Slitterhead Reviews
Slitterhead is a bizarre, wobbly and repetitive, but also a generous, inventive and original game, thanks to its possession mechanic. Its themes are equally seductive, as are the combat, often enjoyable. the characters, Akira Yamaoka's music and its constantly strange aspect. We're fully aware of the huge flaws that couldn't pass for AAA, but we can't throw the baby out with the bathwater. An imperfect but unique experience that deserves to exist. It's far form perfect, but it's a promising start for Bokeh Game Studio.
Review in French | Read full review
That’s something that the Prototype games got right 15 years ago, in the exact era of gaming Slitterhead shares most of its design ethos with. Even when Slitterhead gets to its wilder stretches, and time travel enters the mix, the fundamentals fail its ideas early and often, making the relatively reasonable length of the thing feel so much longer and more arduous as a result. Slitterhead would have felt lackluster on the PS3, but it feels downright draconian now.
Slitterhead is a bold and inventive addition to the action-horror genre, but it offers a flawed journey in its strange universe.
Like a bloody blade worn down by a few too many battles, Slitterhead grows increasingly dull over time and ultimately just doesn’t cut it.
Slitterhead is meant to be a horror brawler, but it's missing the scary and action.
Slitterhead can be a slow-burn to begin with, but once its combat clicks, this is an action horror game like few others.
A flawed but fun action slaughterfest with a great NPC-possession hook.
Excerpt: Slitterhead is an incredibly inventive game with a brilliant, novel idea at its core. It’s the exact kind of release we should be uplifting, a new IP that pushes graphics and trends aside to try something fresh.
Part sci-fi body horror, part thrilling detective yarn, Slitterhead is a story of humanity versus monstrosity in a city where both are plentiful. Bokeh's debut release bravely takes strides to manipulate, challenge, and evolve how we play horror games, and while some of these risks do not pay off as well as others, Slitterhead's sheer creative ambition is impossible to ignore.
Though it can be strange and fascinating, Slitterhead ultimately feels empty thanks to dull and frustrating combat and repetitive missions.
Bokeh Game Studio's Slitterhead shows a lot of promise in terms of its unique possession action gameplay, direction, music and overall plot. It’s fun, electric and unlike any other game. New IPs are the lifeblood of the industry and the game is a key example of keeping that saying alive. The reliance on narrative tropes, graphical inconsistencies and dialogue-heavy exposition, however, do keep the title from reaching the heights it seemed destined to climb.
An action horror game I respect for trying many interesting things, but one I can't recommend by virtue of it sucking my patience dry.
While it has some clever ideas, Slitterhead never realises its potential, feeling like it would have benefited from more time in development.
Slitterhead is a successful experiment. It combines a cryptic and complex story within an episodic mission system that simply works. All that spiced with precise, complex and visceral combat.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The hand of a genius like Toyama is evident in a game whose personality draws attention from the start, although that does not hide a technical (but not artistic) section that is below expectations. It is a remarkable horror and action adventure, but it could have been much more.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Slitterhead is destined to be a cult classic, though mainly because of what it could have been, as opposed to what it is. The combat is functional but feels dated and gets boring before the end, the dialogue sections are unvoiced and feel cheap as a result, and the loop of finding and then fighting enemies through various forms soon becomes unfortunately one note. I enjoyed immersing myself in the world of Slitterhead but the game itself feels too much like a relic of a bygone era than a new title by industry giants.
Slitterhead is the most creative action game that I've played this year, but it's also deeply flawed.
Slitterhead is an action horror game that collapses under its loop-both in terms of narrative and gameplay-and doesn't shine as much as it could have.
Review in Italian | Read full review
A deeply flawed attempt to combine survival horror with Devil May Cry style action, that tries to do a dozen things at once and succeeds at none of them.
Slitterhead isn't very good, but it is very interesting. In an age of remakes, sequels and safe bets, it's heart-warming to see something that's so clearly such a singular vision. We're disappointed that vision is sold short by basic combat and a focus on the game's ugly characters, but we're glad it exists and would welcome more attempts like it.