Despite being a beloved game studio with over 25 years of history, energetic Japanese game developer Grasshopper Manufacture has never achieved mega sales. Founder Suda51 has a knack for carving out niches between games like The Silver Case and Killer7, and almost every game the studio has released has seen fairly good reviews and a cult following. But sales were… well… from what we can tell, Killer is Dead is performing best on Steam, with an all-time high of just 4,255 players according to SteamDB. More than a decade ago, then-CEO of Grasshopper, Yoshimi Yasuda he claimed that Lollipop Chainsaw was the studio’s best-selling game in history, selling 700,000 units. copies.
But maybe this time it will be different. Since the release of the Grasshopper shooter Shadows of the Damned in 2011, was a notorious flopgames have become more profitable for us weirdos – or at least they have a much better chance of finding their people. That’s exactly what Suda51 hopes for Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered, which releases this week.
“First of all, I think there are a lot more indie games coming out now than there were back then,” Suda said in an interview with PC Gamer. “Also, to use a term that’s been used a lot lately, it means there’s a lot more variety of games coming out these days.”
You only have to look at the huge number of indie game references in the last two No More Heroes titles to see how this scene has developed. An untitled goose game probably wouldn’t have been nominated for game of the year when Shadows of the Damned was released, but it’s clear that gamers’ tastes have become a bit broader, even if the AAA space feels safer than ever.
“I feel like weirder, more offbeat games are much more natural to players these days, which allows for more diverse titles to be released,” Suda said. “I also believe that Shadows of the Damned has a better chance of being accepted and enjoyed by more players than it originally did.”
I’ve been playing Shadows of the Damned since its release and I’ve been looking forward to this game ever since. Sure, it’s a game with about 50 skeleton puns using the word “boner,” but it’s a stylish action game with some nippy weapons and some clever levels that are still worth playing over a decade later. Let’s hope Suda’s expectations come true and more people discover this hidden gem.
