History VideoGame / TheCrackpetShow

'''''The Crackpet Show''''' is a {{Roguelike}} top-down ShootEmUp by Polish developer Vixa Games and published by Ravenage Games on December 15, 2022 on Platform/{{Steam}} and the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch. It was released on GOG.com on May 23, 2023.

In a heartwarming gesture, the game would eventually collaborate with its inspiration eight months later in the form of ''The Crackpet Show: Happy Tree Friends Edition'' DownloadableContent which was released on September 27, 2023. At the same time, the game (with the DLC preinstalled) also supports more platforms like UsefulNotes/XboxOne, Platform/XboxSeriesXAndS, Platform/PlayStation4, UsefulNotes/PlayStation5, and Epic Games Store starting on the same date. It is also compatible with the Steam Deck. It features playable characters from the cartoon[[note]]Cuddles, Giggles, Toothy, Petunia, Handy, Splendid, Sniffles, Flaky, and Nutty.[[/note]], Lumpy as the host, and a slew of other features. An update on December 15, 2023 added Flippy (and his evil side Fliqpy) to the game as a playable character.

'''''The Crackpet Show''''' is a {{Roguelike}} top-down ShootEmUp by Polish developer Vixa Games and published by Ravenage Games on December 15, 2022 on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} and the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch. It was released on GOG.com on May 23, 2023.

In a heartwarming gesture, the game would eventually collaborate with its inspiration eight months later in the form of ''The Crackpet Show: Happy Tree Friends Edition'' DownloadableContent which was released on September 27, 2023. At the same time, the game (with the DLC preinstalled) also supports more platforms like UsefulNotes/XboxOne, UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesXAndS, UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, UsefulNotes/PlayStation5, and Epic Games Store starting on the same date. It is also compatible with the Steam Deck. It features playable characters from the cartoon[[note]]Cuddles, Giggles, Toothy, Petunia, Handy, Splendid, Sniffles, Flaky, and Nutty.[[/note]], Lumpy as the host, and a slew of other features. An update on December 15, 2023 added Flippy (and his evil side Fliqpy) to the game as a playable character.

* XRaySparks: Every time a player receives a perk. Regardless of the Crackpet's species, they all show human-like skeletons underneath. The skeleton is always a full-body shape as well, meaning that the handless Handy ends up having hands just for that moment.

* NintendoHard: The game demands that the player learns every enemy encountered on-the-fly and makes use of anything given by the game in a single run, as outside of Stash for weapons, everything the player (randomly) obtains vanishes after an episode fail/clear, meaning they can not play one episode the exact same way. A stage can have loads of varied enemies that can easily block off players with their bullets or CollisionDamage if they are not dispatched quickly. Bosses, even the first one, already employs BulletHell, and some are even surrounded by traps, so careless dashing will not save the player here. While every weapon, item, or perk can be upgraded to reduce the frustration factor, player movement and timing (and luck) are still key to survival.

* RandomNumberGod: Being a roguelite game, it is a given. Not just in stage progression (and this is not even touching Endless mode), but also unlocking skins and upgrading weapons/items/perks. To elaborate on the latter, the player is given two random things to upgrade. Once one is picked, it moves on to the next two random items and the player repeats the process until the player runs out of Upgrade Coins. A stage's type can also be a "Random" one, so it can play out as any other stage type picked, well, randomly.

* AttackDrone: The Turret is a special item that can be deployed on the ground (or fired from the Turret Launcher). It shoots bullets at any nearby enemy in range until its timer runs out. The Tesla Turret's electricity hits near-instantly. A different item called My Turret works the same, but copies the user's current weapon for the shots.

* RandomNumberGod: Being a roguelite game, it is a given. Not just in stage progression (and this is not even touching Endless mode), but also unlocking skins and upgrading weapons/items/skins. To elaborate on the latter, the player is given two random things to upgrade. Once one is picked, it moves on to the next two random items and the player repeats the process until the player runs out of Upgrade Coins. A stage's type can also be a "Random" one, so it can play out as any other stage type picked, well, randomly.

** DJ Horse is actually an ape wearing a horse mask, referencing the [[MemeticMutation horse mask meme]] from late into TurnOfTheMillennium and early into TheNewTens.

* InformedSpecies: The Koala Duo minibosses are modeled more after a black bear and a brown bear than a koala, complete with honey.

* WakeUpCallBoss: Epix Mole's fight truly hammers in the different bullet types and the need to dash. His straight bullets upon emerging from the ground have a predictable pattern and can be cancelled out by hiding behind one of the two low walls, but after that he uses the lob-type bullets in a large amount, meaning the low walls will not save the players. Then, when he TurnsRed, among the lobbed bullets are ones that create lava pools that damage players walking over them. These are lobbed depending on player position, so hugging the edges of the arena is a quick ticket to getting stuck and taking unavoidable damage. And how to get past the lava pools safely? Dash. All the episodes after this will only ramp up the difficulty further.