Verdict
As with other titles from Grasshopper Manufacture, Romeo is a Dead Man may not appeal to every player. It presents itself as a highly violent action game filled with strange pop culture nods, and its narrative might be challenging for those accustomed to more conventional storytelling. However, beneath this eccentric exterior lies a game with incredibly satisfying combat, diverse and unconventional art styles, and a profound sense of character, all within a concise playtime.
- A captivating story that resonates long after completion.
- Tight action gameplay building on Grasshopper’s legacy.
- An excellent soundtrack.
- The ‘Bastard’ system allows for creative combat strategies.
- Impressive boss battles.
- Enhanced experience on higher difficulties.
- The game’s final third concludes abruptly.
- A horror-themed segment feels prolonged.
- The story can be difficult to follow.
- Performance issues occur in optional dungeons.
Romeo is a Dead Man plunges players into an action-packed narrative as Romeo Stargazer. Within the opening moments, Romeo’s face is torn off by a demonic entity. He is then rescued by his time-traveling scientist grandfather, recruited into the FBI’s Space-Time Police, and resurrected as a cyborg known as DeadMan. The appeal of the game largely depends on how players connect with this extraordinary premise.
This outlandish concept is characteristic of developer Grasshopper Manufacture, particularly the unique creative vision of Goichi ‘Suda51’ Suda (known for killer7, No More Heroes, The Silver Case) and Ren Yamazaki (No More Heroes 3).
Fittingly, the difficulty selection screen in Romeo is a Dead Man appears as a box of chocolates, reflecting the unpredictable nature often found in Grasshopper-developed games.
Romeo is a Dead Man does not aim to be a visual masterpiece within the action game genre. Its time-and-space-spanning story can be challenging to track, and its eccentric characters appear both random and endearing. Players expecting the depth of titles like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta might find its combat relatively simple and its duration brief.
Despite some performance glitches and a somewhat underwhelming final act, the game offers an enjoyable experience. The 12-hour initial playthrough becomes even more engaging on higher difficulties or in New Game Plus, where players are compelled to master the intricate combat, diverse enemy types, and the unique ‘Bastards’ summoning system.
While it might not be a Game of the Year contender, Romeo is a Dead Man is highly recommended for those seeking a wonderfully peculiar action game that leaves a lasting impression, especially given its non-full-price status.
Killing the Past, Again and Again
Romeo’s narrative begins with him falling for a woman named Juliet, discovered injured during a patrol. After his own rescue and recruitment into the Space-Time Police, Romeo discovers Juliet is an extraterrestrial with the ability to duplicate herself, assume powerful forms, and disrupt the timeline.
With the spectral assistance of his grandfather, who manifests as a patch on his jacket, Romeo undertakes a mission to protect space-time from Juliet and a host of other malevolent beings.
This premise is undeniably absurd, a hallmark of Grasshopper Manufacture’s games. While Romeo is a Dead Man‘s story is less straightforward than No More Heroes or Lollipop Chainsaw, it avoids the extreme narrative complexity found in titles like killer7 or The 25th Ward.
Similar to the No More Heroes series, Romeo is a Dead Man is primarily a third-person 3D action game, yet it incorporates various other styles. The central hub, a spacecraft named the Last Night, is depicted in a top-down, 2D pixel art style.
Exploring the ship between missions is enjoyable, offering numerous colorful NPCs for engaging dialogue. Some characters might even be familiar from previous Grasshopper titles. A notable NPC is GreenRiver, a woman possessing extensive knowledge of Premier League football club Manchester United and its legendary strikers.
Vamos!
Combat, a core element of Romeo is a Dead Man, is easy to grasp but surprisingly challenging to master, particularly on higher difficulty settings.
The gameplay blends elements of No More Heroes and Shadows of the Damned. Romeo utilizes four types of melee and four types of ranged weapons. Melee options include a balanced beam katana, a slow but powerful greatsword, and quick fists. Ranged choices feature an accurate pistol, a shotgun, a machine gun, and a rocket launcher.
