Although it’s undeniably a horror game,Slitterheadplays a lot more like an action RPG, in which players live or die by the strength of their party members. There’s a good reason for all that bloodshed:Slitterheadis the work of multiple Team Silent alumni, including series creator Keiichiro Toyama and longtime sound designer Akira Yamaoka. Even so,Slitterheadhas a lot more in common with Toyama’s later works,with clear shades ofSirenandGravity Rushcoming through in its gameplay.
To that end, most of what players will be doing inSlitterheadinvolves hopping from body to body, possessing different people and using their unique abilities to solve puzzles and fight grotesque enemies. When it comes to fighting,no one’s better than its eight Rarities, extra-special humans with strong wills who are able to summon bloody weapons in battle, maintaining a shred of their free will even when possessed by Hyoki. As players recruit more of them, they’re able to choose which ones come along on certain missions. Here’s how they compare.
The Fairy’s Friend
First introduced as the Mysterious Old Lady, Betty - full name Beatrice Alice Doherty - has a familiar sense of style that hearkens back to Hong Kong’s colonial past. Unlike all the other Rarities, she can’t be recruited by simply possessing her once;players must travel throughout the game, finding Betty and having cryptic conversations with her across six different levels before she becomes available.
Slitterhead Review: The Bloody And The Bizarre
With the involvement of several Silent Hill alumni, Slitterhead has some great ideas and original features that don’t always come together.
In battle,Betty can hold her own, but not much more. Her first ability, Indomitable, simply buffs her own defense. Her second, Lunatic, can be used to cause a host to attack continuously. This is just a worse version of Anita’s Mind Hack, and since it constantly drains Betty’s own HP, is simply too risky. Other than that, she can summon some so-so area of effect attacks. She does have a fairly interesting storyline, but it doesn’t have enough time to develop by the time she’s recruited.
7Edo Needs Buffs To Keep Up
Catching Hands
For most,Edo will be the first optional Rarity they recruitinSlitterhead. Edo sleeps on the backstreets of Kowlong, shielded from the neon lights by the suffocating high rises and the ever-growing piles of garbage. He’s recruited when the player character saves him from a monster that corners him in an alley. A former ward of Yin Yue’s cult, he serves as the rest of the party’s in to that part of the underworld, allowing them to investigate Yin Yue’s apparent obsession with Slitterheads.
Each rarity’s Blood Weapon manifests itself in a form that resembles an object that’s important to the user, or a central facet of their personality. Edo’s manifests as a pair of boxing gloves because he’s a former boxing champion.
Edo mostly uses his fists in battle, which means thathe has an incredibly short range. He can deal quite a bit of damage when he gets close, but his attacks are also slow, which means the player has to pay extra attention toSlitterhead’s already-tight combat timing. He can use an auto-deflect ability, as well as Burning Edge to improve his attacks, but it comes at the unfortunate cost of Blood Weapon durability. His Angel Step ability is basically just an improved dodge that can be chained into a weapon attack, which isn’t too useful, either.
6But So Does Tri
With Some Added Abilities
Also recruited during Night Owl’s investigation of the cult, Tri is a housekeeper with a skill set quite similar to Edo’s. She also uses hand-to-hand combat, wielding blood weapons that resemble the oven mitts she uses in her day-to-day life. She’s subject to the same short attack range and a slightly higher attack speed, but can improve her attacks with Bloody Knuckles, an ability that increases her melee attack damage and can cause enemies to bleed.
What Tri does have over Edo, though, isa pretty solid arsenal of other abilities. Her Sentry Thorns summons a spire that draws enemy attention - useful for getting an advantage when there aren’t many other possession targets around. Her final ability, Crimson Chains, attaches to an enemy and drains their HP, while also slowing their movement for the duration. She’s far from the best playable character inSlitterhead, but she’s not bad by any means.
5Doni Is Just Fine
Great For Chase Sequences
Up next is Doni, a student who gets caught up in the Slitterhead conspiracy by accident. Young and optimistic, Doni has a clear vision of the future he wants to live in, and hopes to study computer science in order to bring it about. He interrogates Night Owl’s intentions, needing to know that his allies have their heads in the right place. Wielding a spear modeled after a mechanical pencil,Doni’s primary ability is Fatal Lance, a ranged charge attack that has the longest rangeof any skill inSlitterhead. That makes it great for chase sequences.
