Slitterhead

About

"Slitterhead" is a single-player action game set in the neon-lit streets of Kowlong, where players take on the role of the memory-less "Hyoki" determined to eradicate the monstrous "Slitterheads." As Hyoki, seek out human allies, infiltrate dangerous organizations, and harness the power of blood in battles. Uncover the mystery behind Hyoki's existence and the Slitterheads as the suspenseful drama unfolds. Ingenious music and awesome story & gameplay await.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

89%

Audience ScoreBased on 669 reviews

story135 positive mentions

optimization5 negative mentions

Unique and ambitious gameplay mechanics centered around body possession, providing a fresh experience.
Strong atmosphere and art direction, reminiscent of classic horror games, with a captivating soundtrack by Akira Yamaoka.
Engaging story that combines elements of body horror and urban legend, appealing to fans of J-horror and similar genres.

Combat can feel clunky and repetitive, with limited enemy variety and some frustrating mechanics.
Visuals and character models are dated, lacking polish and depth, which may detract from the overall experience.
The narrative can be convoluted and difficult to follow, with some plot points left unresolved or poorly explained.

story
452 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
65%
5%
The story of *Slitterhead* is described as intriguing and unique, featuring a blend of horror and action elements with a nonlinear narrative that encourages players to piece together the plot themselves. However, it suffers from repetition in mission structure, a lack of enemy variety, and minimal voice acting, which detracts from the overall experience. While the setting and character backstories are compelling, many players feel the storytelling could benefit from more polish and resolution, leading to a mixed reception regarding its depth and engagement.
- “The story will slowly unravel as you play and it expects you to put the pieces together yourself - it won't hold your hand explaining everything to you - and the experience is better for it.”
- “I was fully invested and couldn’t wait for the next tidbit of story to be revealed in the moments between missions; it feels like a good horror movie or comic book.”
- “The story is interesting, but the combat is extremely unforgiving.”
- “Story-wise, pretty much nothing is truly resolved by its conclusion, and not in a good way.”
- “You visit the same levels over and over again, and while there is a reason for it story-wise, it becomes just tiresome and even frustrating.”
- “The story starts strong with its mysterious premise but loses steam with its slow pace and convoluted twists.”
gameplay
289 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
60%
9%
The gameplay of "Slitterhead" is characterized by its unique possession mechanic, allowing players to switch between characters mid-battle, which adds depth to combat and exploration. While the core mechanics are engaging and offer a fresh experience, many players noted issues with repetitive gameplay, inconsistent parry mechanics, and a lack of polish in graphics and enemy variety. Overall, the game presents an intriguing blend of adventure, chase, and combat, but it struggles with pacing and can feel rough around the edges.
- “The gameplay is a mix of adventure, chase, and combat sequences.”
- “The game’s unique mechanic allows you to switch between bodies mid-battle, using each host’s abilities to fight grotesque monsters.”
- “Incredibly fun game with a complex and fulfilling story and very enjoyable and unique combat and gameplay.”
- “The parry system is inconsistent as to when the indicator will show up and the timing window mixed with the award hit indicator makes the whole mechanic feel off.”
- “No ultra widescreen support, gameplay gets repetitive after about 2 hours, you're constantly retreading the same areas over and over again with different dialogue that isn't voiced.”
- “The combat is so-so, but the biggest issue is the main mechanic of the game, possession, which becomes tiresome to use very early on.”
music
151 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
48%
2%
The music in the game, primarily composed by Akira Yamaoka, has received widespread acclaim for its variety, experimentation, and ability to enhance the game's atmosphere. Reviewers highlight the soundtrack as one of the standout features, describing it as chilling, unique, and a perfect fit for the game's body-horror themes. While some express disappointment with the selection in the deluxe edition, the overall consensus is that the music significantly elevates the gaming experience.
- “The menu and sound design is incredible, and the soundtrack by Akira Yamaoka is some of his best work yet.”
- “The music features lots of variety and experimentation plus some of the best chilling-in-between-missions-menu music I’ve heard.”
- “Akira Yamaoka absolutely nailed this soundtrack as well, but he always does.”
- “That said, I must admit the soundtrack packaged in the deluxe edition is disappointingly selective; the tracks included could have been arranged to a longer length, and more unique tracks could have been included.”
- “Music/soundtrack: 6/10”
- “The music is extraordinarily avant-garde.”
graphics
141 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
51%
21%
The graphics of "Slitterhead" are generally viewed as dated and indicative of a low-budget production, often compared to last-gen titles. However, many players appreciate the unique art direction and aesthetic choices, which evoke a nostalgic feel reminiscent of early PS3 games. While the visuals may lack polish and technical sophistication, they are complemented by strong character designs and atmospheric environments that contribute to the overall experience.
- “Slitterhead is a game that forgoes any pretence of cutting-edge graphics and instead takes a risk to present us with something truly interesting, reminding me of the early PS3 era where graphics had already become good enough and some developers still had the vision to create new experiences.”
- “While the graphics are not absolute state of the art, the graphic direction itself is superb, from the environments to the monsters to the wide cast of characters.”
- “Visuals are amazing, can't help but stop and adore the neon-lit streets of fictional Kowloon.”
- “You can tell it's made on a budget; the levels are short, cut scenes are mostly just text, and there's a lack of polish to the graphics. However, Slitterhead has engaging gameplay once you appreciate what's being asked of you, and an interesting story.”
- “The graphics are somewhat underwhelming (almost old-gen), the combat and controls are far from smooth, and you can see all the technical limitations of a game that’s almost indie-level.”
- “It's got clunky combat, disappointing visuals, and some repetitive missions.”
atmosphere
66 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
55%
