PS5 showcase surprise ‘Romeo is a Dead Man’ is Suda 51’s ‘bloodiest action game yet’

Grasshopper Manufacture and creator Goichi Suda have announced their next action game, Romeo is a Dead Man.

Set for release on PS5, Xbox Series, and PC in 2026, Romeo is a Dead Man is described as the No More Heroes studio’s “bloodiest action game yet”.

A trailer debuted during PlayStation’s State of Play on Wednesday shows protagonist Romeo swapping between guns and swords, using enemies’ powers against them, in a setup in which players must jump back and forth between the real world and subspace.

Grasshopper says to expect, “super bloody action, crazy twists and turns to blow players’ minds, and a whole mess of kinda-stereotypical gimmicks – all rolled into one wild ride.”

Community manager James Mountain wrote: “Our hero Romeo Stargazer is a man stuck between life and death. His own was saved mere seconds before the end by way of a time paradox that shattered the space-time continuum, which was created by a genius scientist screwing around.

“Now, Romeo is FBI Space-Time special agent ‘Dead Man’, and sporting a rad mask called Dead Gear, must hunt space-time’s most wanted fugitives through multiple universes!”

Speaking to VGC in 2023, Grasshopper’s creative lead, Suda, said the studio had no plans to dilute the content of its future games to avoid controversy.

“While I don’t purposely set out to put lots of adult themes or risque themes into the games, at the same time I don’t really try to hold back on anything either,” he said. “If I think this is how a character would talk or look naturally, then that’s what it’s going to be like.”