After the release of Slitterhead last year, Keiichi Toyama, who has also previously created classic horror game franchises like Silent Hill and Siren, has already begun work on a new game. In an interview with Famitsu (courtesy of Automaton Media), Toyama spoke about a variety of topics before teasing his next game.
“I can’t reveal the exact details, but we have started working on our next title,” said Toyama. “In the beginning, we wanted this to be a studio where we could do many different things, like implementing the ideas of younger generations and even working on more light-hearted projects.”
“Once again, we have to pour in all our efforts as a studio and prove that we are up to the task. We are currently working towards that goal. However, we’re still in the beginning phase, so I believe we’ll be able to reveal more details [about the new game] somewhere in the future.”
As for Slitterhead, Toyama commented on it ultimately turning out to be a “cult favourite” despite not seeing too much mainstream success. He does note, however, that Bokeh Game Studio wasn’t chasing commercial success with the title. Rather, he was ultimately happy with how the game generally turned out.
“As for how long we’ll be able to continue, it becomes a difficult topic especially if we take my age into consideration,” he said. “However, I believe that moving forward, I also have to pass the baton to the next generation. As a studio, we’re still midway to reaching our goal.”
Slitterhead was released back in 2024 on PC, PS4, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. The game revolves around body horror aesthetics, melding together a scary atmosphere with high-impact action. Some of the creepy monsters that players would have to deal with were revealed in a trailer just a few months before the game’s launch.
Leading up to its launch, Toyama had previously revealed that Slitterhead was originally envisioned as an open world game. However, budget concerns led to the decision that ultimately turned the game into its mission-based structure that we got.
“One decision we made early in the game was that we originally wanted an open-world setting for the game, but it wasn’t reasonable with the budget,” he said. “That decision worked well, boxing in the missions and progressing through the storyline.”
For more details about Slitterhead, check out our review, where we gave it a score of 7 out of 10. We praised the core premise of the game as well as its core gameplay mechanics and fun combat, while criticising its rough storytelling, repetitive gameplay, and visual and technical hiccups.
If you are interested in checking Slitterhead out to see what makes it a “cult favourite” type of game, a demo for the horror title was released back in December. The free demo includes the first chapter of the game, as well as the ability for players to carry over their save data into the full game if they decide to pick it up.
