Romeo Is a Dead Man review – a misfire from a storied gaming provocateur | Games

Romeo Is a Dead Man: Suda51’s Bizarre Sci-Fi Adventure Stumbles in Execution

When Japanese auteur Suda51 burst onto the gaming scene with Killer7 in 2005, he established himself as gaming’s resident surrealist—a director unafraid to challenge conventions and deliver experiences that felt distinctly unlike anything else on the market. From the satirical open-world deconstruction of No More Heroes to the campy horror-comedy of Lollipop Chainsaw, Suda51’s games have consistently offered a refreshing alternative to mainstream blockbusters with their nine-figure budgets and formulaic design. With Romeo Is a Dead Man, his first new title in a decade, expectations were understandably high.

The game opens with a stylish animated sequence that immediately establishes its gonzo tone: protagonist Romeo Stargazer is devoured by a zombie, only to be hastily resurrected by his eccentric scientist grandfather, who grants him mysterious new powers. What follows is a descent into narrative chaos that would make even the most dedicated Rick and Morty fan reach for the Dramamine.

Romeo awakens as a “deadman”—a being caught between life and death—and is conscripted by the FBI’s space-time police force to combat interstellar criminals threatening the cosmos. The premise sounds straightforward enough, but the execution quickly devolves into an impenetrable thicket of proper nouns and unexplained concepts. Wave after wave of zombies, inexplicably dubbed “bastards,” assault Romeo across various dimensions, while a character named Juliet appears sporadically in PS2-era 3D, tormenting Romeo’s dreams before transforming into a boss battle. After completing the 20-hour campaign, I found myself no closer to understanding the game’s internal logic than when I started.

In a recent interview, Suda51 cited Rick and Morty as a primary influence, struggling to articulate the game’s plot while enthusiastically discussing his love of chicken katsu and his desire to “stick it to the bastards.” This admission proved telling—Romeo Is a Dead Man feels less like a cohesive narrative and more like a series of disjointed vignettes held together by sheer force of will and a shared aesthetic sensibility.

The gameplay initially shows promise, with main missions featuring fast-paced combat reminiscent of the No More Heroes series. Romeo wields a lightsabre-like weapon, carving through hordes of “bastards” in stylish, screen-filling displays of color and particle effects. Boss encounters offer creative challenges and visual flair, maintaining a chaotic energy that keeps players engaged. However, as the story progresses, even the game engine appears to surrender to the madness. Despite playing on a PS5 Pro, I experienced significant frame rate drops during later levels when swarmed by enemies, occasionally rendering the game nearly unplayable.

Between combat encounters, players explore a charming retro hub world aboard an FBI-branded spaceship. This area features 16-bit pixel art aesthetics, allowing Romeo to interact with his eclectic crew—including an ancient Roman god, a talking cat, and a Jamaican journalist. The ship serves as a central hub where players can purchase upgrades, engage in mini-games, and cultivate special plants that grant abilities based on the zombies defeated throughout the adventure.

Visually, Romeo Is a Dead Man is never boring. The game seamlessly transitions between fully animated cartoon sequences, PS2-era polygonal graphics, and sculpture-inspired art styles, creating a visual tapestry that rivals many publishers’ entire catalogs. While this stylistic schizophrenia makes for eye-catching trailers, the final product feels less like the work of a visionary auteur and more like a child indiscriminately dumping their entire toy collection onto the living room floor.

The game’s unpredictability occasionally yields genuine moments of surprise and delight. Its anti-establishment attitude and commitment to absurdity will undoubtedly resonate with die-hard Suda51 fans searching for irony-laden justification to celebrate the experience. However, where No More Heroes maintained momentum through its simple yet effective narrative and consistent humor, Romeo Is a Dead Man sprawls aimlessly across its runtime. Rather than coalescing into a cohesive kitschy epic, the story unfolds with all the coherence of a rambling drunk holding court at a pub.

Ultimately, Romeo Is a Dead Man represents a fascinating misfire—a game that swings for the fences with audacious creativity but stumbles due to technical issues and narrative incoherence. While it may find an audience among Suda51 completists and those seeking something genuinely different, casual players would be better served exploring the director’s more focused earlier works.

Tags: #RomeoIsADeadMan #Suda51 #GrasshopperManufacture #PS5 #SciFi #ActionGame #CultClassic #GamingNews #IndieGame #JapaneseDeveloper

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