As the upcoming debut from developer Bokeh Game Studio under the direction of Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, Slitterhead is set to be one of this year's most highly anticipated horror releases. With its blend of action elements alongside disturbing creature designs endemic to the survival horror genre, however, this title has subverted the expectations surrounding the work of its creator. Many similar titles have seen players taking on the role of a survivor struggling to make it through a nightmarish scenario. Rather, Slitterhead sees the player taking on the role of a disembodied spirit known as the "Hyoki" capable of claiming a multitude of victims for their own ends.

Toyama's experience with Silent Hill has no doubt informed his direction on Slitterhead, but later titles have also seemingly contributed their own elements. In terms of the possession system that the game is built around, the ability to see through different perspectives in Siren and the combat mechanics of Gravity Rush may have come together to form this novel idea in the survival horror space. Different abilities of various hosts can be utilized in dealing with the titular enemies of Slitterhead's fictional city setting, but there are also strict limitations regarding how far it can take players before they'll need to switch bodies.

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Slitterhead Might Be the Closest Thing to a Ghostwire: Tokyo 2

From what can be seen so far, Slitterhead's look and vibes strongly invoke those from 2022's psychological horror action title, Ghostwire: Tokyo.

Slitterhead's Possession System Takes the Premise of Siren to the Next Level

Evolving the Sightjacking Mechanic

The defining gameplay system of the difficult Siren horror games involves diving into the brains of other characters to see through their eyes, but players haven't ever been able to take full control. Slitterhead acts as an evolution of this idea, now requiring players to actively jump between bodies in order to progress through the world.

Hosts Feature Unique Combat Options

Possessing humans isn't just used for traversal, as Slitterhead is centered around combat first and foremost. Levels are set up with "main characters" who feature their own distinct movesets that can be more or less useful against the game's brain-eating enemies which are based on the Yegouzi creatures of Chinese folklore. The Yegouzi is said to be able to inhabit hosts similarly to the player, leading to a dynamic involving a mix of subtle investigation and intense action when the monster is eventually discovered.

Human Bodies Are Meant to Be Disposable in Slitterhead

The movesets available through different characters might be compelling enough to become favorites of some, though the creators of Slitterhead have designed the experience around incentivizing the sacrifice of usable bodies when the time is right. In an interview with IGN, producer Kazunobo Sato spoke about the mentality of players when it comes to maintaining a host versus moving on to the next:

"When playing with the same mindset as in other games, you tend to try to defeat the enemy using the same character. That’s why we make it clear during the tutorial that it’s OK to sacrifice bodies. It’s interesting to see players trying to protect the lives of the characters they control at first, and how they start to care less and less as they get used to the game."

Switching Hosts is Vital to Staying Alive

The hosts are normal humans who can have their life force manipulated into powerful blood-based weaponry, and discarding them once they are too damaged is the best path to self-preservation. Players can stay alive even while critically wounded by carefully choosing when to depart a human's body and enter a new one, potentially laying the foundation for one of the most innovative takes on blending genres when Slitterhead launches later this Fall and rounds out 2024's line-up of horror releases.

Slitterhead is in development.