After Keiichiro Toyama created Silent Hill on PlayStation, he left Konami and became a Sony man. His next games were Siren and its sequel. Most gamers will know him for his panache as a horror game designer, making some of the scariest and toughest examples in the genre. He also created both Gravity Rush titles which were lighthearted anime-inspired open-world adventures… that still managed to dance around some horror elements.
Eventually, Sony closed all of its Japanese studio branches. With nowhere left to go, Toyama set out to establish his own studio. His horror games follow a specific trend: usually involving cults, time loops, and nightmarish insect imagery. Toyama wouldn’t have the backing of big Sony or Konami cash to realize his vision this time and instead went indie.
From the brilliant mind who gave us Silent Hill and Siren, can Keiichiro Toyama frighten the world with his indie project? Is Slitterhead even a horror game? Why are there so many prostitutes and what is a Hyoki? Find out in our Slitterhead review!
Slitterhead
Developer: Bokeh Game Studio
Publisher: Bokeh Game Studio
Platforms: Windows PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S (reviewed)
Release Date: November 8, 2024
Price: $49.99
Somewhere in Hong Kong, Kowlong City screams under the choke of an invasion of human mimics known as Slitterheads. These creatures are Cronenbergian, Junji Ito-esque insectoid monsters that can imitate humans perfectly and grow to massive proportions. Most people don’t know about Slitterheads. They’re typically considered urban legends, but lately, they’ve been appearing more often and committing serial murders.
Slitterhead‘s protagonist is an enigmatic spirit known as a Hyoki. Stricken with amnesia, he seeks answers to his past but the one instinct that drives him is to hunt down all the Slitterheads. He can sight-jack like in Siren, but as a disembodied supernatural consciousness, he can’t do much. He can possess almost any human and make them fight for his cause, using their crystalized blood as a weapon.
The story further develops when the Hyoki encounters unique humans known as rarities. They are people with an advanced connection to Hyoki and can even speak to him. The first rarity is Julee and she names the Hyoki “Night Owl”. Julee is a regular girl who loves manicures and lives in the Kowlong slums. She goes along with Night Owl’s quest to hunt the Slitterheads because they are trapped in a time loop.
The time loop is tied to the core gameplay and plot of Slitterhead. Expect to replay certain days to alter the events to change the fates of some characters. Other Rarities become playable party members when their destiny is altered. Julee won’t be the only unique playable character with each having a role to play in battle.
Some characters are faster than others. Other rarities hit like trucks and can tank damage, like Superman. There is even a Rarity who can summon more humans to the field to act as meat shields or command them to attack a target all at once. Some characters have deadly ranged weapons. No matter what, everything is made of blood and ties to the character’s personality and style.
The combat is unlike anything ever seen and demands focus since a towering abominable praying mantis creature can rip the cast to shreds. Guarding and fighting defensive is a cornerstone of Slitterhead’s battles. It is feasible to be aggressive and to dodge roll around like you’re in Dark Souls, but the efficient way to play is to make use of the Rarity abilities and to body surf to different humans, while also parrying to activate slow-mo.
When locked on a target, the right stick becomes the parrying function and players must match the direction with the on-screen prompt. It’s kind of like Punch-Out!. The timing window is tight and it looks and feels awesome when the hero connects a perfectly timed parry. Some upgradeable passive skills can modify the effects of parrying making battles with advanced Slitterheads fairer.
Restoring health purely depends on how much blood is spilled on the field and if the player can absorb it before getting gashed by a huge mandible. Sometimes the best way to get more blood is to sacrifice more humans which paints Night Owl as a callous entity. Throughout the game, he uses countless innocent people and leads them to die for his cause.
The gameplay is contextual, changing to whatever the scenario calls for. Combat is only viable when foes are at large, and stealth mode is active when the story calls for it. When the gameplay states are binary, it signals that gamers can take it easy, explore the impressively sized environments, and soak in the grungy ambiance.
Slitterhead is a game that will make you think about the morality of exploiting regular people. It is no coincidence that the story is set in Hong Kong. It’s a city heavily inspired by Kowloon’s nightmarish and chaotic urbanization. The quality of life was extremely poor and human life was seen as expendable. Cramped tiny apartments were haphazardly stacked on top of each other with no planning at all and the constant stream of cables and blinding neon lights surrounded every building.
Slitterhead is set across several days with a mission-based structure. It’s a lot like how PlayStation 2 games used to be, with interludes between missions where players can upgrade and chat with the characters. The slick UI is easy to navigate and the option to go back to past days and change the party can also lead to different events.
One of the few drawbacks of Slitterhead is the lack of voice acting. There is voice acting and what little voice acting there is, happens to be very good. You feel it missing when Night Owl chats with the other Rarities during the intermissions. Most dialogue is text with mumbles or gibberish. The constant reading is tiring and distracting, especially when trying to catch it all while battling a huge cockroach or while exploring for alternate outfits or upgrade points.
The various generic NPs don’t match the rest of the excellent visuals. Most of the time, they look like PlayStation 3-era Yakuza pedestrians. They don’t have a lot of detail or expression and are designed to be meat for Night Owl’s grinder. When making them suicide off a building, they don’t even make a satisfying splat or crunch. It is too bad the generic humans didn’t get the same attention as everything else since they are a crucial pillar to Slitterhead‘s experience.
The main cast and Kowlong look great. The city is slightly more ideal than the actual Kowloon. The red light district is crawling with prostitutes and everywhere you look is cheap merchandise on sale and ghetto living conditions. The streets and rooftops look dirty and the dank air makes your skin feel itchy and oily.
The character design is not going for a photorealistic look. Slitterhead is very manga-like with the cast. Everyone is slightly exaggerated and has seinen-like poses and gestures. As morbid and grotesque as Slitterhead gets, it isn’t a straight horror game. It has more in common with gruesome action manga like Gantz or Tokyo Ghoul. The tone is very mature and early on there are bare breasts exposed and it’s easy to chat with female Rarities in their underwear.
The creature designs and animations are incredible. They flawlessly capture the uncanniness of insects and the agony of transformation. While Slitterhead isn’t a traditionally scary horror game, its atmosphere and creatures manage to instill a palpable sense of unease and disgust. It’s a very gory game too, with many scenes depicting Verhoven-esque jets of blood spray, entrails spilling, and dismemberment.
Akira Yamaoka brings the boys to the yard with his music and his work on Slitterhead stands out as some of his strongest and most eclectic work yet. Fans of his work will take note of his choice of samples and instrumentation, but in this game, he goes for something very jazzy. The smoldering soundtrack is sexy like noirish detective music.
Some instances of Yamaoka’s music rely on traditional Asian instruments and guttural chanting. He mixes various styles into something wholly unique that defines Slitterhead’s identity and gets under your skin. His work on this game might be his magnum opus.
If you’re a fan of Toyama’s games, you’ll know what to expect in Slitterhead: cults, bug monsters, time loops, and dank ghettos. Yet, fans won’t expect the engrossing and tense action-packed gameplay that jumps between various styles and body-surfing.
While it is apparent that Bokeh Game Studio was working with a tight budget, they knew how to stretch their dollars. Slitterhead is truly a special horror game that is sure to be a cult classic.
Slitterhead was reviewed on an Xbox Series S using a code provided by Bokeh Game Studio. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here. Slitterhead is now available for PC (via Steam), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.
