Romeo Is a Dead Man is the game where Suda51 fully embraces the absurdity he’s known for — a beloved, rebellious creator fully going off the deep end, in the best way possible. If you’ve played any of Goichi Suda’s games (No More Heroes, Shadows of the Damned, Killer7), you know his works have a distinct, oftentimes antagonistic style, and boy does that describe Romeo Is a Dead Man. This feels like the game where Suda fully and completely leans in — you’re either in for the ride with his style, or you’re not. And for my money, Romeo Is a Dead Man is already one of the most fascinating games of the year. It’s a violent Technicolor fever dream of a game that seeks to surprise and delight you at every turn, while simultaneously tackling the absurdity of our obsession with the multiverse. And boy am I absolutely dying to play the full thing.
I want to fully admit that I’m not quite sure how to properly convey the experience of playing Romeo is a Dead Man. That’s because this game is genuinely unlike anything else I’ve ever played in my life — it has bits of things like No More Heroes and Killer7, but stands entirely distinct. But what I do know is the game viciously hooked me after roughly four hours of playtime — so much so that I’d legitimately pay good money to simply play it right now. It’s partially an action-brawler with light Soulslike elements, it’s partially a platformer collectathon, and it’s partially a 2D minigame fest. Romeo is a Dead Man is a lot of things.
