Slitterhead Review – Unknown Horrors

A few years ago players were introduced to the world of Slitterhead. The unexpected Game Award trailer gained immediate attention due to the strong names attached, and fascinating setting. This, coupled with a growing push for new and unique experiences, put Slitterhead in a great position. However, given the risks and high expectations, will it be the next major horror franchise, or is it destined for cult classic status?

In a lot of ways Slitterhead reminds me of Balan Wonderworld. They’re both modern games with sensibilities stuck in the past. Where Balan Wonderworld felt like an experimental Sega Saturn experience; Slitterhead captured the experimental nature found on PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 titles. Admittedly, a lot of this is due to it reminding me of Deadly Premonition, MindJack, and NeverDead.

This all starts with the opening sequence, which honestly does a great job of capturing player interest. It’s cool, cinematic, and quickly establishes things are not what they seem without playing its hand. Several shots immediately made me think of Deadly Premonition, as it walked the line between vague and intriguing.

After this players control a spirit that isn’t entirely sure who/what it is. They gain the ability to control living creatures, memories establish they have further powers, and it isn’t until they run into a particularly powerful force do things start to come into focus. When possessing Julee the force finds a “rarity,” the name given to those who are naturally more attune to the unnatural powers your presence bestows. It’s also revealed the creatures are, unsurprisingly, a cryptid known as a Slitterhead.

Intriguing Design

If that isn’t enough, players are given a glimpse of an apocalyptic future where three unknown creatures have laid waste to the local area. It’s a great foundation that immediately left me wanting more. Unfortunately, Slitterhead can’t maintain this momentum as it comes to a screeching halt to establish lore, and getting the pair in the position to find said answers. Not to mention others to aid them on this adventure.

At this point gameplay moves into the forefront, and much to Slitterhead‘s credit it has a lot of interesting ideas. There are investigations, chases, infiltrations, hunts, and even showdowns that are portrayed in a relatively unique way.

Most puzzles are solved by utilizing the body hopping mechanic. For example, a hooker won’t talk to another woman, but will be more open to discussion with someone she thinks she can profit from. Other times it’s simply moving someone out of the way, or can be used to open the path forward. I like the approach because it makes the central mechanic feel less like a gimmick. Even some of the stranger uses, like using it to see where hostile targets are during a stealth section help a lot.

Where this mechanic falls short is the linear design, and hand holding nature. Instead of giving players a chance to find a solution, it’s typically hinted at with a shocking lack of subtlety. One of the earlier sections mentioned needing to scale a building, and then pointed the camera at a person across the way. If it isn’t obvious this was a hint to possess the person across the way, and use the small handful of people outside to eventually reach the target.

So Many Options

I wouldn’t even mind this approach if it felt like I had more control over the situation. Instead, there is only one path forward. Several sections also further eliminate the sense of choice by presenting a very direct path forward.

Combat suffers from the same core issues. Early game is plagued with momentum destroying tutorials. No one wants to fight a boss, do poorly, and every other attack have a pop up explain a new mechanic. Did you know you could dodge, block, parry, change bodies, use special attacks, slow down time, heal? Regardless, expect everything to stop so Slitterhead can make sure these mechanics are known. Worst of all, information overload makes it far more likely for players to misunderstand something mentioned during this section.

Got it? Good!

Despite the slow approach, Slitterhead is surprisingly brutal even on lower difficulties. One of the biggest reasons is the parry system. It’s similar to another game from that era, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Players block, wait for an attack, and then move in the direction of said attack. If done correctly the Slitterhead’s attack will be mitigated, and players gain some things to aid in a counterattack.

Ultimately, I faced a lot of fundamental issues with this system. One of the biggest was enemy groups. For whatever reason Slitterhead will only give the prompt for whichever enemy I am “targeting.” I put that it quotes because it has a formal target lock system, and an informal one where it selects one of the enemies to focus on. So even if I wasn’t specifically targeting an enemy it would still only show it when the focused enemy attacked.

In addition to being less useful in group situations, the parry system is counterintuitive. As soon as an enemy decides to attack, it will either glow red to indicate an attack can’t be parried, or give the prompt. Even if the prompt is on the screen, it still needs the proper timing (it will flash) to successfully parry. The problem is inconsistent speeds make players anxious. Sometimes I need to do it almost instantly, other times it’s slightly after, and a few attacks are so long I can attempt twice in the window. As a result it’s easier to just watch the enemy itself, and memorize its attacks; something even the tutorial prompt mentions.

The system also doesn’t feel particularly rewarding. Blocking reduces blood weapon durability, messing up will result in damage taken, and multiple successful deflects will enable Blood Time (slow time). It just asks players to take on a lot of risk, isn’t particularly fun, and is absolutely required to beat enemies in a reasonable amount of time.

Brace for Impact

Players are further tested by the sever mechanic. When this occurs players will lose an arm, and be unable to attack/defend. It puts that character at extreme risk, something that isn’t fun given it can immediately ruin any momentum. Thankfully, it can be reattached, with a passive ability making it quicker to do so, but it isn’t the most fun to experience. Especially when it occurs more often than you’d expect.

This is ultimately Slitterhead’s biggest issue. It has all these interesting and ambitious ideas, many of which have potential, yet there is a strong negative to go with them. Some are half-baked, others annoying, a few simply suffer from approach, and the list goes on. Even fundamental things like narrative is held back by dated graphics, or budget restrictions like limited voice over sections.

Slitterhead Review Verdict

Editor’s Note: Slitterhead was reviewed on PlayStation 5, and a copy was provided to us for review purposes.