Doni ’s other abilities include Curse Resist, which nullifies any negative effects on the user. This comes in handy during late-game fights, in which debuffs are often a major factor. Revenge Guard allows him to store up incoming damage and release it as a shockwave. Overall, with long range and a quick attack pattern,Doni’s not bad, but there are better characters out there.
4Anita Does One Thing Well
Hypnosis = Healing
Although initially teased as a Slitterhead,Anita actually later becomes a player character, and is plenty useful for it. She’s part of a crime ring that Slitterheads are secretly in control of, and helps the rest of the crew get inside its headquarters. Anita uses a staff in battle, which gives her fantastic range and speed. Her main pair of abilities are Devil’s Scent and Mind Hack; the former summons up to five new civilians to the field of battle, and the latter causes them to attack any and all nearby enemies.
InSlitterhead,possessing new bodies is basically equivalent to healing, as the player’s total pool of health is represented by all possession targets' HP combined. Swapping bodies and drawing aggro can either give a Rarity the opportunity to use more traditional healing methods, or later, allow them to regenerate HP automatically with the Auto-Heal ability. Thus, Anita’s role is effectively to create distractions that allow her allies to rest and heal up, making her an important ally in certain battles.
3Alex Is Risky But Rewarding
Incurring Blood Debts
A doctor and a Slitterhead hunter even before Night Owl came along, Alex cruises the streets of Kowlong on his motorcycle, taking out as many of the mutated monsters as he can with the aid of his trusty shotgun. He sees Night Owl’s possession powers as a means to an end, and uses them liberally, transforming his scalpel into a Blood Weapon that pairs speed with strength. His main skill allows him to infuse his shotgun with otherworldly power, firing a charged Bloody Blast over a wide range.
At a certain point in the game, certain story elements cause Alex to become unavailable for the next few missions. He’ll eventually become playable again, though.
Alex can also use Blood Well to draw a large group of enemies inward, lining up the perfect shot. His final ability, Time Bomb, causes the current possession target to become…well, a ticking time bomb, set to explode after five seconds and deal damage to anything in range. The sole issue is thateach of Alex’s abilities incurs a very high Blood cost, which means his HP can run down rather quickly if the player isn’t careful. He’s best paired with a healer like Anita or Julee to make the most of his explosive skills.
2Julee Is An All-Rounder
Nailed It
The star of much ofSlitterhead’s marketing, Julee is an aspiring actor who works at a grocery store, definitely partly inspired by the character Faye fromChungking Express.Julee is the first Rarity Night Owl possesses, her Blood Weapon manifesting itself as an extension of her red-painted nails. This gives her great range and speed; she leaps into battle, slashing enemies with a flurry of claws. Ability-wise, she has it all, starting with a powerful charge attack called Sonic Claws.
Julee also has a great ability for chase sequences called Blood Ripper, which simply fires a series of throwing knives at its target.She’s also the only character to have a pure healing skill, called Revive All, which heals her and revives anyone in the vicinity who needs it. This makes her an excellent companion for more damage-focused characters, but she can also hold her own when she needs to.
1Blake Is The Best Rarity In Slitterhead
Raw Power
By simple attack power,Blake tops the list as the best Rarity inSlitterhead. A Kowlong cop, Blake makes it his mission to eliminate the Slitterhead threat to better protect its people. His Blood Weapon resembles the marlinspike he received during his navy service. It’s good on his own, but more importantly, Blake’s abilities allow him to summon a small arsenal of guns and explosive weapons. Bloody Gamble summons a revolver, which he can use to make continuous ranged attacks; however, each one has a (miniscule) risk of blowing up in his face.
Blake can also create landmines with Bloody Mine, which will then explode when enemies wander nearby. He’s also the only Rarity who can possess SPEU officers, increasing the overall possession targets available in some battles. Blake’s most important ability, though, is Bloody Shot.This summons a minigun which fires a rapid burst of bulletsat enemies, dealing tons of damage over time. It does consistently drain his blood meter, but when paired with a decent healer like Julee, he’ll be fine.
Choosing the best character is only half the battle, though. Certain missions require players to use particular Rarities as their primary characters, but they can usually bring along their choice of companion. As a result, it’s important to test out all their abilities, and understand how they work together, in order to build the perfect party inSlitterhead.
Slitterhead
In the neon-lit chaos of Kowlong, players embody Hyoki, a formless entity on a mission to eradicate the monstrous Slitterheads—creatures that disguise themselves as humans. Utilizing possession-based mechanics, Hyoki infiltrates human society, rapidly switching hosts to navigate the city and combat threats.
