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Slitterheadis finally here, giving us a brand-new experience from Keiichiro Toyama. It is his first project since Gravity Rush 2 in 2017, and it captures everything you’d expect from the father of the Silent Hill and Siren games, with the exhilarating gameplay from the Gravity Rush titles on top of that dreary and foreboding atmosphere.
There’s lots to unpack in this game, ranging from obtaining new Rarities to upgrade paths to mission structure and everything in between and beyond. It keeps you busy and locked in throughout, which also means it’s easy to get lost from time to time and not know what to do next.
Exhaust All ‘Talk’ Options
Aftercompleting Missionsin Slitterhead, you willbe brought to the ‘Talk’ tabof the game’s main menu, allowing you tospeak with the Rarities you’ve accumulatedthroughout your playthrough. Doing this will not onlylead to new Missions and progress in the story,but they will alsodrop hints about acquiring even more Rarities.
Rarities serve as the game’s playable characters,whichleads to more missions over time,giving you access to more things to do and more unique combat styles.Always exhaust all dialogue options in this tab before doing anything else,as it is one of the more crucial aspects of the game.
If you ever want torelisten to a specific conversationfrom previous days,navigate over to the ‘Memory’ tabin the menu,select the Rarity you want,andchoose the conversation from the listof options. This is super important as youmay need to hear a hint againto acquire a new Rarity!
Choose Your Upgrades Wisely
Completing a Mission and gathering Memory Fragmentswill grant youSkill Tokens,allowing you to head to the’Status' tabin the main menu toattribute them to your Rarities.However, please note thatthese Skill Tokens are shared,so be sure you want to spend them on a specific character before going through with it.
The good news isyou will be showered with lots of Skill Tokens as you naturally progress through the game,allowing you to be relatively loose with where you put them, but we stillrecommend thoroughly weighing your options,especially if you’re struggling on some of the Shrine Challenges or other boss encounters in the game.
Every characterhas access toBlood Weapon, Active Skills, and Passive Skills upgrades,allowing you tosubstantially increase their performance in combat,making them unbelievably strong when fully upgraded. If you find a character you click with, we strongly recommend checking out all their Passive Skills and unlocking a few early on!
Collectibles Are Only Available In 2nd Loop Missions
Speaking ofMemory Fragments,they areonly available when playing RE (2nd Loop) Missions,where you will essentiallygo back in time and tackle a previously played Mission from a different angle and with a new perspective.This is also where you willget the opportunity to obtain new Rarities, tackle Shrine Challenges, and seek out the Mysterious Old Lady.
Memory Fragments,as covered above, give youSkill Tokens and more information on Night Owlvia the ‘Talk’ menu.Shrine Challengeswill reward you withunique Costumes and Masksfor the Rarities, making them worth seeking out if you want to change their fit.
You cansee if a RE (2nd Loop) Mission has collectibles by hovering over the Mission,where you cansee how many of each it has available and how many you currently acquired.If a Mission has ‘Signs of Rarities’ marked on it, that means youcan obtain a new Rarityin that Mission, which waslikely hinted at in a conversation!
As covered exhaustively above,Rarities is the bread and butter of Slitterhead,allowing you to not onlyexpand your arsenal and find your perfect combat stylebut also obtain more Rarities. And, again, the’Talk' feature is just as equally crucial to the gameas obtaining Rarities is, so don’t sleep on either of them.
For example,some Rarities can provide unique hints or can even access otherwise off-limit areas,allowing you to thenacquire more Rarities that can potentially do the same thing down the line. But don’t stress too much if you missed one here or there, as youcan revisit RE (2nd Loop) Missions whenever you like!
While you willalmost always be able to select your favorite Rarity for any given Mission,you may have totag them out occasionallywith someone else if you want toexpand your roster further.The good news is every character has such a drastically different fighting style that it’s almost always worth the effort!
Select The Rarity With Your Favorite Fighting Style
When thegame first begins, you take over some no-named civilianand startfumbling around with the combat,and it doesn’t feel all that great. It’s ratherclunky and not all that exhilarating,but then you finallytake over Julee,and thegloves come off, giving you that fast-paced and potent gameplayyou were initially promised.
And whileJulee’s moves and general gameplay are solid, it can get so much better,which is why it’s crucial toseek out every Rarityin the game, as you never know which one will click with you and gel with your play style.Edo is our go-to guy,as he is just apowerhouse and can deal tons of damage while evading incoming attackswithout breaking a sweat.
However,that may not be your focuswhen it comes to taking down Slitterheads, and someone like Anita may be more your speed,allowing you tosummon in and control hordes of civilians as you perpetually Poison your target.There areso many options and unique fighting stylesto uncover, and westrongly urge you to give everyone a fair shake!
Change Frequently In Combat
One of the more crucial aspects of Slitterhead is your ability toPossess your Companion Rarities and even random civiliansduring the heat of combat, allowing you toavoid dying.You candie a total of three timesbefore having to reload, but you’re able to easilyavoid this altogether by swapping to someone elsewhen things start going south.
Not only will this mentality force you toconstantly be looking for where each civilian is,but it will also allow you toget better at utilizing Possession as a way to draw the focus of the enemyto a random civilian, allowing you to jump back to your Rarity for massive damage or an opportunity to heal.
Guarding Is Crucial
Guarding(Hold L2/LT) is one of the more crucial aspects of Slitterhead, as itnot only allows you to take reduced damagebut also enables you toParry incoming attacksandperform heavy attacks(R2/RT), which can lead to substantial damage and rewards.
Parryingalone is essential to get down if you want tomake quick work of most enemies and bossesin the game, butguarding can also help mitigate a lot of incoming damagethat can otherwise be lethal. But, while guarding can be immensely beneficial, itcan also lead to your demiseif you aren’t careful.
In short,guarding too much and turtling when an enemy is attacking you will ultimately break your Blood Weapon,forcing you torecover it via Parrying or letting it slowly regenerate.Rarities can take more damage, while civilians will lose theirs much faster. Once younotice your Blood Weapon gauge gets low, begin Parrying or jump to someone else!
Use The Training Missions To Learn New Rarities
Lastly, we want to point you toward theTraining Missionsthat you can access on the’Mission' tabin thebottom right cornerof the screen. There arethree versionsof them, withDay 1being theeasiestoption,Day 2providing a moremediumdifficulty, andDay 3being themost challengingof the bunch.
Anytime youacquire a new Rarity, we cannot recommend jumping into these Training Missions with them enough,as you canpractice all their Abilities risk-free,allowing you to reallyfamiliarize yourself with their toolkitto see what they’re capable of.
Not only that, but youcan also select your Companionfor Training Missions as well, allowing you tosee who best pairs with them,further improving your performance with them as you tackle actual Missions with them. Again,some of these Rarity are rather complex and can be challenging to useto their full capabilities;this will help mitigate thattenfold!
