creators are returning for Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP. Yasuda is clearly working to their original script and direction as he is promising to make a faithful remake.
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What Is Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP's Release Date?
The Remake Was Delayed By A Year
Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP was first announced in 2022 and was scheduled for a Summer 2023 release date. It was then delayed to Summer 2024, and its first proper trailer revealed a worldwide release date of September 25, 2024. Since then, Yasuda has taken to X with an update, stating that Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP will launch two weeks earlier, on September 12, in America and Europe. The release date for Japan and Asia will remain September 25 for now.
What Platforms Will Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP Be Released On?
Lollipop Chainsaw Comes To PC For The First Time
Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP will be released digitally on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam. While the original Lollipop Chainsaw launched on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 back in 2012, it never received an official PC release, nor did it come to Nintendo's console of the time, the Nintendo Wii, meaning two additional sets of players will be able to experience Juliet Starling's action-packed adventure this time around.
There is currently no word of a physical release for Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP.
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Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP Pre-Order Information Has Been Revealed
Those Who Order Early Will Receive A Discount
Alongside the release date change announcement, Yasuda shared information about when Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP would be available on each platform and confirmed that the title will be priced at $44.99. The title will be available for pre-order on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on August 8 and Nintendo Switch on August 9. However, the game is not available to pre-order on Steam.
Instead of any pre-order exclusive content, those who pre-order the game will receive a discount. Those on PlayStation 5 who are subscribed to PS Plus will receive a 10% discount, bringing the price down to $40.49 instead of $44.99. This is the same on Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X/S. All pre-order discounts are valid until September 11, 2024.
Those who are waiting for the game's launch to decide whether it's worth picking up will be able to receive an early purchase discount on Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch. Due to Steam copies not being available for pre-order, there is also an early purchase discount. PlayStation customers do not receive an early purchase discount.
Details on these early purchase discounts are as follows:
Platform |
Discount |
Valid For How Long After Launch |
|---|---|---|
Xbox Series X/S |
5% |
1 month |
Nintendo Switch (North America only) |
10% |
3 weeks |
Steam |
10% |
2 weeks |
What Is The Main Story, And Who Are The Main Characters In Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP?
Lollipop Chainsaw's Story Focuses On A High School Cheerleader In A Zombie Apocalypse
Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP's story hasn't changed at all from the original, which should please fans of the 2012 cult classic. Yasuda, who is producing the remake under his new company, Dragami Games - stated that "the primary goal of the Lollipop Chainsaw Remake project is to make it so that players who wish to play Lollipop Chainsaw can do so easily, not to make a new Lollipop Chainsaw game," and pointed out that while it would be easier to do a remaster to achieve this, it wasn't possible due to licensing agreements.
The game follows Juliet Starling, a high school cheerleader, as she fights off the zombie apocalypse with her trusty chainsaw, all while bringing the talking disembodied head of her boyfriend Nick along for the ride, mounting him to her belt. Juliet is the descendant of a family of zombie hunters, with her sisters Cordelia and Rosalind, and her father, Gideon, and are assisted by Junji Morikawa, a second-generation zombie hunter and master of martial arts, who also has extensive knowledge of the "Zomboid sciences."
Juliet's mother, Elizabeth, calls her regularly as well, although she seems oblivious to the undead horde and concerned only for preparations for Juliet's birthday party.
The game sees a clash between the Starlings and the zombie elite, the Dark Purveyors. This group of more sentient zombie rock lords, Zed, Vikke, Mariska, Josey, and Lewis, is summoned by Swan as part of a ritual and has abilities beyond the usual limits of a zombie, such as levitation or supernatural abilities determined by each member's specific music genre.
What Kind Of Gameplay Does Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP Have?
The Original's Brutal Hack-And-Slash Gameplay Returns
Lollipop Chainsaw is a hack-and-slash video game in which players fight through hordes of zombies. If the combat in Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP is like that of the original, Juliet primarily uses an array of melee attacks, dodges, and high and low attacks to beat zombies into a state where they can instantly be killed by her chainsaw attacks, and through defeating the undead, smashing objects, and rescuing classmates, players can earn an array of different medals that can be spent at Chop2Shop.zom stores to purchase new moves, combos, and items that can increase her stats.
As the game progresses, Juliet will also unlock newer moves and upgrades, such as the Chainsaw Dash, which allows her to charge with her chainsaw and fly off-ramps, and the Chainsaw Blaster, a long-range weapon used for blasting enemies and obstacles.
Platinum trophies can also be spent at Chop2Shop.zom to unlock costumes, music, and artwork. Yasuda revealed that Juliet will have over 30 outfits in Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP. While all of the original Lollypop Chainsaw’s costumes will be available in the remake, Juliet’s copyrighted attire, like her Dean Wonderland and Highschool of the Dead anime costumes, won’t be returning due to the licensing deals having expired. This is also the reason some of the original game's soundtrack won't be featured in Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP.
To recover health, Juliet must acquire lollipops, with the difficulty setting impacting the maximum number of lollipops Juliet can hold.
As stated at the start of its first trailer, Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP has two main modes, "Original," and "RePOP," which have different approaches to violence in the game. "Original" is based on the original release, which was extremely violent but also very stylized in its approach, with its take on violence spouting hearts and other cute images alongside blood and gore as Juliet hacked and slashed her way through the game, which was something Gunn itted he carried over to his recent movie The Suicide Squad for a particular fight scene involving Harley Quinn. Meanwhile, the "RePOP" mode has less violence and uses pop-art damage effects, and the new trailer uses in-game footage from the latter.
Considering how the original Lollipop Chainsaw isn't available through backwards compatibility on Xbox or PlayStation - with physical copies of the game increasing in price over the years -, and never came to PC or Nintendo, those who have wanted to play Lollipop Chainsaw over the years have been extremely limited in their options. Fortunately, the new Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP release should make the game far more accessible to modern audiences when it launches this September.
