Slitterhead

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A spirit with no body hunts brain-eating monsters through a neon city.

Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox
Stores: Steam
Price: Paid
Rated: Mostly Positive on Steam (78% of 1,213 reviews); 3.9 of 5 from 2,700 ratings on the US PlayStation Store
Players: 1
Controls: Controller recommended (full controller support on Steam); keyboard and mouse also work
Made by: Bokeh Game Studio
Released: 2024

Get it on Steam PlayStation Store (PS5, PS4)Xbox (Series X|S)Bokeh Game Studio

What frightens Monsters called Slitterheads disguise themselves as people in the cluttered, neon-lit city of Kowlong and devour human brains; when found they split open into grotesque forms, and you fight them by possessing passers-by and turning their blood into weapons.
Content: gore, violence, murder, suicide, sexual content, nudity.

Slitterhead is a third-person action horror game from Bokeh Game Studio, the studio led by Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama. You are Hyoki, a spirit with no memory and no body, who possesses the people of the city of Kowlong to hunt the Slitterheads, monsters that hide among humans and feed on their brains.

About Slitterhead

Slitterhead is the first game from Bokeh Game Studio, led and directed by Keiichiro Toyama, who created Silent Hill, with music by Akira Yamaoka, the series' composer. It was released in November 2024 on PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and Xbox Series X|S, published on Steam by Spike Chunsoft.

It is set in Kowlong, a dense, chaotic city of alleys, scaffolding and neon signs. You play the Hyoki, an entity with no memory and no physical form whose one purpose is to wipe out the Slitterheads, brain-devouring monsters that mimic people and hide in the crowds and the red light district.

Because Hyoki has no body, he takes one. You possess the people in the street, jump from host to host to cross the city at speed, slip through barriers and take on someone's identity to infiltrate dangerous organizations. Hosts are fragile, so in a fight you burn their life force and shape their blood into weapons, and when one is badly wounded you move on to the next. Special humans called Rarities sync more strongly with Hyoki and bring their own fighting styles and abilities.

The horror is in the monsters and the idea behind them: anyone on the street might be one, and the transformations are grotesque and bloody. It suits players who want action with a strange, grim story and a Silent Hill creator's eye for the uncanny, more than those who want to hide from something they cannot fight.

How to play Slitterhead

Start the story as Hyoki and learn to possess the people around you.
Jump between hosts to move through Kowlong, get past barriers and follow leads.
Find the Slitterheads hiding among people and fight them with weapons made from your host's blood.
Switch to a new host when the one you are in is badly hurt, and possess Rarities for stronger attacks and abilities.
Follow the story to uncover the mystery of Hyoki and the Slitterheads.

Screenshots

Slitterhead screenshot: a hooded figure in silhouette on a balcony looks out over Kowlong's glowing neon signs at night

Slitterhead screenshot: a man swings a blade of blood at a flayed red monster in a grimy concrete storeroom

Slitterhead screenshot: a girl in a red hoodie fights a towering green insect-like Slitterhead with long blood claws

Tips

Use a controller; the store recommends one.
Treat ordinary hosts as expendable in a fight, and keep the Rarities for when you need their abilities.
Try the free demo on PlayStation first; the store says its progress can be carried over to the full game.