There are times when a video game is so good you can’t possibly imagine how it could be any better. Seminal titles like Breath of the Wild and Baldur’s Gate 3 can be some of the best experiences you’ll ever have, but sometimes the more interesting games are the ones that arrive rough around the edges, but so wildly ambitious and fascinating that you can’t help but be glued to the screen. Slitterhead is one of those games, a bizarre body-horror fever dream from the creator of Silent Hill, sprouting a few warts and plenty of jank. But it’s one of those titles where the flaws practically make the game better. Slitterhead is one of the most fascinating experiences I’ve had with a video game in years — and you likely missed its under-the-radar release in 2024.
Slitterhead is the first game from Bokeh Game Studio, which was founded in 2020 by Keiichiro Toyama — who’s largely known as the creator of Silent Hill, Siren, and Gravity Rush. Toyama is undoubtedly one of the masters of horror in video games, so it should come as little surprise that Slitterhead is deliciously horrifying. The entire game has a grungy tone that’s permeated with downright shocking body horror — creatures that twist and crack out of human bodies, turning into a grotesque menagerie of body parts. There’s a lot to love if you’re a horror fan simply from a visual and storytelling standpoint, but the game’s inventive take on combat is equally attractive.
