Goichi “Suda51” Suda is a developer who needs no introduction for those who have a deep appreciation for Japanese games. His development studio, Grasshopper Manufacture, has created some of the most memorable action games ever, such as the No More Heroes series.
Following the release of Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered, the Japanese studio is releasing Romeo is a Dead Man, an action game with a very distinct identity that instantly feels familiar to all those who played a game directed by Suda51.
Right after trying out the game during Gamescom 2025, I had the opportunity to sit down with Suda51 to discuss the main inspiration behind the game’s wacky story, how swordplay and gunplay will be balanced, the game’s level design, and more. You can find our chat below.
NOTE: The interview was conducted via an interpreter and has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: Romeo is a Dead Man has been called an “ultra‑violent science‑fiction action game.” You are no stranger to gore, but what has inspired you to bring it to a sci-fi setting?
A: When I want to make a new game, I always think: “What can I do to make people get interested?” For Romeo is a Dead Man, when I was thinking about the game’s introduction and how to make it interesting, I thought of Back to the Future, and the relationship between Marty McFly and Doc Emmett Brown. The relationship between Romeo and his grandfather Benjamin mirrors their relationship, but with a twist.
I wondered, what would have happened if Marty had died at the start of Back to the Future? I imagined Doc would try to save him — by traveling into the future. That idea inspired the introduction for Romeo is a Dead Man. After this, I started thinking about how things would go on, and the whole game concept grew from this.
Q: Romeo Stargazer is a unique protagonist, an FBI agent tracking criminals across space-time. What made you choose an FBI agent as your main character? What does his background bring to the experience?
A: In the world of Romeo is a Dead Man, criminals travel between different time periods and parts of the universe, ignoring the laws of space-time to commit all sorts of crimes. If there are space-time criminals and fugitives, there would be space-time police too. And what would these guys be?
Being a massive fan of TV series by Dick Wolf (Law & Order, FBI franchise), the FBI came to mind, but how could FBI agents become space-time agents? With this question in mind, I came up with the background setting. J. Edgar Hoover, the first head of the FBI, discovers that there are space-time fugitives. He then somehow travels to the past to create this space-time division within the FBI, traveling through space-time to bring these criminals in.
While this background setting isn’t in the game, this is how I decided to make Romeo an FBI space-time agent. For the rest of the game, I tried imagining how would a show based on this premise be, and went on from there.
Q: Romeo being a dead man is the central hook of the story, but has his peculiar status influenced the experience beyond just the story?
A: Romeo’s status as a dead man has influenced combat, for the most part. When he first gets killed at the start of the game and his grandfather Benjamin puts the helmet on him, Romeo is not only saved, but becomes a “hyperfied” human, elevating from being just another dead man to The Dead Man. This also allows him to use all the different weapons and skills he has in the game, much more efficiently than a regular human ever could.
Q: Speaking about weapons, playing the demo, I couldn’t help but notice in this small slice of the game how short-range melee weapons seem to be favored over gunplay, which felt effective mostly against flying, hard-to-reach enemies. How is the full game balanced, in this regard? Will the player be able to use any weapon type and still succeed?
A: That’s a pretty sharp observation. In general, the player is free to use whatever weapon they want, so both melee and ranged weapons can get the job done, but depending on the enemy type, you may want to prefer one type over the other.
However, some bigger enemies and bosses require the player to use both. These enemies have weak points that are difficult to reach with a melee weapon, so the player has to use guns to hit them, and then close in with short range weapons once the opportunity arises. In many ways, the combat experience is built like a loop where you cycle between weapons, and build up resources to use skills.
Generally, Romeo is a Dead Man leans a bit more towards close-up melee fighting, but aside from specific cases, the player can use whatever they find more comfortable to use. It was a consciuous game design from the very beginning.
Q: From the demo, I noticed the stage felt pretty big, but it was still a closed-off stage. So is the entire game this linear?
A: It’s completely linear. Maps can get big, but there’s no open-world progression whatsoever. We did try an open-world approach, but we got rid of that pretty early on in the development process.
Q: Although the game does feel different, I couldn’t help but notice a certain similarity to the No More Heroes. Besides the linearity of Romeo is A Dead Man versus the open-world approach of Travis Touchdown’s adventures, what would you say is the most prominent feature that differentiates the games?
A: Besides the different progression, I’d say the setting is the biggest difference. In Romeo is a Dead Man, the keyword is space.
Q: Romeo is a Dead Man is powered by Unreal Engine 5 like a good number of modern games. Is there anything the engine allowed you to do that couldn’t have been done before? Anything that the engine made easier to accomplish.
A: There are a lot of things for sure, but I really can’t get into specifics. The technical team would be able to provide deeper information on this, but I’m sure there are a lot of things that the engine made it easier to do.
Q: Romeo is a Dead Man is your first IP in a very long time, and you are launching a brand new game in a market where most developers rely on established series. Why did you decide to do so? Do you feel launching a new IP nowadays is more challenging than in the past?
A: The proliferation of sequels and remakes isn’t just seen in games but also in movies. Personally, I think this marks the current age, but it won’t be like this forever. As time goes on, things will go back to the way they were before, when developers were more interested in creating new games than sequels or remakes.
As a developer, me and Grasshopper, we like creating new original games and working on the series we have done in the past in equal measure. There’s a chance we will develop a sequel to any of our series at some point. But we will also continue making new and original games as well.
I personally don’t think too much about making a new game or a new entry in our series. I just want to make the kind of games we want to make, regardless if a specific time favors sequels and remakes or new games. This is something that tends to change over time, and doesn’t influence what we do too much.
Thank you for your time!
With its blend of time-bending chaos, quirky humor, and looped combat that rewards both melee and ranged play, Romeo is a Dead Man promises to be a signature Suda51 experience – unpredictable, stylish, and unlike anything else in the action genre today. Players can expect plenty of surprises when it launches in 2026 on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S.