Suda51 is a Japanese game developer who needs no introduction. Known for games like Lollipop Chainsaw, No More Heroes, and Shadows of the Damned, his studio Grasshopper Manufacturer continues to take the enigmatic approach in storytelling and presentation, even when they don't always hit the mark. Romeo is a Dead Man very much carries on that tradition with its zany story and over-the-top characters, along with avant-garde and polychromatic presentation. However, its somewhat simplistic combat mechanics and camera issues hold it back from being truly phenomenal.

Romeo is a Dead Man's beginning is wild as all hell. Before being turned into the “Deadman,” via his grandfather's device, he finds Juliet, unconscious on the side of the road, and eventually falls in love with her. In a twist, Juliet is actually some sort of evil monster who wants to destroy space-time. So when Romeo joins the Space-Time Police, he's tasked with tracking down criminals across the multiverse, some of which are alternate versions of Juliet. He constantly struggles to come to terms with having to kill her incarnations, and it's inspiring to see how far he goes for true love, even if it means having to cut and shoot Juliet down more than once.

Romeo is a Dead Man swaps between various art styles as it tells its story, using a mixture of comic-book panels and traditional 3D cutscenes. The art direction is impressive here, as the splashes of color in the panels adds a lot of personality as Romeo continues to hop from one universe to the next in search of Juliet. The juxtaposition with the pristine 3D models helped keep my attention from waning, even when I didn't totally understand what was going on during the story. It felt like I was delirious for my entire 12-hour playthrough (in a good way).

What really surprised me the most is the organization's ship, Last Night. The interior of the ship is presented like a retro video game instead of a fully 3D one like you'd see in something like Mass Effect. Here, you can upgrade Romeo's various parameters, including his weapons and stats. Even these menus have their own unique UI designs. When you're upgrading Romeo's weapons, the menu looks like an old-school radio, while the screen to unlock new weapons looks like a 90s computer interface. It's a bit jarring at first, but the more time you spend, the more you get accustomed to the weird menus.

You can also chat with the supporting cast, who have names that sound like they're straight out of Death Stranding. RedBrown is a catlike humanoid who's also a mechanic and operator, while BlueMountain is a levelheaded director that can sometimes get lost in his thoughts as he sometimes just rambles on and ignores what Romeo has to say. They don't play a huge role in the overarching story, but they make Last Night feel less lonely.

Where Romeo is a Dead Man falters is in its combat, which is odd considering how action-heavy the game is. Romeo can use different melee weapons and ranged ones, including a giant sword, a polearm, and claws, as well as a shotgun, machine gun, and pistol. My first issue is that melee combat ends up becoming a button mashing affair, as Romeo's combos play out the same way each time, which often feel repetitive and stiff.

While it's possible to switch between weapons on the fly to mix things up, it's entirely too cumbersome. In real-time action games like God of War or Horizon Forbidden West, pulling out your weapon wheel slows time down to a crawl so that you can concentrate on correctly picking out the weapon you want to bring out next. Romeo is a Dead Man has no such mechanic, and combat is so fast-paced that if I slow down for even a second and try to think about what buttons to press to switch weapons, I'll get overwhelmed by zombified enemies. As a result, it was much more efficient just to stick with one weapon and gun for an entire encounter.

However, one thing that really helps gameplay from being completely monotonous are these summons called Bastards. They're grown from seeds you find throughout dungeons and enemy drops, and you can cultivate them back in your ship's garden. Bastards come with different abilities, like creating a tornado to inflict continuous damage, or applying a barrier around Romeo that reflects damage back to attackers. There's a lot of potential build options here that are fun to tinker around with, adding quite a lot of variety to combat where the weapons can sometimes lack.

The worst part of the combat is that the camera feels far, far too close to Romeo's back. He just hogs up real estate on my screen and obstructs my view, and it's a problem when enemies are relentlessly rushing up from all corners. There isn't an option to pan the camera out either. If that wasn't bad enough, particle and blood effects splatter all over the rest of the screen that Romeo's back doesn't occupy. It's incredibly distracting. Patching a future update giving options to adjust the camera and reducing effects on screen would go a long way in at least improving this aspect of the combat.

I also ran into some technical issues playing on PS5. When there were too many enemies on screen, the framerate tanked. Additionally, there were a few instances where enemies humorously t-posed while simultaneously running towards me, making me laugh as I gunned them down.

Thankfully, the soundtrack to Romeo is a Deadman is an absolute banger. It's got an eclectic mix of different genres, ranging from hip-hop, rock, and house. It's fitting considering the game itself is a mash up of influences from its gameplay and menu design. Even if the combat doesn't always hold up, the vibes do.

Romeo is a Deadman is more of what Grasshopper Manufacture and Suda51 do best, creating off-the-wall experiences and surrealist narratives. These games are more of an acquired taste, and if you're not on board now, this one won't change your mind. But if you've bought into what this studio has to offer, you're in for a real treat.