The Stylish Hyper-Violence of Killer is Dead

The ultimate expression of Suda 51’s penchant for outlandish action?

Killer is Dead very much checks all the classic Suda 51/Grasshopper Manufacture boxes. Executioner lead? Tick. Creative, bizarre bosses? In abundance. Hyper-violent combat? You’ve got red on you. A lot. Ultra-stylised presentation? Oh yes.
And yet, at its core, Killer is Dead isn’t necessarily about any of these things. At the very root of this game is an obsession with contrast. Every aspect of the design comes down to the juxtaposition of disparate elements, and this creates a very interesting blend indeed.

There's never been a cel-shaded game quite like this.

Suit and Tie and Samurai Sword

One need look no further than Killer is Dead’s presentation. Suda 51 has described the game’s look as utilising a “hyper-contrast shader,” and that’s a pretty fitting description. Textures are used sparingly, with the basic visual building blocks being the contrast between deep shadow and glaring light, between obscured detail and striking clarity, between monochromatic environments and intense colour.
Killer is Dead has an incredibly layered visual language: when the lead character Mondo dashes he moves in a sketched shadow form, and this is pushed even further during adrenaline burst attacks where he becomes a black and white blur, stringing together lightning fast slashes, while the surrounding world’s colour palette shifts: some colours are leeched, others bloom across the screen. Successful evades employ a similar technique, only the world is drawn in red and black.

The art style never stands still - it morphs and shifts at a frantic pace.

“We’ve put a lot of effort into our graphics this time around,” Suda tells us, “and even within the graphics, what we really wanted to focus on were the special effects.” This is very much apparent, and honestly, the game’s look is a triumph. As mentioned, the action in-game is incredibly vibrant, while the more traditional 2D animated sequences that are used during several of the cutscenes provide a nice counterpoint to the 3D cel-shading.
This is a world that’s bold and surprising, but it does run the risk of being overly schizophrenic given how many different enemies and environments there are. One moment you’re on the moon, the next you’re in some kind of demented candy-land, duelling in a room with gigantic donut windows and ice cream cone walls. It’s batshit crazy, basically, and Suda is – once again – attempting to navigate the fine line between focused creativity and simply throwing everything at the wall in the hopes it will stick.

Perhaps that’s why the game’s protagonist, Mondo Zappa, is such a restrained design – to provide grounding in a deranged world. Or perhaps he’s just another example of the game’s focus on contrast: the furious violence is even more impactful when it’s coming from such an unlikely-looking source. Mind you, it seems strangely fitting to see a guy in suit and tie going up against Killer is Dead’s bizarre rogues gallery of enemies and bosses. Of course, he is wielding a samurai in one hand, with a cyborg gun arm on the other, so maybe he’s not so out of place after all.
Mondo is, himself, a composite character drawn from disparate sources. “Frank Zappa was a big inspiration for this character,” Suda tells us, “as well as a famous actor in Japan named Nakamura Mondo, who plays a lot of older samurai in theatrical shows. It was kind of a combination of those two, and there might be a little James Bond in there as well.”

Inspired by Frank Zappa. Remember his cyborg arm?

A Moment’s Reflection

Killer is Dead’s gameplay is nothing less than a glorious feast of violence. The combat is fast-paced and brimming with energy; limbs fly and blood arcs across the screen. Each episode – of which there are 13 - culminates in that staple of the Grasshopper Manufacture action game: the boss battle. Each boss is an underworld criminal, with a self-contained story within the wider narrative, and mystical powers. From a semi-naked megalomaniac that lives in a gilded palace on the moon, to a skeletal composer who has turned music into a weapon, you’d think there’d be no room for gravitas amongst such outlandish characters.

Funnily enough, this guy's name is David.

You’d be wrong. Or, at least, that’s the team’s intent, as before each boss is defeated, players are encouraged to reflect on the weight of what they’re about to do.