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I have been excited for ROMEO IS A DEAD MAN for a long time. Not only because I am a big fan of Suda 51 and Grasshopper Manufacture, but because the art style, gameplay and bonkers story that the early trailers showed tickled my brain in all the right ways.
Having played the game extensively I can easily say this is my favorite experience from them, and a game I had a blast with despite some odd technical glitches.
The premise of ROMEO IS A DEAD MAN is really tough to explain. There was an anomaly on Earth. A space-time FBI force was established, and over time forgotten. Then an incursion happens and our hero gets mostly killed,then revived as an enhanced “Dead Man.” Oh yes, and his girlfriend Juliet is a cross-dimensional force the space FBI is hunting – and Romeo’s grandfather is a Rick (from Rick and Morty)-style crazy and careless genius, and although he died he is now somewhat alive as a patch on the back of Romeo’s jacket. Got all that?
The story starts very abruptly and is enhanced through flashbacks, dialogue sessions, encounters with teammates and villains, and found transcripts. It still makes basically no sense, but also make perfect sense as you navigate through this crazy universe created by Suda and his team at Grasshoper Manfacture.
The game’s infusions of artistic flair were mind-blowing from the start. Romeo is in a stylish outfit with enhancing Dead Gear that keeps him alive and a powerhouse of destruction. The world, the spaceship, the enemies and especially the bosses are all so crazy, compelling, and gross at times that they’re completely fascinating.
The core gameplay in ROMEO IS A DEAD MAN has Romeo looking for key anomaly creatures across time and space dimensions. He lands, hunts them down and ends their menace. Juliet is a consistent threat, but he is also trying to find the Juliet he loves and hoping she is not a horrid creature like the many variants of her he has met before.
When Romeo first lands in a new world there’s a short mini-game navigating the space-time FBI ship. Then he starts exploring the world. He fights hordes of zombie-like humans, mutated creatures, and some large abominations. Armed with a melee and ranged weapon Romeo is able to execute combos of light and heavy attacks and blast enemies from a distance with his gun.
As creatures are destroyed they release blood (to charge skills) and a form of currency Romeo can use to enhance his abilities or unlock new weapons and facilities on his ship. Across the worlds there will be TV portals to subspace, which is devoid of enemies, has some puzzle scenarios, and acts as shortcuts or new paths in the “real-space” areas of the game.
A lot of the game is exploring the new worlds, blasting away bad guys, unlocking new paths, finding upgrade items and cooking ingredients (yes, there is a cooking mini-game on the ship) and ultimately finding the enemy of that dimension and ending them in a thrilling boss battle. The gameplay is fast and furious and features dodge mechanics but no parrying to keep the combat fast and frantic as designed by Suda51 and his team.
To help himself out Romeo can find badges to enhance his abilities; pins to add perks; “bastards” that can be grown from seeds to be added as refreshing attacks and enhancements; and new weapons to purchase and upgrade. The depth is quite extensive but never overwhelming, though I did find that the currencies found while exploring are slow to scale so I could not upgrade items or get new ones as often as I would have liked. Thankfully all areas can be re-explored to farm more kills to get more currency for upgrades and enhancements.
As far as side gameplay, ROMEO IS A DEAD MAN is loaded with optional and secondary paths to explore. Non-critical anomalies can be explored, acting as dungeons to complete for rewards and perks. The FBI ship, which hilariously is presented in a pixel art style, has a number of mini-games and rooms to explore, and the crew can be interacted with for story beats and odd conversations. You can also of course cook in the galley with your mother, who just happened to join the crew once Romeo was drafted.
Each of these pieces could have been fashioned into a game, but jamming them all together just makes the experience that much more fascinating and addictive. Every time I booted up the game I was surprised, I was grossed out, I laughed out loud and I just enjoyed the heck out of the experience. Each level plays out somewhat differently. A standout horror level is my favorite.
It’s not perfect, and what game is? There is some inconsistent optimization that I hope gets tweaked with patches. Ultra-wide support seems to not be in place which is a bummer with my current monitor setup. The story can also get confusing at times, with clunky dialogue and jumps from past to present. Still, I loved every minute of the absurd story and presentation ROMEO IS A DEAD MAN had to offer.
This is an insane and amazing experience and one that I can’t stop thinking about. It just felt cool to experience the shifting art styles, the story beats that pull from Rick and Morty, The Twilight Zone and The X-Files (Romeo calls himself Mulder once he is brought in as full agent), and the insane gameplay shifts.
ROMEO IS A DEAD MAN is Suda51 in his purest, most evolved form. It’s a stylish, blood-soaked, and utterly bizarre adventure that rewards exploration and demands your attention. This is a must-play game and highly recommended.
We received a Steam code for review purposes from the publisher. ROMEO IS A DEAD MAN is available February 11 on PC via Steam, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
