Romeo Is a Dead Man review: Suda51 and co let their baffling brilliance shine

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A star rating of 4 out of 5.

The games of Suda51 and his studio, Grasshopper Manufacture, are unlike any others.

The creator of popular, unique games like The Silver Case and Killer7 is known for his unrestrained imagination, filling his work with all sorts of inventive ideas.

With Grasshopper about to release its first independently published game, Suda51 has given his team complete creative freedom. This has led to a wonderfully chaotic mix of gameplay, visuals, storytelling, and music – a combination that shouldn’t work, but surprisingly does, and does so with style.

Romeo Is a Dead Man features Romeo Stargazer, who exists between life and death. Brought back from the edge by his eccentric scientist grandfather, he’s recruited by the FBI’s Space-Time Police. His mission? To stop criminals traveling between dimensions and locate his lost love, Juliet.

This setup is typical of Suda51’s style, and trust me, it all clicks when you’re playing the game.

The beginning of Romeo can feel a bit awkward as it establishes the basic idea, but it effectively teaches you how the game works before focusing on the story.

Understanding a Suda51 game is challenging to begin with, but once you do, things get really interesting and take unexpected turns.

One minute you’re battling a slave owner who’s travelled through time, and the next you’re in an old, deserted shopping mall filled with decorations from the 1980s.

A few hours later, you find yourself exploring a creepy asylum, searching for a deranged doctor who is strongly suggested to be the legendary Pied Piper of Hamlin. This section is particularly terrifying, with a truly chilling atmosphere and unsettling backstory that rivals some of the best horror experiences.

Grasshopper Studio’s games are fun and visually exciting right away, offering action-packed and often violent experiences. But for players who are interested in more than just the surface level, there’s a wealth of hidden meaning and deeper stories to discover.

As a gamer, I’ve noticed that Romeo isn’t just a pretty face – it really makes you think. It tackles some seriously heavy stuff like what it means to be controlled, the ethics of messing with life and death, and even touches on the horrors of slavery. It’s a game that doesn’t shy away from the big questions, you know?

Similar to how modern art can be challenging at first, Romeo might seem difficult to understand. However, the more you explore it, the more it reveals, offering a unique look into Suda’s perspective on life.

Romeo’s gameplay feels similar to Travis Touchdown’s style in No More Heroes, but it also introduces a lot of fresh features that give it a unique identity.

The game features fast-paced, close-quarters combat, letting you use both swords and guns to defeat enemies in a very violent way.

This game features a system where you can summon undead creatures called ‘Bastards’ to help you in various ways. They can attack enemies, heal you, act as shields, or even sacrifice themselves to damage your opponents.

Bloody Summer is your kit’s main ability. It builds power as you deal damage, allowing you to quickly eliminate large groups of enemies and restore your health while doing so.

Honestly, this part of the game isn’t groundbreaking, but it’s not bad either. It does exactly what it needs to – it gets you into the main story, and I had a blast playing it. It’s solid, even if it doesn’t reinvent the wheel.

Romeo truly shines with its small details. The game frequently sends you to a strange alternate world called subspace through a TV that almost seems alive – it has a similar vibe to the show Twin Peaks.

By connecting to a different dimension, you can sometimes move around obstacles in the real world, creating a basic type of spatial challenge.

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Once you access the spaceship – which acts as both your base and the headquarters for the Space-Time Police – the game’s possibilities and ways to play expand dramatically.

Here, you can take part in minigames to do, well, basically everything.

Want to improve your weapons and abilities? There’s a simple game for that. You can also grow unique creatures called Bastards – plant their seeds, watch them grow, and each one will have a random name and personality – and yes, there’s a game for that too!

Okay, so there’s this hilarious minigame where you actually fry a katsu cutlet. The better you fry it, the stronger the buffs you get from the katsu curry you eat during battles. I loved this idea so much, it’s kinda crazy, but I actually ended up making Suda51 a katsu curry in real life! Seriously, it was that good of a concept.

The game isn’t just diverse in how you play it; Romeo truly shines in how it looks and feels. After discussing the gameplay, it’s clear that the game’s presentation is its biggest strength.

The game constantly changes its visual style. It moves between realistic graphics during exploration and battles, pixel art for its central hub, comic book-style storytelling, and even animated sequences, keeping the presentation fresh and dynamic.

Earlier, I noted that Romeo believed Suda51 had given his team complete creative freedom, which led to a remarkably diverse experience throughout the game.

Most games that try to do too much end up feeling chaotic and disjointed, but despite its many ideas, Romeo manages to pull it off. The quality of each element is high enough that everything surprisingly comes together.

With many game studios focusing on constantly updated, online games that try to be everything to everyone, Romeo reminds us how crucial it is for games to have heart and artistic vision.

This game is filled with passion; you can really feel the dedication of Suda and his development team in Tokyo with every new discovery.

While Romeo Is a Dead Man isn’t flawless, that’s not the point. Suda51 wasn’t trying to make a perfect game.

Last August, Suda explained that his goal with his games is to create experiences that players will occasionally remember and connect with emotionally.

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There’s nothing punk about perfection, and there’s nothing perfect about Romeo Is a Dead Man.

Honestly, this movie is just… a lot. It throws everything at the wall – it’s got action, horror, comedy, and a ton of heart. It’s not afraid to be over-the-top and ridiculous, and sometimes it’s genuinely confusing, but that’s part of what I love about it. It’s a wild ride that doesn’t fit neatly into any one category, and it’s gloriously messy!

These elements are what define a Grasshopper Manufacture game – a uniquely Suda51 experience – and, above all, it’s a relentlessly fun ride from beginning to end.

Perfect it is not, but why be perfect when you can be unforgettable?

Romeo Is a Dead Man launches 11th February for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

Authors

Alex RaisbeckGaming writer

I’m a big fan of Alex Raisbeck’s work! He’s a gaming writer over at TopMob, and he really knows his stuff – he covers all sorts of games, from the huge blockbuster titles to those cool, smaller indie games. I’ve actually seen his writing on some of the biggest gaming sites too, like VideoGamer, GamesRadar+, PC Gamer, and PCGamesN. It’s always a good read!

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2026-02-10 17:36