5%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its unique and immersive qualities, blending beautiful art design, an evocative soundtrack, and unsettling creature designs to create a captivating experience. While some players note the restrictive nature of the environments, the overall mood and themes are considered exceptional, evoking a sense of nostalgia and originality that sets it apart from other titles. Despite its flaws, the atmosphere remains a standout feature, drawing players into its nightmarish and richly detailed world.
- “Certainly not a perfect game, but its atmosphere, themes, and mood are absolutely unbeatable.”
- “Atmosphere is unreal, feels like Wong Kar-wai and Christopher Doyle teamed up yet again to give us a neon-soaked noir visual masterpiece; you can almost smell the gutters in this game.”
- “While it certainly has its flaws, the unsettling atmosphere and grotesque creature designs kept me hooked from beginning to end.”
- “With an eerie atmosphere, creepy creature designs, and a city that feels alive, it’s unforgettable.”
- “Bokeh Game Studio absolutely nailed the atmosphere and ambiance with this game; it's simply amazing and it completely immerses you in this nightmarish city.”
humor
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by its bizarre and morbidly funny elements, such as the ability to recruit quirky allies like a grocery store worker or an old grandma. Players appreciate the sleazy and gross aspects, finding them entertaining despite some repetitive elements. Overall, the humor is a standout feature that adds to the game's charm, with specific animations eliciting consistent laughter.
- “The ability to hop between hosts during battle and gaining new powerful allies in the form of a grocery store worker or an old grandma are interesting and funny ideas.”
- “It's sleazy, it's gross, it's bizarre, it's morbidly funny and I loved every second of it, warts and all.”
- “Attacks feel weighty, and most animations (except blood ripper and blood popper, they made me laugh every time I used them) look good, especially for the polearm-wielding rarities.”
character development
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
Character development is highlighted by impressive and unique character designs that create an engaging and diverse team dynamic. While players appreciate the creativity and detail in character backgrounds, the depth of development is noted to be limited, lacking the complexity typically found in RPGs. Overall, the character designs are a strong point, but the narrative and gameplay do not fully capitalize on their potential.
- “Character designs are great, and I love the rag-tag team of rarities you assemble.”
- “The character design is fun and honestly exciting; I constantly found myself wondering who would join the team and what they'd play like. What about their character informs their weapon choice? There's enough writing here to get a strong sense of each host, but it isn't RPG levels of deep or anything like that.”
- “The sound and character design are amazing, but the world lacks depth and the gameplay is not all that fun because the cognitive challenges are lacking and there's little meaning in what I can do.”
- “Also, had really some surprising character designs you wouldn't usually see as selectable main characters.”
- “I actually love the character designs and details in the settings.”
stability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
The game is praised for its exceptional stability, with users reporting no frame drops, bugs, or crashes, and smooth performance across various platforms, including Linux and Steam Deck. Overall, it is considered a reliable experience without the typical issues associated with open-world games.
- “The game runs great on Linux, for those who care.”
- “Plus it runs great to boot.”
- “Amazing soundtrack and runs great on deck!”
- “This game is an absolute gem, if you're looking for broad appeal and AAA open-world buggy-ness, look elsewhere.”
optimization
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
33%
56%
The optimization of the game has received mixed feedback, with users reporting stuttering and camera issues, particularly in the final 30% of gameplay. However, some players found that adjusting settings improved performance significantly, leading to a more enjoyable experience. Overall, while there are notable performance challenges, there are also moments of refreshing gameplay.
- “It's pretty out there and it's a refreshing performance.”
- “Stuttering/camera issues and the last 30% of gameplay was rough.”
- “Performance is not the greatest; some of the next steps in missions can be confusing.”
- “I adjusted the settings after some stuttering, and now it's great.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
33%
33%
The game offers solid replayability, encouraging players to revisit missions and explore different character interactions, despite a heavy reliance on text-based storytelling. Its engaging gameplay and visually appealing environments, like the nightclub, enhance the overall experience, making it enjoyable to play multiple times. Additionally, clever design choices help maximize replay value within budget constraints.
- “The game is still fun to play, encourages replayability, and manages to create pretty sceneries (the nightclub looks pretty cool).”
- “They also worked around budget limitations in clever ways similar to games like Nier, in terms of level replayability.”
- “Certain characters will sometimes read lines aloud during some cutscenes, but for the vast majority of the time, the storytelling is done through text, whether in-mission or when chatting to various 'rarities', which are playable characters collected throughout your time in the game.”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly noting that late-game content can become repetitive and frustrating. The cipher dialogue is highlighted as unnecessarily complex for mid-story progression, contributing to an overall sense of tedium in gameplay. Despite these issues, some still regard the game highly, indicating that it may still rank among their favorites of the year.
- “I've heard late-game gets tedious, but I can't imagine this not being in my Game of the Year list even if it's like, number 3 or whatever.”
- “Slitterhead’s clunky controls, forced stealth, and dull cutscenes make it a tedious, frustrating 15-hour experience that feels like watching paint dry.”
monetization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
25%
50%
The game features no microtransactions or downloadable content (DLC), with all costumes and items unlockable solely through in-game missions, which players find refreshing and commendable. This approach enhances the overall experience, as it emphasizes gameplay over monetization.
- “+zero (0!) microtransactions and DLCs; all costumes and items can be unlocked through missions, and that's the only way to obtain them!”
- “Zero (0) microtransactions and DLCs; all costumes and items can be unlocked through missions, and that's the only way to obtain them!”
- “Conceptually awesome, but I don't think the previews or ads do the game any justice regarding what it actually is.”