Opening Cookie Cutter, I was greeted by a popup from Steam saying I’ve never seen before a warning that this game was made for controllers. This surprised me because while I’m certainly aware that there are more than a few titles on Steam that simply cannot be played without a controller, or at least not well, I have never actively been warned that I need one to continue. I would discover later that, yeah, Cookie Cutter really isn’t a game you want to try to play with your keyboard. Begrudgingly, I fished out my not-so-stellar PC controller setup so I could play Cookie Cutter the way it advised me.
If you’re curious as to why I decided to open with that, it’s not only because it was literally the very first thing that stood out to me in my Cookie Cutter experience. Cookie Cutter’s hard reliance on a controller and lack of innovative keyboard controllers in 2023 may be my only issue with it.
If that comes as a surprise to you, then you probably haven’t played Cookie Cutter yourself, which makes sense since you’re reading a review of the game right now. So, let me just get right into why I think this game is special.
Cookie Cutter is a so-called Metroidvania-style platformer/beat ’em up game. The game was developed by Subcult Joint LTD and published by Rogue Games, INC, who also published the game SPRAWL, which I reviewed back in August.
Cookie Cutter opens immediately with a ton of exposition, explaining in not-so-clear terms a world of mega-corporations, strange alien technology, and androids.
Said androids are probably the most important part of the story. Promised as the solution to mortality, these eerily smiling cybernetic slave-coffins entrap human souls in eternal service to the big bad corporation INFONET that serves as Cookie Cutter’s antagonist.
Built as one of these androids, better known as Denzels, our protagonist Cherry is a special case designed to tear INFONET apart, but falling in love was never part of the plan. After Cherry is partially and temporarily destroyed by the psychopathic goons of the megacorp and her creator/love of her life is kidnapped, Cherry sets out to do what she was made to do, fueled by love and rage and chainsaw-induced carnage.
The game’s phenomenal art is the first thing you’ll notice looking into Cookie Cutter. The entire game is hand-drawn, featuring an undeniably unique style that can’t be compared to anything else on the market. This style especially shines with the game’s myriad colorful characters, sporting silhouettes that stand out from each other and ooze personality. Our main character Cherry is an excellent example of this, featuring a much shorter and wide/bottom-heavy frame than most other characters on screen, emphasizing her tough-girl, take no shit personality.
Personality. Now, there’s a word that this game embodies to a tee. Despite the title, Cookie Cutter is anything but. This unabashed thrash fest wears its personality on its sleeves, sporting a grungey but colorful punk aesthetic.
The Steam page describes Cookie Cutter as “irreverent, violent, and risqué,” and I find myself agreeing with it. The game has no filter, sporting some totally adult-rated content without every feeling sexualized or male-gazey. The world is utterly ugly and nonsensical, with weird happenings, strange mutations, and stranger weirdos who are just like that.
Cookie Cutter is like Tank Girl and Scud: The Disposable Assassin had a drunken one-night stand and could never quite get the custody weekend schedule right, and I earnestly mean that as a compliment.
The gameplay of Cookie Cutter is fun, if not totally divergent, from the Metroidvania genre standards. I’ve talked a lot about what I feel about the genre, namely expressing that many titles therein are great showcases of art that do little to enhance the gameplay. Cookie Cutter might not be the most groundbreaking title, but it definitely does some things differently and makes an effort to stand out.
Being an android, plenty of cool upgrades can be equipped and your body modified. The real standout gameplay for me was the game’s collection of weapons, especially the chainsaws and the super gorey, incredibly well-animated finisher animations.
I wish the game were played at a closer camera angle to see these beautiful animations in all their glory. Or even a zoom-in when performing them would have been enough.
One gripe I have with the gameplay is the choice the developers made with the energy system. Healing, using weapons, special attacks, etc, all use this stored-up void energy. However, this energy is restored through fast attacks, which usually would be fine, except that these fast attacks do next to no damage. You can quickly run out of energy using special attacks to beat up enemies, leading to one or two foes feeling like a punching sponge as you build it back up.
I also couldn’t manage to make parrying work. Doing so is supposed to stun an enemy and leave them open to execution, but I think I successfully pulled it off in the tutorial, and that was it. Every other time after that, it would simply not seem to work, and I wasn’t sure if it was a matter of my own reflexes or a glitch with the game.
A review of Cookie Cutter would, of course, be incomplete without mentioning the game’s spectacular soundtrack. Freely switching from aggressive techno beats to loud, punk-rock guitar riffs in the middle of combat sells the game’s atmosphere well.
The Final Word
Cookie Cutter is a game bursting at the seams with personality. The gameplay is fun and does its own thing while undeniably being a fan of the Metroidvania genre it’s a part of. This thrashy punk platformer will surely get your head banging and your blood flowing.
8
Cookie Cutter was reviewed on the PC. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles in the Game Reviews section of our website! Cookie Cutter is available on Steam, Epic Games, and the PlayStation Store.
