Romeo is a Dead Man Reviews

Romeo is a Dead Man is the latest from Grasshopper Manufacture and SUDA51, the latter recently part of the somewhat lacklustre Hotel Barcelona. Whereas that title had some interesting ideas that ultimately fall through, Romeo is a Dead Man tries to get by on style and attitude alone, and will divide players accordingly.

Romeo is a Deadman is another memorable SUDA 51 game that will stick with you. The bloody hack n’ slash action, the overall presentation, the blend of retro styles, and the bonkers cast and story. It really is the spirit of video games. Including the rough spots and no block button. Don’t try to understand the madness that is a SUDA 51 game. Just take it all in and enjoy the ride. There is nothing like it.

Star-Crossed Violence

ROMEO IS A DEAD MAN combines so many of the things that make Suda 51’s games so beloved and makes something fresh and insanely fun with them.

The narrative is told through a haphazard set of meta-narrative/self-aware sections and dramatic elements that involve Romeo's grasp on reality and what it means to be human. Grasshopper is known for threading the needle nicely in their past work, and they pull it off again here. Because of how violent this world is, a lot of the finer details make sense, and you'll find yourself accepting insane choices much more easily. By the time you get sucked into a TV set to visit "subspace," and find yourself summoning former enemies known as "Bastards" to your side, you'll be fully accepting of this oddball universe.

Romeo is a Dead Man is a violent, loud, and deeply human reminder on why I love video games to begin with.

I live with very few regrets, but if such a multiverse existed, surely there’s a me who graduated from college. Maybe there’s a version of Taylor Rioux who didn't pick up Final Fantasy XIV and thus never met his wife, or one who spent more time on his art. Where would those versions of me be now? For Romeo and Juliet, there’s really only one pressing question: is there a version of this where they stay together, living happily and healthily for the rest of their natural lives (or beyond...

Suda51 and Grasshopper Manufacture have always approached game design with an "art-first" philosophy. While their titles aren't always the most modern in terms of raw mechanics, they are always more than the simple sum of their parts. Powered by a singular, punk-rock vision, each title possesses a distinct flair that is becoming increasingly rare in the risk-averse AAA space.

ROMEO IS A DEAD MAN is the culmination of everything Suda51 has done, as it delivers another quirky adventure with a memorable story, and a superb combat system with a side of cozy activities.

When a new game from Suda51 drops, you know that it’s going to both ultraviolent and uniquely weird. Even so, Romeo is a Dead Man might still surprise you with just how strange it is. This is a game where the ‘Game Over’ screen is a melting head, where Romeo’s late grandpa is an animated picture on the back of his jacket, and Romeo himself wears the silliest helmet I think I’ve ever seen. It’s a game so surprising that being set in a multiverse with alternate versions of characters doesn’t even break the top ten of oddest things.

Romeo is a Dead Man is an absolutely wild ride, and although it has some duller moments I'm seriously glad I saw it through to the end.

Romeo Is A Dead Man takes style over substance beyond its breaking point. A game that features cool and outlandish ideas at every turn, with a 2D pixel hub space ship, a maze navigating upgrade minigame, and outlandish sci-fi ideas, like the Space-Time FBI. Any surprises it might hold or fun ideas it has are dulled over the course of the experience, undermined by dull combat and characters that don’t get the love they need.

Suda51 games have a proud reputation of going against the grain, yet Romeo Is a Dead Man still manages to beggar belief.

Our review of Romeo is a Dead Man delves into the ultra-violent and ultra-stylish action of Grasshopper Manufacture's latest new IP.

Romeo Is a Dead Man is yet another belter from a director who marches to the beat of his own drum. It's unapologetically weird, well-conceived and just downright fun to play, and that's all I could really ask for. Every small detail forms a tapestry that can't really be described, only experienced with your own eyes. Where every design idiosyncracy might not land, it doesn't apologise for that. Why should it?

Like any game in Grasshopper Manufacture’s offbeat catalog, Romeo is a Dead Man isn’t for everyone. On the surface, it’s a hilariously violent action game with bizarre pop culture references, and the story might alienate players who are more used to titles with straightforward narratives. But dig down a little, and you’ll find that Romeo is a Dead Man deals in immensely rewarding combat, irreverent and varied art styles, and above all, a ton of soul, all in spite of a short runtime.

Romeo is a Dead Man’s gameplay style, soundtrack, visual aesthetic, and peculiar characters and elements make it one of the most interesting games from the developers to date.

Romeo is a Dead Man has many fundamental issues, which is a shame because its sense of style, and allure make for a uniquely surreal adventure.

Suda51’s role on Romeo is a Dead Man is producer, but his fingerprints and tone are all over the journey. The story follows space and time-travelling FBI agents who drink cream soda (hold the soda) and battle villains in violent displays with the help of zombies grown in a spaceship garden. The premise is ridiculous and fun, and it looks and feels like a different game every few minutes thanks to all its disparate art directions. I have my annoyances with Romeo is a Dead Man and its insiste...

His past games have demonstrated that Suda51 is probably incapable of making a cookie-cutter action game. Yet underneath its misdirection of wild and crazy, that’s kind of what Romeo is a Dead Man really is. Strip away the disorienting style shifts and patchwork narrative, and you’re left with a fun but limited third-person action game with Soulslike elements. The game succeeds at stylistic surprise but at the expense of polished mechanics and satisfying coherence.

Apart from troubles with framerate and visual clarity, ROMEO IS A DEAD MAN is worth your time if you’ve had this game on your radar. You’ll want to kill the past over it.

Romeo is a Dead Man is a collage of different ideas and mechanics, textures and styles, none of which alone are exceptional, and that doesn’t change when they’re mixed together. Even standing back a few feet and taking a macro view does little to help form a cohesive piece of art. Most of this game feels like it’s stuck in the late naughties and early 2010s. Game mechanics approach novel inventions, and the story reaches for intriguing beats, but unless you’re a Suda51 diehard, Romeo is a Dead Man won’t raise your pulse.

Romeo is a Dead Man isn’t without its flaws. Performance issues can disrupt gameplay, repetition can occasionally take you out of segments, and some gameplay sections can get incredibly tedious. But in the end, these stumbles give way to a wacky and confident vision that carried me through the credits with a smile on my face. The fact that I still can’t stop thinking about it says enough in itself, and I suspect fans will be raving about Romeo for years to come.

Super bloody action, crazy twists and turns to blow players' minds, and a whole mess of kinda-stereotypical gimmicks - all rolled into one wild ride. Our hero Romeo Stargazer is a man stuck between life and death. His own was saved mere seconds before the end by way of a time paradox that shattered the space-time continuum, which was created by a genius scientist screwing around. Now, Romeo is FBI Space-Time special agent “Dead Man”, and sporting a rad mask called Dead Gear, must hunt space-time's most wanted fugitives through multiple universes!

Go along with its absurd story, and chances are you'll have lots of fun with Romeo is a Dead Man, even if its combat can be scrappy in places. This is Grasshopper Manufacture's most polished game yet, and as ever it's full of amusing quirks and gameplay features.

An oddly emotional game, Romeo is a Dead Man is Suda51's best in years, marrying entertaining combat with pop culture references and constant creativity. Get through the game's somewhat flat start and you'll find auteur game design at its best – idiosyncratic, strange, and thoroughly enjoyable.