Romeo is a Deadman Review: The Most Stylized Chaos Suda51 Has Ever Made
Between farming "Bastards" and slashing through Juliet's anomalies, this is the No More Heroes successor we've been waiting for.
My brother and I are a little biased when it comes to Suda51 and Grasshopper Manufacture. They’ve made some of our favorite games over the years, like the No More Heroes series and Killer is Dead. The art style, gameplay, and music stick with you long after you’ve finished playing because they make you feel like a badass facing down impossible odds. Not only that, but the story concepts are genuinely interesting. That’s why when Romeo is a Deadman was announced, I already knew we had to lock in and get it.
Romeo is a Deadman is such an interesting title because it’s one of the first times a Grasshopper Manufacture third-person action-adventure game has hit current-gen consoles (aside from the re-release of No More Heroes 3 back in 2022). It has been a long time since we got to experience a grand adventure like this, and it has definitely been missed. What hooked us was how stylized the game looked. Seeing the flair of the particles flying around every time Romeo slashed, or hearing the music that pumped you up; it was a sign to play the game immediately.
First Impressions & Style
As soon as we started, we realized how much soul and dedication the team put into this project. From the start menu alone, you get the impression that this is a game they want you to remember. The main menu features beautiful art that moves around, slowly “exploding” the words on the screen if you don’t move the controller, just vibing with the music. Then, it reconstructs itself as soon as you press a button or move the analogue stick. It’s a nice little feature that is also reminiscent of what happens to Romeo when he dies during combat. The soundtrack of the start screen subtly changes throughout your playtime, with tracks rapping about Romeo’s fate. One song even reminded me of drill music because the beat and flow were spot on.
I love how the game opens with a stop-motion town named Deadford, Pennsylvania. It’s a unique way to tell a story it does so constantly throughout the game, like using comic book pages for when characters have dialogue with each other. I don’t want to spoil much because I enjoyed the narrative, but this is a wild take on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. In the original, it’s a love story where the two of them has to keep their love a secret, but ends in a tragic way (check it out if you’ve never read it). In this version, the love is still there, but Romeo meets his tragic end by a monster right at the start of the game.
Thankfully, you have a grandpa who is basically Rick from Rick and Morty. He uses crazy technology to save Romeo from the brink of death, which is where he gets the nickname “Deadman.” When Romeo was transforming, the animation shifted from the 3D Unreal Engine 5 to a bloody and detailed 2D animation of his transformation. It was a little cute when they were eating the cells, but it was still crazy to witness and cool as hell! Juliet is portrayed as a sort of space-time anomaly/drifter, causing monsters to appear in different eras and galaxies. The only way to stop them is to eliminate all the “Juliets” discovered by you, your grandpa, and FBI Space-Time Police.
Combat: Where the Game Shines
After the introduction, the game throws you straight into combat and that is where it shines best. The combat in this game is what makes this game pop and honestly mesmerizing to watch in motion. There is a specific rhythm to switching between your melee weapons and your guns mid-fight, and you find yourself doing everything you possibly can just to survive the more hectic encounters. It never felt like fighting the enemies got old because the feedback the game gives you is so rewarding. Every time you defeat an enemy, the screen erupts in a flashy display of effects that makes every kill feel like a major achievement. It is that signature Grasshopper style where even the most basic encounter feels like a total flashy mess in the best way, and it kept me constantly engaged regardless of how many times I had to retry a section.
The combat is smooth and easily on par with No More Heroes. The only thing missing is the wrestling move executions, but the weapons make up for it. You can choose from four melee weapons and four guns. You start with one of each and unlock the rest as you earn Emerald Flowsion, a currency that will help you level up, unlock new items and more. Some weapons work best for certain enemies, while others were so reliable I used them throughout the whole game when things got hectic.
