Have you ever wondered what it’d look like if Studio Trigger made a videogame right after watching the entirety of Totally Spies? Maybe while pounding pack after pack of energy drinks during development? Because that’s what it felt like playing the Don’t Stop, Girlypop! demo.

The game is a movement-focused first-person shooter that bombards your ears with electrifying drum and bass music, your eyes with pink hearts and a Y2K aesthetic, and your hands with a sweaty workout as you zip around arena levels mowing down aliens obsessed with shareholder value. You play as Imber, a revolutionary with a love for the popstars Sog Sisters, as she faces off against the extraterrestrial love-mining company Tigris Nixis who have come to Imber’s home planet. The demo took me about an hour to finish, which means for about an hour I was out of my usual FPS comfort zone. As someone who hasn’t played much of games similar to Don’t Stop, Girlypop! like Quake or Counter-Strike, bunny hops and similar movement tricks are more ideas than practiced skills to me. I’m also very hit-or-miss when it comes to liking games that move at blink-and-you-might-die speed, so movement shooters often aren’t high on my priority list . 

But any game with a disgusting amount of pink hearts and a flip phone is going to grab my attention (at least that’s my assumption, I don’t remember wishlisting this game but I know what I liked from watching the trailer again), and fortunately Don’t Stop, Girlypop! didn’t waste mine. The tight moment-to-moment combat kept me engrossed from start to finish. This demo showcased three weapons: a shotgun with a secondary mode that launches orbs that turn into disco balls of bullets when shot, a submachine gun with a secondary mode that shoots combustible pink bubbles, and a gravity gun that lets you pick up objects to beam at an enemy’s head. It also included a grappling hook and a sword finisher move. This all comes together to make Imber feel like a sparkling killing machine who won’t be caught without their MP3 player. It felt awesome to drown an enemy in pink bubbles, blow it up, swap in the shotgun to dispatch its approaching buddies, then finish any stunned foes with a sword slice while the most 2000s-ass song bumped in the background.

I also appreciate the time taken to ensure players understand the tricks Don’t Stop, Girlypop! gives them. The big one is wave hopping, done by pressing CTRL to pound the ground, then SPACE as you rise back into the air, and finally SHIFT to dash forward and build speed. The ability is more than a handy tool — wave hopping is integral for keeping the momentum that lets you zip around and dodge more than a few bullets in the game’s arenas, as well as increase and maintain a multiplier that affects your damage and healing. 

If the amount of times I got hit by the train Imber races when the game introduces wave hopping is any indication, the finger movements needed didn’t come to me naturally. And if I’m being honest, I didn’t look much more graceful even as the demo ended. Despite being more aware of my keyboard than I’ve been in ages while playing, wave hopping requires some keyboard combos I need more practice with before consistently feeling like Sonic. Fortunately, this minimally hindered my enjoyment. While it’s clear anyone who can quickly get a grasp of wave hopping will have a smoother experience, I didn’t need to be a master for clearing the Normal difficulty levels in the demo. The game almost seems aware that some players will have difficulty with wave hopping, lowering the barrier to entry where it can while still emphasizing the ability as core to the experience. 

I don’t know when I’ll find out how this learning curve translates over a long period of time since Don’t Stop, Girlypop! currently doesn’t have a set release date. But given how sweet I felt after an hour of solid tracks, cute visuals, and satisfying arena combat, I’m ready for another workout that lets me practice wave hopping until I’m less aware of my keyboard again.