Grasshopper Manufacture’s latest action title Romeo Is a Dead Man released to strong reception on February 11. With a “Very Positive” rating on Steam, players are calling it another classic “Suda51 game,” placing it alongside previous studio hits like No More Heroes and Killer7. But what actually makes a “Suda game”?
Ironically, the man himself doesn’t seem to have the answer. In a February 2026 interview with Famitsu, the head of the studio, and director and producer behind Romeo Is a Dead Man, Goichi Suda (Suda51), admitted that he’s just as much in the dark as everyone else about the perception surrounding his own games.
“Honestly, I have no idea,” Suda replied, laughing, when asked about what he thinks defines a so-called Suda game. “I think it’s precisely because our long-time veterans are involved in development that we’re able to build Suda-esque games.” He also added that among his dev team at GhM, there are some who are act as “Suda-game fundamentalists,” and are always there to point out when something doesn’t have enough Suda-ness in it.
This collaborative approach drove key gameplay changes when it comes to Romeo Is a Dead Man, such as the addition of gun combat at the programmers’ request, which was a shift from the studio’s typical close-combat style in previous games. These discussions between the team members also resulted in the creation of Rotters, a more original and varied enemy type than the standard zombies they’d originally envisioned for the game.
Although Grasshopper is now owned by NetEase Games, Suda says the partnership has not limited his and his team’s creativity. “The reason they approached us was rooted in their desire to see us continuously release unique, original titles into the world. We’ve focused our efforts to make that happen.” NetEase’s Art Design Center (ADC) also assisted with technical tasks like building large-scale environments and even entire backgrounds for one of the stages.
While Grasshopper could possibly respond to fan requests regarding a sequel to Romeo Is a Dead Man or DLC, the studio still wants to create another original title and, given the team’s current growth, try developing a licensed game. Noting that “Working with pre-existing material is a completely different experience from creating an original title,” Suda hopes to take “another step toward maturing the team by developing something within certain constrains.”
Romeo Is a Dead Man is currently available for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC (Steam).
Related: Romeo is a Dead Man uses no generative AI whatsoever, Suda51 assures