My favorite was the Arcadia dual-wield blades, which can form into a staff to slash through enemies with ease. I also loved the Juggernaut Fists for constant, quick combos. On the ballistic side, the machine gun (Nebuchadnezzar) was a lifesaver when things got overwhelming, especially for breaking enemy weak points. There’s also a rocket launcher called Yggdrasil that can wipe out a wave of enemies in a single shot. One thing to note is the camera, it can get a bit wonky at times when fighting multiple enemies but that’s the majority of hack and slash games at times.
One thing I realized a tad bit too late was that in the beginning of the game, the game asks you what candy you would like to choose and in my head I genuinely thought which one I would eat, and I chose the last one to the far right, which was hard difficulty. So, you can imagine I was dealing with nonsense with each boss. I would restart boss fights multiple times, but I enjoyed it because it was like I was learning the patterns, going back to make sure which upgrades or weapons would be best and being able to do better the next time we fought. Winning the fight felt so satisfying because they had the interactivity during cutscenes when doing the final attack on them. It definitely reminded me of No More Heroes.
Something I have to praise about this game is the graphics, the game looks beautiful visually. Everything feels exceptionally detailed. Anytime you slash or shoot, so many particles are going around the air and it’s mesmerizing. Even when you defeat enemies you know you’re doing it with style. I love the grainy spooky feel before you enter the area. With the high resolution, it just makes the game pop even more, so much that it makes me want a remake of the older No More Heroes games. The character designs especially for the bosses are top notch. Juliet looks beautiful, but you can tell there’s something sinister behind her smile and Romeo just looks badass. Hopefully they will sell Romeo’s jacket one day!
Enemies and Mechanics
The enemies are a highlight for sure. They are sort of a zombie-alien hybrid. To defeat them you definitely need to lock in with your combos, but if things get too hard, you have a special charged attack called Bloody Summer. This stylish move lets you slash through multiple enemies and is very reminiscent of Travis Touchdown’s special moves. There is even a secret upgrade that can keep that state going forever if you can find it! Enemies also have “blooming flower” weak points, and if you focus your fire there, you deal massive damage. While the variety isn’t the best, the team did a great job pacing the introduction of new types.
More enemy variety would have helped a lot though, maybe some weird aliens attacking the ship or a rival detective with similar weapons that tries to stop you throughout the game. The designs of the enemies are consistent though, and you’ll quickly learn which ones are the most annoying. Things got overwhelming when the game mixed different types together. I especially hated the crows in the final chapter, they can hit you off ledges for an instant death or stun you long enough for other enemies to finish you off.
The boss battles were my favorite part. Each one went above and beyond to make it feel like you were fighting something powerful and the way they started out the battles was extremely cool and memorable. One of the first bosses you fight has you in the dark wondering where and when he will attack, mocking you while distorting your vision at times. It would be stuff like that making it feel all worth while and knowing that they are the final thing in your way to complete the level. Each boss also comes with an incredible soundtrack that makes the fight feel even more intense.
Not all monsters are out to get you. You have an additional way to attack using your “Bastards.” I know the name sounds wild, but they are basically zombies you cultivate using seeds found during your playthrough. They help immensely in battle: some can freeze enemies in place, others heal you, and some create tornadoes or fire cannonballs.
Life on the Ship
There’s a whole farm on your ship where you plant seeds and wait for them to grow. You can even name them, which is hilarious because the names are randomized and often very silly. The music in the farm area is catchy, and the sound of pulling zombies out of the ground feels like opening a mystery box. You can level them up by mixing two together, but if your farm gets too full, you need to let some of them go. What I love is that if you send a zombie away, they actually go live their own lives. How do I know that? Because they will send you letters about their experiences in the world which was surprisingly heartwarming.
That isn’t the only thing you can do on the ship! With how in-depth that was, you’d think it stops there but nope! The FBI ship, called The Last Night, feels like its own separate game. The style shifts from 3D to a 2D retro look with a tune reminiscent of classic town themes. You can interact with your entire crew to learn their backstories, buy items, or cook food for temporary power-ups that will give you an edge during difficult fights. What I enjoy is that with many things on the ship you can interact with, it isn’t just regular menus you just select something and you just get the upgrade, there are really thought out mini games incorporated in the game that will keep your attention and even have you staying on the ship longer than you intended.
