Slitterhead Q&A With Keiichiro Toyama – Discussing Gameplay Mechanics, Old Gen Release and Silent Hill Series Revival

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!

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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