While there are plenty of games out there driven by high-minded concepts, grand and expansive narratives, or some version of the classic hero’s journey, sometimes you just want to get down to blowing some stuff up. Yeah, you could stimulate your mind, challenge yourself to face some sort of fear, or save the world… but watching a school bus explode is sometimes just the thing to make you smile. If your favorite parts of Grand Theft Auto generally revolve around the escalating chaos that happens once you get the cops firmly on your tail, perhaps something like Maniac is what you’ve been looking for.

I’d indulge you with the details of its story, but there really isn’t one beyond whatever you can imagine is behind each of the six oddball characters. Ranging from a drunken Santa, to a psychotic clown, to even an unassuming and yet deadly little girl, who you play as is more a matter of what stats and perks they have, as well as who’ll be making periodic comments on the carnage. Yes, there are various perks you’ll have to choose between during play in a roguelike fashion, as well as those that work on a meta-progression level that you can choose to buy with the loot from your runs, but in terms of raw play they feel more like tweaks to stats or sliders in the background, not really radically changing much either.

One thing that I do appreciate is the option to play either old-school twin-stick arcade style, with you retaining more control, or in more of a Vampire Survivors auto-fire way. It’s a small thing, but I did like to feel a little more in control of my fate, and able to set myself up to move in a specific direction by changing my shooting focus that way. Your real focus in almost every run ends up being to try to find a ripe opportunity for stealing a more armored or outright lethal vehicle though, as on foot you prove to be quite vulnerable. I’ll admit to letting out a slight cackle of glee when I was able to take control of a tank and then not just plow through enemies on the street, but in general enjoy simply blowing away anything in my way as well.

The thing is, while in bursts it can be a fun diversion, it doesn’t take long to feel the lack of significant depth. Yes, you can change who you’re controlling and some details, but your fundamental goals and road to success won’t change much. Once I’d really gotten the hang of things, and picked up on the fact that vehicles like ambulances should be a major focus since they drop health, I was able to go the distance until the city was blown up at the 20 minute mark pretty easily. Throw in the fact that so many small details get wonky, like your vehicle rolling around without really taking damage or other quirks, and it doesn’t feel terribly refined either. Yes, for the price there’s enough here to have some bite-sized fun, but just keep your expectations in check.