Slitterhead review - The most interesting game of 2024

Slitterhead is a game with awkward combat, visuals that evoke a PS3 Yakuza game, and mandatory, recurring, barebones stealth sections. And yet, it’s also the most interesting game of the year. It feels like a genuine passion project from a team that has finally been given the greenlight to make something unique. There’s nothing like Slitterhead. It’s been described as a “modern survival horror” game, but other than a few limbs popping off, I don’t see it. Against all odds, Slitterhead is a character-driven detective story that just happens to feature semi-regular body horror. You play as a parasite that can jump from person to person, and you’re quickly hunted by Slitterheads – the titular monster of the game – which (s)literally burst from the heads of normal people. It’s an introduction that feels a bit too mysterious and directionless, but things start coming together when you meet your first Rarity, Julee. A Rarity is a person that stays conscious when the parasite – which Julee names Night Owl – takes p