Slitterhead Review

thesixthaxis.com:

Slitterhead immediately grabbed headlines when it was first announced, in part thanks to the pedigree of the team at Bokeh Games. Headed up by Keiichiro Toyama, a legit legend of Japanese gaming having created not only Silent Hill but also the Siren and Gravity Rush series, and with Silent Hill stalwart Akira Yamaoka alongside for composition, you jad a survival horror dream team scenario. Details have been relatively sparse over the years, so I started my time with the game with a mixture of excitement and uncertainty. What even is Slitterhead? After finishing the game I’m still left with that question.

The first thing that stands out is the game’s presentation. Slitterhead looks fantastic at times and offers up a neon-drenched and grubby analogue for Hong Kong that gave me flashbacks to the underrated Sleeping Dogs. However, it’s clear that this isn’t a big budget AAA game, and there’s some noticeable shortcuts. The most obvious is the vast number of doppelgangers running around Kow Long, making it feel like there’s only a handful of different NPCs. It gives the game an uncanny feeling that actually sort of works. Cutscenes are of a much higher standard, which leads to the kind of jarring transitions back to gameplay that characterised the Xbox 360 era. The game is accompanied by an interesting and varied soundtrack, with some unsettling drone and jazzy moments that stand out but do not overshadow the game itself.

The storyline is obscure and confusing in a deliberate way that perhaps speaks to the title’s ambition, but is left behind by its execution. You play as a mysterious spirit – the Hyoki – stranded in the game world with no memories (so far so generic). To survive you have to possess the bodies of those around you, controlling them through their blood. Such control is limited, and you are fragile and cumbersome. As you work through the early parts of the game you move from body to body before finding a Rarity – a human who can fully bond with you and unleash