Preview: Romeo Is A Dead Man Makes Me Feel Alive

In a world of sequels and games that feel like cash grabs just to get butts in seats, titles that dare to try something different always feel like a much-needed breath of fresh air. 2025 saw a wide swath of creative indies get a ton of well-deserved spotlight, which points to the fact that players are craving games that make them feel something different and unique.

For anyone unaware of their previous body of work, Suda51 has been flying the freak flag for decades at this point. Whenever a new Suda51 experience pops up, you should take notice, whether or not it ends up being a game that resonates with you.

Romeo Is A Dead Man is the next insane venture into the Suda51 catalog, and I've been able to go hands on with it for a couple of hours before its impending release on February 11, 2026. It's a game that's a bit hard to fully describe in a way that appropriately conveys just how weird, creative, and refreshing Romeo seems to be in the modern gaming landscape, but I'm going to give it my best shot. Let's dig in.

Suda51 to the Extreme

An auteur-type creator, Suda51 has crafted dozens of gaming experiences at this point. Truth be told, they aren't for everyone, and most often veer into a category that feels more avant-garde than anything else we get from high-profile minds in video games. Essentially by definition, that means that Suda51's games won't hit for everyone, but for those that they work for, they're more memorable than anything else out there.

To be completely honest, I've not personally played a Suda51 game that hooked me, but that doesn't mean I don't respect the heck out of someone that's willing to be different and get as weird as possible with their titles. And still, I'm also here to tell you that after playing the first couple of sections of Romeo Is A Dead Man, I'm totally, completely in.

From the game's title screen, you can tell this is going to be a wild experience, as an ethereal soundtrack backbones imagery and visuals on the menu that immediately set the stage for the trippy, wacky experience that Romeo promises to be. Select "begin game," and you're immediately whisked into a time-traveling, campy, stylish, bloody, sci-fi/zombie adventure that is sure to be unlike anything you've played before.

The colors are vibrant, the blood sprays everywhere, the soundtrack swaps between all genres, the visual style changes constantly, and the perfectly on-the-nose, cheesy in all the best ways writing and story shine through in an instant. At its core, Romeo is about a time-traveling space FBI agent who travels across the universe to extinguish "Singlularities" with the promise of promotion within the FBI for a job well done.

But there's also a love story with his aptly named Juliet, who he encounters deviant variants of across time and galaxies that need to be dealt with appropriately (by taking them out, of course). It's zany and weird, like you'd expect from Suda51 at this point if you know the vibe. Oh, and then there's the fact that Romeo is, in fact, a Dead Man, kept alive by his time-traveling grandfather injecting him with a life-saving serum that turns him into a Good Guy zombie with a space helmet, laser sword, and laser gun. Normal stuff, you know?

Said grandfather also "dies" in the intro of the game for his efforts, but is reincarnated as a talking, moving patch on the back of Romeo's leather jacket, allowing him to continue teaching him in the ways of a space FBI agent along the way. I have to imagine the story gets even more insane after the sections I've seen, and I'm totally here for it.

Hack and Slash and Souls

From a gameplay perspective, Romeo Is A Dead Man seems to be pulling from several influences while combining everything into a fully unique combat experience. In many ways, it's kind of a Soulslike, but you also shouldn't let that steer you away if you happen to have any bad history with the genre.

There are Space-Time Pharmacies dotted around the map, which serve as checkpoints/bonfires to refill your version of an Estus Flask at the penalty of respawning all previously defeated enemies. There's a dash to dodge, which eventually turns into a full-on dodge-roll once you unlock it early on. You'll lock on to enemies and combo them with light and heavy melee attacks until they're all left in a pool of blood.

While this all sounds and sometimes feels Soulsy, Romeo also plays at a pace and frantic-ness that feels akin to a DMC, or whatever other high-octane, speedy action game you want to reference. It's fluid, it's chaotic, it's supported by things like crazy special moves and ally zombies you can summon, and truly is a blast consistently as you carve through hordes of foes.

I'm not sure that I've played an action game that feels so Soulslike while also feeling so hack-and-slash, and the pairing works beautifully overall. There are moments where mowing down a horde can feel a bit mindless, but as more enemy types are introduced, your flow and most efficient moves are changed up on the fly more than enough to keep things feeling interesting.

In my preview, I also got to take on two boss fights, which were both ridiculously grotesque, hulking, and fun to learn how to take down in order to come out victorious with the reward of an insanely graphic final killshot cutscene. Both bosses were made easier by being able to target a couple of weakspots with my laser pistol, but still had creative movesets and arenas that made them incredibly fun to figure out and defeat.

Bottom line, Romeo Is A Dead Man has a thrilling, addictive gameplay loop, and I'm excited to see how the enemy types, available weapons, and new bosses continue to evolve the experience every step of the way.

Full of Creativity and Innovation

Honestly, the crazy combat of Romeo Is A Dead Man probably could've been enough, but there is also a simply ridiculous amount of creative and unique features to the game in addition. For starters, the game's difficulty is chosen by selecting from a box of chocolates. Each piece of chocolate represents a different difficulty level and comes complete with tasting notes for your selection. Sure.

Between missions, you'll spend time on your FBI spaceship, the Last Night, which transforms the game into a pixel-art, isometric experience that looks like a SEGA Genesis Star Trek game in all the best ways. Here, you'll find example after example of more and more wacky, incredible ways that Romeo Is A Dead Man is flipping itself on its head.

Scanning for new planets to travel to occurs by playing a version of Pong. Your skill tree is a Pac-Man-style mini-game. You can perform a curry making mini-game with your mom to cook buff items for your adventures. Your sister shows you how to plant zombie brains in the ground that can be farmed and grown into friendly zombies to summon in combat. None of it makes sense in all the best ways.

The best part is that I'm sure I still haven't even seen all the crazy, unique gameplay mechanics that Romeo Is A Dead Man has in store for me, and that's a very exciting thing to consider. The game is simply jam-packed with surprises, and I don't expect any subsequent reveals in the full game to be any less captivating.

Sure, while the core combat crux of Romeo can be boiled down to Souls meets Hack-and-Slash, everything else in the game is so wholly unique that it really feels unlike anything else I've ever personally experienced. For a video game to create that vibe in 2026 seems like a true achievement.

Counting Down the Days

As much as I hope this preview has helped shed some light on what players can expect from Romeo Is A Dead Man when it releases next month, the truth is that words really can't do the game justice. It's one of those games that you'll simply have to experience for yourself in order to truly grasp just how cool it really is.

Romeo Is a Dead Man is slated to release on February 11, 2026 for PC, PS5, and Xbox. Personally, after playing this preview of the game, I'm so happy that the full release is only a month away. I really can't wait to get my hands on more.

If you're finding yourself just as interested in Romeo Is A Dead Man as I now am, you can follow along at the game's official website or on Steam for any future updates as the release date rolls closer.

2025 was full of bangers, and I'm excited that 2026 seems like it's about to get off to an amazing start in its own right with Romeo Is A Dead Man. Even if this wasn't a title I had particularly high on my list going into the year, I'm personally sold after this preview.