Silent Hill and Siren director Keiichiro Toyama explains why he went for a gritty, urban cyberpunk setting in upcoming Slitterhead 

Keiichiro Toyama, known as the creator of Silent Hill, Siren and Gravity Rush, recently gave more insight into why he ended up creating a gritty, urban cyberpunk setting for his upcoming game Slitterhead, and the inspirations behind this idea. 

Scheduled for a multiplatform release on November 8, Slitterhead is a 3D action game by Bokeh Studios. You play as Hyoki, a disembodied entity who can possess humans and other creatures in order to fight brain-destroying parasites called Slitterheads. The game’s Possession system will be a modern take on Siren’s sightjacking gameplay. 

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Although the images and footage from the game suggest it is a horror title, the developers seem uncomfortable with Slitterhead being defined in such a clear cut way.  It seems that the game will try to deliver a unique experience that players have yet to encounter before- and one key part of this will be Slitterhead’s setting. 

In a short documentary released on YouTube on September 18, 2024, Toyama talks about the long-held fascination that inspired him to create Slitterhead’s Kowlong- namely Kowloon Walled City, the real-life densely populated area that used to exist in Hong Kong. Although it was demolished in the 1990s, the documentary sees Toyama travel to Hong Kong to seek out traces of this gritty urban aesthetic- which he feels has had a key influence on Japanese cyberpunk works like Ghost in the Shell and Japanese 1990s horror game Kowloon’s Gate.  

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“What attracts me is the duality,” Toyama explains, citing how such urban landscapes boast bright neon facades but hide a more chaotic and dangerous side in their alleys and narrow streets. “I found that contrast to be really special and interesting.” 

Toyama expresses regret that he was not able to travel outside Japan until the early 2000s- when Kowloon Walled City was already history. “I felt sad that I couldn’t witness the chaotic atmosphere of the 1990s, so I thought it could be interesting to replicate this in a game.” 

As well as his own travels, Toyama cites film as an inspiration, name checking Hong Kong directors like Wong Kar Wai, who is known for films like 1994’s Chungking Express. The evocative film is set in the maze-like urban corridors of Hong Kong’s Chunking Mansions, which Toyama also snaps some photos of in this documentary.  

Taking photos on his travels has another purpose- to immortalize the changing landscape. “I truly feel an immense sadness towards things that fade away,” Toyama comments, adding that this makes him feel lucky when he gets to experience them. This theme of loss can be seen in almost all of Toyama’s games so far- from the fog-laden and forgotten buildings and streets of Silent Hill, to the abandoned Japanese village in Siren. All these settings dwell on a past that will never return.  

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Although he still seems to enjoy travelling today, Toyama also misses how travel was different before smartphones and easy access to Google Maps, mentioning how you could truly get lost in an unfamiliar place. “You could still feel that excitement and slight insecurity of visiting a place you have never been to before” Toyama explains. 

Hopefully, players will feel that same sense of exhilaration when they plunge into Slitterhead’s chaotic and gritty streets for the first time. 

Slitterhead is scheduled to be released on November 8 for the PC (Steam/Epic Games Store), PS5/PS4 and Xbox Series X|S.