After a five-year hiatus, the iconic and chaotic game director Suda51 is poised to unleash his latest creation upon the world. Romeo is a Dead Man, developed by Grasshopper Manufacture, promises a return to the unhinged, blood-soaked action that defines the auteur's work. Following a near three-hour hands-on session with the game's opening chapters, it's clear this psychedelic hack-and-slash odyssey is delivering the exact brand of madness long-time fans have been craving.
A Barmy Premise and Inventive Combat
The game throws players into the boots of Romeo Stargazer, a man left in a half-dead state after a savage attack. Revived by a mysterious injection and a life-sustaining contraption strapped to his head, his mission is simple: traverse dimensions as part of the FBI's Space-Time Police to find his missing girlfriend, Juliet. It's a gloriously bonkers premise that sets the stage perfectly.
Combat forms the core of the experience, blending swordplay – with light and heavy attacks – with a satisfying splash of gunplay. While not a full third-person shooter, having access to a pistol or a fast-firing machine gun introduces crucial flexibility when facing hordes of undead 'rotters'. The preview build gradually introduced tougher enemies, many featuring a blue flower weak point that, when destroyed, makes them far easier to handle.
Perhaps the most ingenious twist is the 'Bastards' system. These are rotters you can grow aboard your ship and deploy in combat to fight for you. Some act as poison-spewing allies, others as stationary turrets, adding a strategic layer to the chaotic brawls and helping to manage enemy crowds creatively.
Smart Scope and Delightful Diverions
One of the most promising aspects of Romeo is a Dead Man is its sensibly contained scope. Eschewing a barren open world, the game opts for more focused, freely explorable levels. While some require a trip into a 'subspace' dimension to collect keys, these sections are brief and lean further into the game's campy B-movie sci-fi aesthetic.
The action is broken up by time spent on your hub ship, 'The Last Night'. Here, the perspective shifts to a top-down 8-bit style. Crucially, activities like upgrading weapons and growing Bastards are transformed into wonderfully off-kilter mini-games. Boosting Romeo's stats plays out like a warped version of Pac-Man, while hacking terminals is a game of four-dimensional Pong. These touches reaffirm Suda51's uniquely chaotic design philosophy.
Bombastic Bosses and a Welcome Return
The preview culminated in a mission set in an 80s-themed mall, tasking players with activating generators while fending off new enemy types. This section showcased the immensely satisfying machine gun and Romeo's 'Blood Summer' attack – a rechargeable move that damages foes and restores health, encouraging aggressive, riskier play.
The final boss fight, against a giant grotesque head called the Enhanced Phantasm, was appropriately challenging and bombastic. It required careful dodging of electric attacks while whittling down its health, a signature Suda51 boss encounter that promises inventive battles leveraging the game's space-time context.
Playing through the first two chapters of Romeo is a Dead Man was a potent reminder of what the gaming world has been missing. With its smartly contained scope, cool progression systems, grotesque bosses, and appropriately zany hero, all signs point to this title scratching the five-year itch for Suda51's dedicated followers. The game is scheduled for release on 11 February 2026 on PlayStation, PC, and Xbox.
