Throughout Gamescom 2025 final week in Cologne, Germany, I went hands-on with No Extra Heroes developer Grasshopper Manufacture’s upcoming motion sport, Romeo Is A Useless Man, and got here away with extra questions than solutions (however in one of the simplest ways potential). Fortuitously, I instantly transitioned from my hands-on preview to a sofa, the place I sat throughout from the sport’s director, Goichi Suda AKA Suda51, and his interpreter, and requested him the brand new questions I had.
However first, let me set the scene of my demo: earlier than gameplay started, I watched a fast intro you have seemingly seen within the sport’s reveal trailer that exhibits Romeo die, then be resurrected and changed into an area cop/FBI agent/skilled mercenary/cyborg hybrid. From right here, I used to be dropped at a display screen with three impeccably designed sweets. I forgot the identify of the primary chocolate (and sadly did not write it down), nevertheless it represented the sport’s straightforward mode; the orange chocolate I selected represented regular, and the ginger-infused chocolate was the sport’s arduous mode. I used to be then thrust proper into the motion.
I am not fairly positive the place I used to be, nevertheless it was harking back to a junk yard; grey, foggy, and swarmed with zombies and different monstrous creatures Romeo wanted to kill. Doing so was a blast, because of a fight system that feels quick, fluid, and visceral, with a big collection of weaponry to make use of. I used a machine gun, a pistol, a grasshopper-shaped rocket launcher, and a fusion rifle, of kinds, in addition to a katana-like sword, a colossal two-handed sword, and extra. All of them are simply accessible with a combo of buttons tied to the d-pad. I like that every gun has a special really feel, and that every melee weapon options its personal moveset, all within the identify of dismembering and beheading hordes of zombies and every little thing else that stands in the best way of Romeo.
Romeo Is A Useless Man was, by far, the bloodiest demo I noticed throughout Gamescom, and I previewed greater than two dozen video games, together with Resident Evil Requiem. Regardless of the gallons and gallons of blood, although, it comes off comedically fairly than horrifically, because of the sport’s visible aptitude.
After I mowed down sufficient enemies on this junkyard-like space, I warped into our on-line world, one other visually distinct a part of the sport with its personal narrative ties. There was a boss on the finish of this space, however I wasn’t in a position to attain it as my time to interview Suda51 had arrived. Earlier than diving into what I discovered from my interview, I am going to shut out my preview ideas right here by saying I proceed to develop more and more intrigued by what the hell Romeo Is A Useless Man is doing every time I see and play it. It is arduous to elucidate what this sport is, however that is a part of its attraction, and I can not wait to learn the way all its seemingly disparate items join when it launches subsequent yr.
Discussing Romeo Is A Useless Man And Grasshopper Manufacture With Suda51
Recreation Informer’s Wesley LeBlanc: There’s a lot occurring in Romeo Is A Useless Man, however from a broad strategy, what are the inspirations behind the sport?
Suda51: You’ll have seen enjoying a little bit of the sport, however just a few of the primary influences and inspirations for the sport are Again to the Future and Rick and Morty, which itself was impressed by Again to the Future. We needed to do one thing with house time and time journey, and the entire thing began off with seeking to these two properties.
There are such a lot of distinct artwork kinds in Romeo Is A Useless Man. What are a number of the inspirations behind that?
So far as the artwork and visible fashion go, that facet of the sport did not have a lot to do with the [Back to the Future and Rick and Morty] influences. The place that got here from was mainly, I needed to ensure all of the workers members engaged on the sport had been in a position to do their greatest and what they’re greatest at.
For the artwork, if we’ve one workers member good at Western-style comedian e book artwork, I might say, “I would like you to attract this scene, it’d look actually nice together with your fashion.” Anyone else is de facto good at a special fashion, and I might consider a scene for that particular person specifically to work on. It was about discovering a correct rhythm for every scene, matching the content material of the scene and what the characters are doing, and the way it might be portrayed greatest.
I attempt to match up all of the members of the workers to a scene, allow them to do the perfect at what they do, and jamming all of it collectively.
That is a really totally different director strategy from what I hear about studios within the West. What’s your philosophy behind that directorial fashion and letting individuals do issues in their very own imaginative and prescient?
It is fairly easy, actually. So far as my philosophy goes, I would like it to be enjoyable. We need to make enjoyable video games that individuals like enjoying, and we wish every little thing about sport growth to be enjoyable, too. In sport growth, there’s quite a lot of heavy s*** to cope with, arduous occasions to cope with, so I needed not simply enjoying the sport to be enjoyable, however the growth and creation of it to be as enjoyable as potential, too.
I lay out my concepts in conferences, and we’d have some planning, however I let individuals from any division speak, tweak variations of concepts, and create a collaborative course of. Anybody can cross out concepts, mix one thing to make new concepts, or take separate concepts and switch them into various things. We attempt to make it as enjoyable as potential, and I would like everybody to have as a lot enjoyable as they’ll creating the sport. We wish them to know their opinions are heard and revered.
Romeo Is A Useless Man director Suda51 and editor Wesley LeBlanc at Gamescom 2025
How do you think about sport steadiness with that strategy?
A variety of sport builders do not like pondering like this, as a result of it would “break the steadiness of the sport” if there are too many concepts. I do not care about that personally; I would like the sport to be enjoyable and attention-grabbing. So far as steadiness goes, I am going to maintain that ultimately. You probably have a good suggestion, let everyone know, and ultimately, I am going to be certain that every little thing is as balanced as potential.
I believe the workforce we have put collectively, they belief me to maintain that steadiness, which is why they be happy to place out totally different concepts they’ve. They will belief in me. Stability might be one of many issues I am greatest at as a sport developer – taking all these concepts which may not appear associated, and balancing them.
Are you able to speak to me in regards to the course of behind the sport’s fight design?
So far as the fight goes, that was really primarily as much as certainly one of our lead programmers, Toru Hironaka, who has been at Grasshopper for years. I type of left the fight and common motion as much as him as a result of I do know he is aware of what he is doing.
From the start, I knew there have been going to be gun-type weapons and sword-type weapons, and I needed to make each interesting. I knew we needed to make them enjoyable to make use of and as attention-grabbing as every other weapon, so I talked with Hironaka and stated, ‘These are the methods and motion I would like, do what you do greatest.” I had different workers members give enter, too.
So far as the motion stuff goes, it is primarily Hironaka main, however as an entire, [Romeo Is A Dead Man] got here collectively the best way it did by means of the facility of teamwork. It is by no means only one man doing every little thing by himself.
The time between your final launch and Romeo Is A Useless Man [due out in 2026] is the longest in growth historical past at Grasshopper Manufacture. Why?
The principle purpose it took so lengthy is timing, mainly. For instance, proper round after we began on Romeo Is A Useless Man, it was proper in regards to the time we left GungHo Leisure and joined NetEase, and we elevated workers members, and it took them time to get used to how we do issues and vice versa. Additionally, up by means of No Extra Heroes III, we labored on Unreal Engine 4, however Romeo Is A Useless Man is being developed in Unreal Engine 5, so our first yr growing [Romeo Is A Dead Man], it was individuals studying Unreal Engine 5, studying the right way to work with one another, studying how the corporate works, and everybody getting used to one another and every little thing.
That is the largest purpose it took so lengthy. It is not essentially that the sport is large, and it wasn’t the worst potential timing; every little thing simply occurred on the time limit that will end in us taking probably the most time to get the sport accomplished.
Romeo Is A Useless Man launches someday subsequent yr on PlayStation 5, Xbox Collection X/S, and PC.