Let’s say you want to make some food to help you out, Romeo’s mom is the one that helps you out and teaches you how to do so. You play a mini game of taking out the food at the right time when it hits the exact temperature. Take it out during the wrong time and you get a low rating and the effects aren’t as strong, but take it out during the right time and the food looks great and the effects are more powerful and last longer.
Then there’s leveling up your character. Rather than just going up a level, you use the Emerald Flowsion that you gain throughout your playthrough to play a Pac-Man like mini game, without the ghosts being there. You go around the entire board collecting different upgrades and making Romeo stronger over time. It does however take a lot of Emerald Flowsion for each movement that you do, so you have to plan out where you want to go. Sometimes the controls can be wonky and you go the wrong direction, but thankfully you can rewind your steps like nothing ever happened.
Chapters and World-Building
There’s a lot you can do in this game that I haven’t mentioned, and I love the fact that with the characters you are introduced to on your ship, you interact with them in some way outside the ship throughout the chapters. They did a great job with the character and world building, and I wanted to know a lot more about them all! The game goes through the story in chapters, but honestly to me it felt like playing episodes of an anime. It always started out with the kanji characters forming together for the title of the episode and then each episode shows the ship and a quote is read out loud by the space-time king, who is incredibly important to the story.
At the beginning of each chapter, the game has you play through a short scene when he rides his bike into the next universe. I wish they could’ve let us drive the motorcycle more freely or have missions with it, something like how it was done in Final Fantasy 7 Remake. It would’ve been a cool addition, especially if we were able to customize it as well!
Every chapter is different. The worlds it drags you into changes as well as the year you’re in. Sometimes you’d be in the 80s, or you’d be in the ruins underground, or you’d be dealing with a level that is a straight up old school hospital horror with no weapons and jump scares. That level was genuinely both my favorite and least favorite because of how ridiculous the puzzles were and how scary that big monster was. But I can’t hate, it was definitely unique.
The chapters generally have a similar framework, defeating the enemies and going through the space-time kings floating TV called the “Subspace” and dealing with his puzzles and world. I enjoyed it the first couple of times jumping into his world and I liked the quotes he would say. But I didn’t enjoy the subspace as much later on. Teleporting from one area to then go back in again to find a key or to open a door gets a bit annoying, especially near the end of the game.
It gets confusing at times making you wonder if you missed something. When it got to the second to last chapter, or even the last chapter, it got overwhelming/tedious at times. It wasn’t something that I hated though, because I understood the reasoning a lot more once I got to the finale and it led me to want to do another playthrough.
The Verdict
It is worth celebrating that this is one of the first Suda51 games to run flawlessly on PC at launch. This is a big win because it finally breaks the bad port curse we usually see. It is also great to see that an Unreal Engine 5 game isn’t causing a bunch of issues like other UE5 games on PC have been doing lately, which finally allows more people to actually enjoy the game.
I’m very happy to have experienced another Suda51 game. It has such an unique experience and is incredibly fun to play. With how they created the game, it honestly feels like a love letter to their fans. Watching the Launch Day Direct, it was really touching to see Suda dedicate the game to Tatsushi Fujita, a longtime friend and staff member who passed away. It doesn’t just feel like a product, it feels like a heartfelt goodbye from the team to a friend, and you can see that dedication in every frame.
Romeo is a Deadman kept me hooked from start to finish. Even when I was struggling or too afraid to be dealing with certain chapters - everything genuinely felt fresh and fun to experience which is honestly not a surprise coming from Suda51 and Grasshopper Manufacture. We can’t wait to see what they do next, especially with them mentioning another game is releasing this year as well! We give Romeo is a Deadman a solid 8.5 Romeos out of 10 Juliettes.