Romeo is a Dead Man feels like peak Suda51 and Grasshopper, but can it win over the masses?
2026 preview: Grasshopper has always had a punk ethos, but is self-publishing a risk too far?
In early December, Suda51’s Grasshopper Manufacture announced that it would be self-publishing its next game, Romeo is a Dead Man.
While an announcement like this would be notable for any developer, it was a particularly monumental one for Grasshopper given the current situation it finds itself in, and how that has arguably felt at odds with the studio’s ethos.
Back in 2021, the No More Heroes developer was acquired by the monolithic NetEase Games – the second-largest games company in China behind Tencent – and despite assurances from the company that it wouldn’t mess with Grasshopper’s unique style, it still felt like an unusual partnership for a studio known for its punk rock mentality.
In my discussion with Suda following the announcement, he was keen to stress that Grasshopper is still part of NetEase, but it’s nevertheless odd to see such a cash-rich company – especially one that in 2025 had a habit of shutting down some of the international game studios it had acquired – choosing not to publish Romeo is a Dead Man and leaving it to Grasshopper to handle itself.
If there are any unconfirmed issues behind the scenes, you wouldn’t know it from the game in question. I played Romeo is a Dead Man at Gamescom and my hour-long session went some way to convincing me that it will be one of the most Grasshopper-like games – in the best possible way – that the studio has put out to date.
In terms of gameplay and tone, it sits somewhere between No More Heroes and Shadows of the Damned, with more of an emphasis on the former. Protagonist Romeo Stargazer was seconds from death when he was saved by a time paradox created by a scientist, and now he works for the FBI’s Space-Time division under the codename Dead Man.
Romeo has to travel through multiple universes in search of the FBI’s most wanted space-time fugitives, and bring them all to justice. In that sense, it seems very much like the main plot structure of the No More Heroes games, where Travis Touchdown had to work his way to the top of the United Assassins Association leaderboard by killing all the other assassins ranked above him.
Whereas No More Heroes was very much a hack and slash game, however, Romeo is a Dead Man promises more variety. Romeo is armed with a katana sword, so copious (and comical) amounts of blood can still be shed with melee attacks, but his arsenal also includes a variety of guns, meaning the feel of the combat can switch between something similar to either No More Heroes or the more shooting-focused Shadows of the Damned depending on your weapon of choice.
If nothing else, Romeo is a Dead man makes no bones about the type of game it wants to be. Grasshopper and Suda51 have built a reputation on making games that are hyper-violent (though more in a comical than disturbing way) and deliberately offbeat, and this latest offering unequivocally lives up to that reputation. When you’ve got a game that names its special abilities ‘Bastard Skills’, it’s clear that no compromise is being made here.
“Romeo has to travel through multiple universes in search of the FBI’s most wanted space-time fugitives, and bring them all to justice”
What remains to be seen is whether that confidence will continue to translate into a satisfying, coherent experience throughout the entirety of the game. Suda founded Grasshopper 27 years ago, and over the years what was originally considered a transgressive style has almost evolved into an aesthetically familiar language, albeit one that only this studio can speak fluently.
Grasshopper can no longer rely on “ha ha, this is ridiculous” reactions – in a world where countless indie games offer offbeat, absurdist plots and designs it also has to deliver gameplay that will keep the player engaged long after the novelty of the game’s eccentricity wears off.
Thankfully, we won’t have long to find out. Romeo is a Dead Man is set to release on February 11 – just before Valentine’s Day, fittingly – so you can expect a review on VGC early in 2026.
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