Romeo Is a Dead Man Has Cult Classic Written All Over It [Review]

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Romeo Is a Dead Man truly embodies the creative vision of Suda51. While it shares some similarities with games like Lollipop Chainsaw and No More Heroes, it’s a uniquely bold experience. Like other Suda51 titles, it’s full of personality, over-the-top action, unexpected twists, and a carefree attitude – it doesn’t bother trying to please everyone.

You’ll play as Romeo, a passionate agent who started as a police officer. He’s deeply in love with Juliet, a criminal traveling through space and time. She’s connected to a host of powerful beings in the Fragment Universe – a collection of small dimensions created when a strange event happened in Deadford, Pennsylvania. During that event, Romeo was almost killed and brought back to life as Deadman. Now, thanks to enhancements from his brilliant, Rick Sanchez-like grandfather, Benjamin Stargazer, Romeo has superhuman abilities. Benjamin appears as a 2D image on Romeo’s jacket and acts as his guide and mentor.

If that sounds confusing, that’s pretty much what it’s like to play Romeo Is a Dead Man. It’s a wild, psychedelic adventure with strange and memorable characters created by Goichi Suda. It won’t appeal to everyone, but I absolutely loved it.

Romeo Is a Dead Man Is a Bloody Good Time

Many games these days feel overly calculated and safe, designed by groups trying to please everyone. They’re often polished to perfection, with stories and gameplay carefully tested to have broad appeal, and everything works together smoothly. But Suda51 and Grasshopper Manufacture aren’t like that, and their game, Romeo Is a Dead Man, perfectly demonstrates their unique approach.

The gameplay in Romeo centers around fighting and solving puzzles. The combat is straightforward – the game even encourages players not to overthink it! – and features both close-range and long-range weapons. Romeo has four weapons of each type, all of which can be improved with simple stat upgrades. Importantly, the combat skills you learn early on will remain effective throughout the entire game.

Despite the challenge, combat in Romeo Is a Dead Man is genuinely enjoyable. It feels like a welcome return to the fast-paced, empowering hack-and-slash games of the PlayStation 3 era, where players were meant to feel strong, unlike many modern action games that emphasize vulnerability. Even on the hardest difficulty, the game’s enemy variety and smart AI kept things interesting – it’s a satisfying mix of Dark Souls, recent God of War titles, and even a bit of Resident Evil. While the combat isn’t overly complex, its simplicity works in its favor.

The bosses in Romeo are worth noting. Though there aren’t a lot of them, each one has a unique and engaging design, and they’re genuinely fun to battle, even if you fight them more than once.

Romeo Is an Unpolished Man

Unfortunately, the environmental puzzles in Romeo aren’t as strong. They mostly take place in Subspace, a dimension made of plain, moving blocks. These areas are often frustrating to navigate because everything looks the same, and switching between the main game and Subspace isn’t smooth – it requires a loading screen, unlike in games like Alan Wake 2 and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, where the transitions are seamless.

Some aspects of Romeo‘s gameplay feel underdeveloped. Once you unlock a specific mini-game early on, it’s possible to quickly gather so many resources that the normal game progression becomes unnecessary. Another key mini-game involves farming, but it’s frustratingly slow. It’s similar to Stardew Valley, except you have to watch a 10-15 second cutscene every time you harvest a crop, making the process much more tedious.

Ultimately, Romeo Is a Dead Man throws a lot at the player, but many of these elements feel forced or poorly integrated. Even Romeo’s fellow Space-Time Police officers, who have interesting designs and roles, don’t quite fit into the main story or gameplay. Like some of the game’s side activities, these characters are often ignored, and I found myself forgetting about them too.

Romeo Is a Dead Man Is More Than the Sum of Its Parts

Like other games from Suda51, Romeo Is a Dead Man shines thanks to its wild imagination and unique style. You’ll move between simple combat challenges, bizarre cutscenes reminiscent of David Lynch films with shifting art styles, and genuinely scary moments. While the game’s many parts might seem odd when described, Romeo Is a Dead Man is something you can’t truly understand just by reading about it. It’s a wonderfully strange and captivating game that needs to be played to be appreciated.

Despite some frustrating gameplay issues, a confusing story, and minor problems with the sound, I still find it hard to dislike Romeo. It’s unusual to encounter a game – or any modern artwork, really – that feels so purely creative, rather than driven by marketing or corporate demands. Romeo Is a Dead Man feels like a direct expression of Suda51’s unique vision, a wild and unconventional experience from Grasshopper Manufacture. No sensible business team would ever greenlight a game like this, and that’s precisely what makes it special.

The game Romeo Is a Dead Man will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC starting February 11, 2026. We received a Steam code from the developers to complete this review.

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2026-02-11 00:36