Summary
Romeo is a Dead Manis the latest action title from Grasshopper Manufacture, and it looks like a cross betweenNo More HeroesandDead Rising. Whether it’s the laser sword-swinging mayhem ofNo More Heroesor the colorful zombie-slaying hijinks ofLollipop Chainsaw, Goichi “Suda51” Suda and his studioGrasshopper Manufactureare known for creating over-the-top action titles that are as bizarre as they are stylish.
Grasshopper Manufacture’s most recent game wasNo More Heroes 3back in 2021, which was eventually ported to systems outside of the Nintendo Switch a year later. The years that followed would see several remasters of previous Grasshopper Manufacture titles likeFatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse,Lollipop Chainsaw,andShadows of the Damned. Now the time has come for Suda51 to reveal his next completely original action game, and it is about as strange and imaginative as his fans have come to expect.
Romeo is a Dead Manwas one of many games shown during June 4’s PlayStation State of Play livestream. The game’s announcement trailer starts off with a crudely animated, cel-shaded cutscene of a family sitting down for dinner. The doorbell rings, and the titular Romeo answers tofind a monstrous zombie waiting for himoutside. While he is left mortally wounded by this creature, his grandpa happens to have invented a device that will keep him alive as a cyborg - or “Deadman,” as he puts it. The device is activated by being shoved directly into Romeo’s eye, triggering a gruesome transformation that completely replaces his head with a machine.
Once Romeo is fully converted, the trailer switches to fully 3D gameplay footage of the cyborg hero cutting down hordes of the undead with a high-tech katana. The over-the-top action quickly brings to mindTravis Touchdown fromNo More Heroes, though Romeo can also use guns to dispel any monsters in his path. At one point, Romeo can be seen fighting in a mall, drawing comparisons to Frank West’s original trek through the zombie-infested shopping center ofDead Rising.
The rest of the trailer is filled with brief glimpses of the story and possible minigames, including what seems to be a retro-style arcade game and 2D anime cutscenes. Romeo also seems to have a love interest named Juliet, a nod to both the classic Shakespeare tragedy andJuliet Starling fromLollipop Chainsaw.Romeo is a Dead Manis currently set to launch for PlayStation 5 sometime in 2026, and looks like it could be a fun and ultraviolent romp for fans of zombie games and Suda51’s past work.
