Keiichiro Toyama is a name that horror games fans know rather well, having directed and written the very first entry in the Silent Hill series, but that isn’t the only game the Japanese developer created, as he was also the man behind Sony’s Siren series. Moving away from horror games, Toyama-san created and directed the Gravity Rush series, which, surprisingly enough, had the same impact on the soon-to-be-released Slitterhead as the horror games the legendary game director created before it.
During Gamescom 2024, we had the chance to talk with Toyama-san about his next game, the unique mechanics that set it apart from similar titles, and his feelings regarding the return of the Silent Hill series. You can find the full Q&A session below. Enjoy!
The Q&A session was conducted via an interpreter and has been edited for clarity.
Where does the name Slitterhead come from?
The project was, in many ways, going back to my roots, so I wanted to keep the SH initials while having a new name. As such, I worked with English-speaking staff to come up with the Slitterhead name.
Possession mechanics seem to be central to the experience. How did they come about?
The possession mechanics in Slitterhead are the modern reconstruction of one of the mechanics seen in Siren. In that game, there was a mechanic called sight jacking, which allows the player to borrow someone else’s sight. In Slitterhead, we went further with this concept, allowing the player not just to borrow someone’s sight but their entire bodies, letting them move around while controlling these NPCs. So the possession mechanics in the game are effectively an evolution of similar mechanics seen in Siren.
Slitterhead has deeper combat mechanics than other horror games. Why did you go in this direction?
I am aware of how much survival horror fans are passionate about the genre, but I wanted to offer something different from past games. In this regard, the Seinen manga genre has had a big influence on Slitterhead. The genre combines elements such as action, battle, horror, and dark themes well and is quite popular with young players. I felt the combination of these elements would be a better way to introduce the game to a young audience and people who play action games. It was also a combination of elements that I wanted to do for a while.
In horror games, the player is usually powerless against everything they have to face, which contributes to the atmosphere a lot, but in Slitterhead, you can fight these horrors rather effectively. What has been done to preserve the “horror” feel while also offering these deeper combat mechanics?
The horror elements are preserved in Slitterhead mostly by the narrative elements of the game, with a sense and fear of the unknown that is prevalent throughout the story that players will hopefully find and appreciate.
Slitterhead features multiple characters with different skills. How does the game handle this so that it is not disorienting for players?
We have been very precise in the development of different movesets and animations, making sure not to change the “rhythm” between different movesets. It was a lot of hard work.
At the beginning of the game, you possess a dog. Are there other non-combat possessions?
To be honest, I have focused mostly on the human aspect of the possession mechanics. I have found the idea of possessing the dog fun, and that won’t be the only time you will see him, but I haven’t focused on the aspect of possessing anything other than human NPCs.
That’s not to say that Slitterhead won’t offer any variety. Throughout the game, the player will be able to unlock new and rarer possessions, and all come with different skill sets and different moves. After the beginning of the game, players will be able to take two possession rarities to a mission, and I feel picking the best ones for the mission will be an entertaining part of the experience.
Slitterhead features multiple difficulty settings. What’s the difference between them?
The difficulty settings influence the difficulty of combat. Higher difficulties not only increase the enemy’s parameters compared to lower settings but also change how often they attack and use certain special moves. The highest difficulty, Nightmare, will be quite challenging and will require players to master all of the game’s mechanics. I myself haven’t completed the game at this setting. (laughs). Normal difficulty, on the other hand, will be more approachable. Its challenge level is far from being close to that of certain popular games where the player constantly dies.
The game is also releasing on PlayStation 4. Why? And did launching on a previous-generation console limit the project in any way?
We wanted to have as many players as possible to play Slitterhead, and this is why we are releasing the game on PlayStation 4. At the same time, this helped us keep the PC system requirements low, so even those players with middle-range systems can easily enjoy the game. Being the first game from Bokeh Game Studio, we really want as many players as possible to play Slitterhead, and I feel we made the correct decision, in this regard.
Silent Hill series composer Akira Yamaoka has created the Slitterhead soundtrack. How did this collaboration come about? How has his work improved the experience?
Having worked together on the original Silent Hill, Yamaoka-san and I have discussed working together over the years, and eventually going indie with my new studio made it a lot easier for this collaboration to happen. His works basically carried the development in many ways: the songs and the audio he implemented in certain areas made the design even better, giving the level designers more freedom with their choices. It was a very good collaboration.
Speaking about Silent Hill, the series is finally coming back after some years with multiple games after a long hiatus. How do you feel about having created something so iconic and its return?
In the beginning, Silent Hill was a small project compared to others in the works at the same time, and not many people, even at Konami, knew about it. A very young team worked on it, and when it was released, we were all surprised by how good it turned out to be. Konami was surprised as well by the reactions and the fan base that was created around it since they didn’t think it would be so influential. Even though I only worked on the first game, I am happy to see it back. It was the first game I directed, and it has taught me many lessons in game development. And I’m thankful to see that the franchise continues to be popular nowadays.
Thanks for your time!
