Fashion Police Squad (FPS) is a delightful first-person shooter that's in on the joke of policing obnoxious neons, socks in sandals (who DOES that?!), and the faux pas of ill-fitting suits. Its DOOM-esque shooting and platforming hearkens back to a time where games were less serious, more simple, and in some ways, more fun. If you're a fan of shooting in style, Zoolander, and DOOM, look no further than FPS on the Nintendo Switch. Overly baggy jeans be warned -- Sergeant Des will slap you right into shape!
Socks in sandals. Oversized suits. Neon tank tops. What do all of these have in common? They’re fashion crimes worthy of colorful, fashionable, and fabulous punishment by none other than the Fashion Police Squad. Yes, my dear reader, the Fashion Police Squad (or FPS) is here to save the day, and it’s now available on the Nintendo Switch.
Imagine if Zoolander was a game. Yes, Zoolander, but with refreshing and fun DOOM-esque gameplay loops without heavy metal and demons from hell. That’s the best description I can provide of FPS. Mopeful Games describes this title as a humorous retro FPS (as in, first person shooter) where you fight against fashion crime using attire enhancing weaponry. After my just-under-five-hour review period, I must say: The description fits!
Much of FPS leans heavily into satirizing the idea of bad fashion and attempting to take down the worst fashion crimes of humanity. Admittedly, I was cautious about the entire theme of the game given that Sergeant Des shared some similarities with Grace Jones and the concept of taking down bad fashion. However, Mopeful Games successfully (and respectfully!) incorporated an appropriate tone that bears likeness to Zoolander‘s approach of portraying the world of fashion. FPS is silly. FPS is fun. Most importantly, I don’t feel like any identities are satirized in an inappropriate fashion. Heck, one of Sergeant Des’ weapons is a SOCK GNOME who rips the icky socks off of criminals! It’s just…so funny. It works.
FPS‘ levels are fairly linear. I’ll be mentioning DOOM quite a many time in this review, and I really do see many similarities (positive and negative) between FPS and DOOM. Each level is fairly unique, however, requiring me to move Des through multiple urban biomes, be it a city, a beach, or even a cruise ship. There are several platforming segments, meaning that I had moments where I was swinging from flagpole to flagpole using my belt and bouncing off of awnings to get to higher levels. Admittedly, there was a learning curve to these swinging mechanics. At first I struggled with timing the jumps and belt-snaps; I was never punished by more than a few HP for missing. But, after a few tries, I got the hang of it quick. I do not think that these platforming segments compare in difficulty to the likes of DOOM Eternal, which had me switch from using the Joy-Cons to using a PS4 controller just so I could land the precision. If anything, FPS is incredibly forgiving compared to the likes of DOOM. Each level also contains a few (yes, a few) secrets, and they’re usually tucked away off the beaten path or cleverly hidden behind what would generally be an impassable object. Those with some fashion sense will get an absolute kick out of these secrets. I do wish that some of these levels had multiple paths, though.
Unfashionable enemies and mobs require Sergeant Des to swap between multiple weapons to take them down. Swapping weapons is an easy affair, involving naught more than a button press or two to choose the correct weapon. Most enemies require a single weapon (and only that weapon), whereas others require Des to swap weapons after taking down their “shields,” if you will. I genuinely enjoyed the approach to tying a weapon to a specific enemy, as it prevented me from sticking to my fashion shotgun (that shot rainbow paint!). Using the incorrect weapon on an enemy resulted in a dialogue from Officer Haley reminding me which weapon to use, and switching to that correct weapon resulted in an audible and visual alert. Even in the endgame when the enemy density was the largest and featuring a huge swath of almost every type of enemy, I rarely felt as though the enemies were unfairly balanced. To top it off, the enemies themselves had large hitboxes, meaning that I rarely (if at all) was struggling with the Joy-Cons to aim for a super-precise and narrow part of the enemies bodies. For a Switch game, the lack of arbitrary precision is a huge plus for those lacking a Switch Pro controller and solely using their Joy-Cons.
There are three bosses in FPS. For the purpose of spoilers, I won’t go too far into detailing what the bosses do, who they are, or how they play out. However, I’ll say this much: Each of them is unique, requiring Des to use all of his currently available weapons through multiple phases. The second boss in particular is the most fun, oozing nostalgia through multiple battle phases. I never once felt that the bosses were unreasonably difficult or bullet sponges thanks to their variable attack patterns and unique battle phases. If anything, I wish that there were more bosses — I had so much fun testing my mettle against them!
The story of FPS is quite simple: As Sergeant Des, you’re tasked with saving the day in style by taking down fashion crimes throughout the world. While the cast of characters are mildly funny and memorable, there wasn’t much of a backstory to them, nor were there ample opportunities to establish an emotional connection. The concept of Sergeant Des is absolutely genius, and the banter he has with Officer Haley is punny to the max, but I wanted more from Des. How did he become a fashion police officer? What is his favorite accessory? How did he get so dang stylish? The small cutscenes that emerge in-between, or sometimes in the middle of, each level are cutesy, but I do think that there is more to explore in the world of FPS.
FPS is a very short, but very fun and sweet, game. It’s so short, in fact, that I was able to finish it in just under five hours of playtime. I know others have been able to speedrun the title and get under three hours, but it’s definitely completable in one-to-two sittings if you’re planning on flying across the country. All of this said, its brevity works in its favor in that FPS rarely forces you to replay or grind content. Every level is distinct, there are a handful of challenge levels that offer some increased gameplay difficulty, and everything feels fresh from start to finish. However, upon defeating the final boss, I was quite sad to reach the end of the game. I wanted more from FPS, be it a few additional levels, more challenge levels, or even a boss rush mode with harder-than-normal bosses. FPS’ shortness, if you will, is one of its biggest drawbacks. I felt like I could play so much more of it that I was disappointed once I had completed all there was to do in game.
I conducted this review of FPS while playing my original Switch in handheld mode. I am ecstatic to report that FPS runs near-perfectly on the console, only encountering two stutters in one of the final missions when there was the highest enemy density of the game. Never once did the game crash, inputs not register correctly, or even lag when there was a large group of poorly-dressed schmucks chasing after me with their drab clothing. I have to commend Mopeful Games for bringing such a seamless FPS (as in, first person shooter) title to the Switch, as it played so well. I’m unsure about other platforms, but if FPS runs this well on the Switch, I’d like to imagine that other platforms are in for a treat, too.
We’ve now reached the end of the review where you’re probably wondering if you should buy, try, or pass on FPS for the Nintendo Switch. Let me be frank: FPS is a fantastic first-person shooter for the Switch if you’re looking for something short, but sweet, to play on a lazy Sunday. You absolutely should buy this game if you’re looking to get into some mild platforming, old-school first-person shooter gameplay, or even a fun title that doesn’t take itself too seriously and encourages you to spice up your fashion sense. I had an absolute blast playing FPS, and my biggest critique of the title (which should be interpreted as a compliment, mind you) is that I was sad to finish it in such a short time! I loved the entire concept, and the gameplay blew me away.
Fashion Police Squad (FPS) is a delightful first-person shooter that’s in on the joke of policing obnoxious neons, socks in sandals (who DOES that?!), and the faux pas of ill-fitting suits. Its DOOM-esque shooting and platforming hearkens back to a time where games were less serious, more simple, and in some ways, more fun. If you’re a fan of shooting in style, Zoolander, and DOOM, look no further than FPS on the Nintendo Switch. Overly baggy jeans be warned — Sergeant Des will slap you right into shape!
A review copy of Fashion Police Squad was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
