Romeo is a Dead Man says don’t debate fascists, kill them

Romeo is a Dead Man is the latest game from No More Heroes developer Grasshopper Manufacture. It’s pretty dang good for a whole host of reasons, but I was particularly struck by a cathartic moment following the second boss fight that speaks to the need for squashing bad faith rhetoric from fascists and their sympathizers rather than humoring them out of some obligation to civil discourse.

The story of Romeo is a Dead Man focuses on Romeo Stargazer, a young man who died and was brought back to life by his mad scientist grandfather to act as a hyperspace FBI agent. Romeo and the other members of the bureau’s Space-Time Police division track down dimension-hopping fugitives and prevent them from doing irreparable harm to reality. As such, the folks they deal with aren’t your run-of-the-mill criminals, but rather some of the most despicable monsters from across the multiverse.

The big bad of Romeo is a Dead Man’s second chapter, for example, is Christian Phantasm, a former plantation-owning southerner who supported the Confederacy’s violent attempt to prevent the abolishment of slavery during the American Civil War. Phantasm’s charismatic drawl and genteel mannerisms stand in stark contrast not only to the neon aesthetics of the 1980s-inspired mall level preceding his boss fight but also the crimes against humanity he proudly flaunts after Romeo kicks his ass.

As Romeo holds a defeated Phantasm aloft by his face, Phantasm launches into a horrific story detailing how he and his fellow traitors murdered enslaved people rather than comply with the Emancipation Proclamation when it became clear the Confederacy was on its last legs at the tail end of the conflict.