Romeo is a dead man A Suda51 game, top to bottom. This is not to say Romeo is a dead man It's like any other Suda game – on the contrary, it's quite unique despite its obvious similarities Lollipop chainsaw and No more heroes. But it still has the Suda51 spirit, which means it's expressive, bombastic, amazing, and doesn't care whether you like it or not.
You play as the titular Romeo, a lovestruck cop-turned-intergalactic-agent. He is infatuated with Juliet, a space-time criminal embroiled in a conflict with various other sophisticated beings in the Fragment Universe, a warp of pocket dimensions created after a singularity event in the fictional town of Deadford, Pennsylvania, during which Romeo was nearly killed and resurrected as the Deadman. His genius, Rick Sanchez-coded grandfather, Benjamin Stargazer, has raised him to a supernatural level, and sits in a 2D image on the back of his grandson's jacket, serving as a kind of assistant-director.
If that description doesn't make much sense to you, then you've basically gotten a taste of it Romeo is a dead man Experience. It's a psychedelic joyride through the time-space continuum, full of colorful and quirky characters that only Goichi Suda could conjure up, and while I wouldn't be surprised if it's not everyone's favorite, it certainly is mine.
Romeo is a dead man is a bloody good time
There are many games, both good and bad, that feel designed by committee, as the saying goes. They are clean and polished—no rough edges in sight. The story and gameplay are rigorously tested and honed to appeal to as many people as possible, and every feature and system works in harmony with each other, like a complex clockwork. This is not how Suda51 and Grasshopper Manufacture make games, and Romeo is a dead man This is proof.
RomeoThe gameplay can be broken down into two main pillars: combat and environmental puzzles. The first pillar is simple and unsophisticated (Benjamin Stargazer literally tells Romeo not to think too much during the first combat tutorial), featuring a mix of melee and ranged options. Romeo has four weapons in each category, all of which can be upgraded during the game, but only in an obvious, stat-based way. Mostly, combos and techniques that you learn Romeo's The first few hours take you to the end credits.
That doesn't mean the combat isn't fun, though. in fact, Romeo is a dead man It could be a breath of fresh air for anyone longing for the PS3 era of hack-and-slash games, which often focused on making players feel powerful, weak or disadvantaged like in most modern action titles. i played Romeo On the hardest difficulty available in the first playthrough, and I don't completely despise the enemy encounters with this sense of power: the combination of decent enemy variety and aggressive enemy AI make for a great gameplay experience. Dark spiritsmodern god of warAnd a mouse too Resident Evil– A winning combination, if ever there was one. RomeoThe fight is simple, but it doesn't hurt much.
are worth pointing out RomeoBosses: While there aren't many of them, almost all of them are visually interesting and mechanically compelling, making them fun to fight, even more often.
Romeo is an ambiguous man
I would like to express the same appreciation RomeoThe other main gameplay pillar of , its environmental puzzles. These puzzles are usually relegated to subspace, a sort of alternate dimension made up of shifting, nondescript blocks. Navigating these areas can be a bit of a headache due to their lack of distinct features, and because going in and out of subspace, which you must do frequently, is a loading-screen experience; This is not a seamless transition, as seen in the likes Alan Wake 2 and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart.
are the parts of RomeoA gameplay formula that feels rushed and incomplete. For example, you can completely break the game's progression loop after unlocking a certain mini-game, which can be played indefinitely and produces a substantial amount of upgrade resources in a short amount of time, making traditional progression trivial. You unlock this mini-game at the very beginning of the story. There's also a farming mini-game that's absolutely vital for continued progress and building use, but the process of harvesting, planting, and “fusing” (AKA cross-breeding) is incredibly slow and tedious. Basically, imagine Stardew ValleyBut you should watch a 10-15-second cutscene every time you cut a plant, and you'll have a better idea of what's going on. Romeo is a dead manFarming is like a mini game.
That's all to say Romeo a dead man Full of stuff, but this stuff is often awkwardly executed or tacked-on. Even the game's supporting cast, Romeo's colleagues in the space-time police, despite having colorful personalities, attractive character designs, and well-defined roles on the team, feel disconnected from the main gameplay and story. These side characters, viz RomeoThe various mini-games, at many points seem to be forgotten by the game, and so I often forget about them too.
Romeo is a Dead Man is more than the sum of its parts
Like the rest of Suda51's work, Romeo is a dead man Succeeds through his unbridled creativity and panache. The game takes you through no-frills combat gauntlets, which can be incorporated into Lynchian cutscenes in various art styles, which can break into surprisingly effective horror segments. On paper, there's a lot to be held against Romeo is a dead manbut Romeo is a dead man It's not a job that can be captured on paper in the first place. It's an exotic, fun dream of a video game, and must be experienced for yourself to understand.
For this reason, despite my disappointment RomeoSmall gripes like the often inconsistent and cumbersome mechanics, confusing story design, and occasional amateur sound mixing and editing, I couldn't help but love it. It's rare to see a game, or any piece of contemporary art for that matter, that feels born of pure, focused creative energy, rather than dictated by the market or some other dominant entity. Romeo is a dead man Suda51 is like a brain blast, a trippy and outrageous vision beamed directly into our brains by Grasshopper Productions. There is no reliable, responsible business committee in the world that approves this game, which is what really makes it worth it.
- issued
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February 11, 2026
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Intense violence, blood and gore, suggestive themes, drug use, strong language
- Fun, simple combat
- Great music and atmosphere
- Unexpected gameplay and setpieces
- Charming, goofy characters and writing
- Ham-fisted system, features, and mini-games
- Frustrating environmental puzzles
- General lack of polish, especially in cutscenes
Romeo is a dead man Releases on February 11, 2026 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Game Rant was provided with a Steam code for the purpose of this review.
