I kind of think evil clowns/circus/etc is all overdone, but if you're looking for something in that vein, this is a pretty fun take. Gunplay is super basic, but it works well - being able to reload without having to point the gun off-screen is super helpful in situations where you want to keep unloading into the enemy, like in bosses or horde encounters. Power-ups are fun modifiers, though they're over and done with way too quickly to feel like there's any strategy to using them. It's also respectably short - fewer but longer levels makes for a solid balance.

Occasionally the game veers into sneaky quarter-munching territory, like how it punishes shooting the hostage or Evil Marie. Also, holy crap does your trigger finger get tired after a while. I also don't like the look of the game and bad guys (Umlaut notwithstanding, he's fun). But it's not bad.