Initially, one might underestimate the effectiveness of ranged weapons compared to melee options. However, they prove to be an indispensable part of the combat system.
Standard ‘Rotter’ enemies, resembling zombies, often charge at players and are best handled with melee attacks; some even inflict status effects. More specialized enemies, appearing less frequently within mobs, usually demand targeting weak points with ranged attacks for significant damage. These specialized foes are high-priority targets; for instance, a ballerina-like creature can buff nearby enemies, while another can deploy hazardous landmines.
Engaging in combat requires strategic movement and prioritizing enemy types. While Rotters serve as cannon fodder, they are crucial for charging Romeo’s ‘Bloody Summer,’ a powerful attack that inflicts immense damage, fueled by successful hits on enemies.
The game’s excellent boss battles conclude each chapter, testing players on all learned skills, including attack timing, evasion, and identifying weak points on larger adversaries. Bosses feature grotesque designs and unique mechanics that must be mastered, particularly on higher difficulties.
Bring in the Bastards
The ‘Bastards’ system stands out as Romeo is a Dead Man‘s most peculiar and charming gameplay mechanic. These zombie-like creatures, reminiscent of killer7‘s Heaven Smiles, are grown and nurtured at the Last Night home base.
Each Bastard possesses unique stats and parameters, including attack power and cooldown rate, along with a special ability to assist in combat. Players collect Bastard seeds of varying rarities during stages, with rarer seeds yielding more powerful allies.
Players can summon one of four pre-selected Bastards into a stage. The wide variety of Bastard types allows for diverse playstyles; some can attract enemy attention, others freeze foes, create energy beams, or even generate temporary weak spots on adversaries.
The game features a vast array of Bastard types, with many likely remaining undiscovered in a single playthrough. Two Bastards can be fused to create a new, more powerful seed, resulting in a stronger ally upon cultivation, inheriting stats from its predecessors.
While initially complex, mastering the Bastard system and cultivating new, powerful allies becomes an engaging mini-game. With all progress, including Bastards, Romeo’s stats, and weapons, carrying over to New Game Plus, the game offers significant replay value, complementing its fast-paced action and concise duration.
Out of Time
Romeo is a Dead Man includes a fair amount of side content, providing upgrade currency and equipable badges that grant Romeo various combat effects. Mid-game unlocks include a Boss Rush mode and Palace Athene, a procedurally generated dungeon with four escalating difficulties, progressively unlocked during the story.
Palace Athene is arguably the weakest element of Romeo is a Dead Man. Across all difficulties, it features a bland, street-like aesthetic, and its confined corridors complicate enemy encounters. Furthermore, these dungeons severely impact game performance, likely due to rendering the entire area simultaneously. Playing on the highest difficulty, with its largest dungeons and highest enemy counts, is particularly challenging due to these performance drops.
The concluding chapters of Romeo is a Dead Man could have been improved. The final two levels extensively reuse assets and locations from earlier in the game. While the last few bosses are excellent, reaching them involves a grueling gauntlet that abandons the clever, semi-explorable design characteristic of previous stages.
This is particularly surprising given that Romeo is a Dead Man is a self-published title, suggesting Grasshopper was not constrained by typical publisher deadlines. This is unfortunate, considering the overall high quality of the game, with the exception of a single horror-themed stage that forces a stealth section by removing all weapons, which was not well-received.
Interspersed throughout the stages are visits to an alternate dimension called Subspace. These segments are among the game’s weaker points. While they offer a pause from combat, their maze-like layouts and overly simple puzzles often feel drawn out, becoming progressively longer with each subsequent stage.
Despite these shortcomings, Romeo is a Dead Man offers much to appreciate. For fans of Grasshopper’s previous titles, the game delivers, showcasing a renewed creative energy from the developer, especially following the somewhat rushed yet largely enjoyable No More Heroes 3.
The game’s eclectic blend of art styles, exceptional soundtrack, and diverse storytelling methods—including cutscenes, comic books, and visual novel segments—culminate in a wonderfully unpredictable journey that proves difficult to disengage from.
