Key Takeaways
- Slitterhead’s body-hopping mechanic is an evolution of Forbidden Siren’s sightjacking.
- However, sightjacking also features in Keiichiro Toyama’s newest game as it was 20 years ago.
- During stealth missions, you can see through the eyes of certain enemies to more easily sneak past them.
Keiichiro Toyama’s newest game Slitterhead has a gripping hook — rather than fighting back against the giant, insectoid monsters in Kowlong with a singular character, you play as a disembodied spirit able to control ordinary folk, giving you a small army of disposable citizens to play around with.
You may also know Toyama as the creator of Silent Hill.
It’s a bold iteration of Toyama’s survival horror game Forbidden Siren. In the 2003 cult classic, you could look through the eyes of most nearby characters, possessing them in similar fashion. In fact, speaking to Game Rant, Toyama said that Slitterhead’s core concept was born from Siren, as Bokeh’s debut game sought to take the signature mechanic even further.
But what’s really interesting is that despite the body-hopping of Slitterhead being an evolution of Siren’s sightjacking, it also features sightjacking as it was 20 years ago. During stealth missions, you can look through the eyes of certain enemies without taking control of them, allowing you to better maneuver around corners to get past guards.
As you can see in the screenshots embedded above, stealth missions may prompt you with the ability to “Sightjack”, just like in Forbidden Siren. This puts you into a first-person view of the enemy, so you can see what they see and hear what they hear. It’s a handy way to make sure you don’t get caught turning a corner.
Sightjacking Is How Siren’s Monsters Communicate
Siren had its own insectoid enemies, some of which look remarkably like Slitterheads. They’re called Shibito, and by consuming the red water that allows this species to evolve, you’re able to tap into some of their powers, namely sightjacking.
They use it to contact one another telepathically, but you use it to spy on them, ensuring that you stay hidden. It was a bit more tactical in Siren, however. In Slitterhead, enemies don’t vary much, and getting caught typically means facing off against a few grunts. Without other characters to control, you’re almost guaranteed to be overpowered.
It was far more important in Siren to see what you were up against, given that it was less action-oriented. Sightjacking might show you that an enemy is holding a rifle, which means that they can pick you off from a longer range. That’s incredibly useful to know, whereas in Slitterhead it’s more about quickly getting past a guard or two.
Either way, it’s a novel idea, and it’s endearing to see Toyama pay homage to this slept on survival horror gem with the mechanic lifted almost directly.
Slitterhead is a horror game from Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama and new developer, Bokeh Game Studio. It is set in a world overrun by deadly parasite-like creatures.