Slitterhead review

A new original game from Keiichiro Toyama was all I needed to know about Slitterhead, and upon first hearing about the supernatural monster horror, I was laser focused on getting my hands on it. Now, after playing through the story and seeing the things I’d been excited about, I’ve been left somewhat deflated. I had such high hopes for it, but there’re some issues that kept me from falling in love with this new title from the creator of the original Silent Hill. The premise is clever, but it’s the combat and repetition that started to grate on me.

You play as a ghostly entity known as ‘Night Owl,’ whose main goal is to rid the fictional Hong Kong city of Kowlong of Slitterheads, creatures that appear to have been inspired by The Thing and those villagers with long, mutated necks in Resident Evil 4. From the beginning, you’re left intrigued about what is going on, and why these monsters are possessing humans and turning them into abominations. The story takes some interesting turns, but it never quite sticks the landing, especially when you get further into it.

The Night Owl seems that obsessed with killing the creatures that his disregard for human life begs the question who is he saving them from if he’s so willing to get them killed in the pursuit of his goal. Regardless, being able to take control of almost anyone via a possession mechanic is quick and easy to do, but there is very little that distinguishes one from the other, other than how they look. To get up high, you can find someone to possess on a balcony or rooftop, but you can also jump really high in certain areas.

This possession mechanic comes in handy when you are close to death as you can switch to another meat shell, but it does take all the fear away by knowing the threat of death is rarely a problem. If you do die three times while possessing someone, it’s game over, but that fear and anxiety is never present. While there are a bunch of humans to choose between, you’ll also meet extraordinary humans known as Rarities that have special abilities that use blood as weapons, such as claws and swords.

Combat is rather loose. With games like Stellar Blade and Dragon Age: The Veilguard offering tight controls while in a fight, Slitterhead feels too floaty to ever really enjoy. There’s an interesting parry and block that adds a bit of skill to how and where you deflect enemy attacks, but I never got excited when it was time to start fighting one of the enemies. Some of the bosses have varied movements, but it’s more a case of just smashing the attack buttons while throwing in the occasional special ability to do some extra damage.

Missions feel quite disjointed as it isn’t one continuous adventure, but one that takes you back to moments of exposition away from the city where you’ll talk to Rarities and upgrade your skills. As for the missions themselves, they get a little repetitive, especially when you’re travelling around what seems like the same stretch of city every time. I would have liked more variety in the level design, especially when you’re chasing what seems like the same Slitterhead around the same back alleys.

Some of the cutscenes are beautifully detailed, but they are few and far between. Slitterhead feels unfinished. While the city does look good at times, the character animations and NPC designs look rough around the edges, and the visual novel-style interactions between missions aren’t great at all. I would have enjoyed some more dialogue as there is a story that could have been something interesting, but instead it falls flat. With the calibre of Toyama at the helm, I felt somewhat disappointed by the whole thing.

Slitterhead could have been something great if it was just given more time. The combat is too floaty to enjoy, and the repetition of missions stop you from feeling immersed in Night Owl’s goal. The Rarities add some variety in how you attack missions, especially when you get to choose between two of them at times, and while there are some nice visuals, it adds to the feeling that it simply needed more time to fully realise the vision that the Silent Hill and Gravity rush creator had in mind.