Romeo is a Dead Man
Review
Hey Romeo, I mean DeadMan
by JamesWorcester
reviewed on PC
Romeo, listen up. You're gonna die in about 15 seconds.
The Shakespearean Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is as tragic as tragic gets, except for when it's reinterpreted into a genre splicing, bastard creating FBI space police opera where Romeo has had his face chewed off by a white devil and survives only because his genius grandfather jams the Dead Gear Life Support System into his eye, further exploding his face and entering his bloodstream. If that description hasn't piqued your interest, I suggest you stop reading this review and reconsider what you really want out of life. If it has, welcome to being a Dead Man.
As Romeo Stargazer, and on duty as the sheriff's deputy, you find Juliet collapsed in the middle of the road, and it's love at first sight. With plans to leave town and elope, the white devil's attack changes the course of Romeo's life and death, and after joining the FBI as a Space Time Cadet, you learn that Juliet is a space time drifter, and the towns in which she appears get locked in space and time. As such, she's been put on the Space Time Most Wanted List, along with a few more ne'er do wells. With your now deceased grandfather being sewn in as a patch on the back of your bomber jacket, you take to the stars with your space bike and sidecar, wielding your vibrating energy chainsword.
Genre Splicing Mechanics & Gameplay Loops
Romeo is a Dead Man uses an astonishing amount of different mechanics and systems all mashed together, and when I was first introduced to them all, I couldn't stop laughing. That is except for the core combat gameplay loop, so let's start there. The combat in Romeo is a Dead Man isn't bad by any stretch - you have access to four different upgradeable melee weapons and four different ranged weapons, you can use items and the bastards that you've grown (we'll get to them later), and there are heavy attacks, light attacks and combos. You can dodge and jump and activate a Bloody Summer attack when your blood gauge is full, and while this all provides quite satisfactory hack and slash combat, I just ended up wanting to speed through it to engage with the multitude of much more creative settings and mechanics that Romeo is a Dead Man has to offer.
And it's in these other mechanics and systems (along with the art styles and direction) that I really found a sense of joy - because of their creativity, absurdity and the fact that they all exist in one game; a feat which I've never seen before. Let's start with those bastards I mentioned earlier. Bastards are enemy zombies that you can grow from seeds in a cozy Stardew Valley-esque garden aboard your FBI spaceship. Once you've grown multiple bastards and expanded your bastardpedia, you can fuse them together in a bastard cockfighting simulator where the victor eats the victim and grows in power. You can then equip them to be assisted by them in combat, with each bastard type having a different ability.
Beyond bastards, during your adventures you will collect ingredients that form the basis for many different katsu curry recipes, which you can then cook with your mother aboard the FBI spaceship in an anime katsu curry cooking minigame, where achieving an A Rank provides you with a high quality meal that you can eat during combat for some helpful buffs.
Upgrading your weapons and gear is straightforward enough, but to upgrade your stats you're going to need to play a Pac-Man-like videogame where you boost around and collect different items to upgrade different attributes. And while you're at it, why not roam around space collecting space debris, only to come back to base to talk to the FBI's nurse in a mini dating simulator.
It's these things that really sparked joy because they're absolutely wild and amazingly creative.
Setting, Style and Story
The style of Romeo is a Dead Man is quite clearly a strength, it's very visually impactful, using Bloody Summer never gets old, and then you get onto the spaceship for the first time and everything turns into pixel art. Key story moments are told through comic book storytelling, and even the opening title menu and in-game pause menu have such an appealing funk design.
The setting and story allows for a lot of comedic and fun interactions, whether you're engaging in banter with your fellow agents such as BlueMountain and TheBlack (who lives in a picture frame), or how your manager always screws up addressing you with "Hey Romeo, I mean DeadMan". Beyond the spaceship itself, the individual mission chains provide a wealth of environments and gameplay, so it's not just combat there's a full level that takes on a survival horror motif that is truly terrifying and a great triumph in survival horror.
Final Thoughts
Romeo is a Dead Man has so much to offer and introducing some of those genre-splicing mechanics had me grinning ear to ear. Unfortunately, I think the one area where Romeo is a Dead Man stumbles is in the core combat gameplay loop, which you'll be engaging with every mission. I feel if it forwent the hack and slash elements and took on a more strategic style it would've been a lot more enjoyable, and there were several boss fights that I found quite obnoxious and mechanically frustrating. However, do not let the combat dull this blade too much, I am still so impressed with this level of creativity and ingenuity, and I found everything else to be such a joy. The world would be a boring place without Suda51 and Grasshopper Manufacture.
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7.7
fun score
Pros
Made me say "I can't believe they did this" out loud multiple times. Mechanically deep, interesting and broad. Dripping in artistic style and direction
Cons
Lack of combat complexity. Frustrating boss fight mechanics
