Remember back in September when Slitterhead developer Bokeh Game Studio teased something with Junji Ito? While it doesn’t appear that Ito will be involved with Slitterhead (at least, not at the moment), we get the next best thing with Ito sitting down with Bokeh Game Studio head Keiichiro Toyama for an episode of “Golden Hour”, Bokeh’s series of sit-down chats with video game devs. The chat with Ito has him looking back at his inspirations, his views on horror and the manga medium.

Toyama kicks things off by noting that he and Ito haven’t met since they were on a panel together when Toyama had just released Forbidden Siren (which was 20 years ago). He also remarked how he has read Ito’s works since they first came out, and that he still does to this day. “I feel that your work remains so consistent,” says Toyama. “In my case, I feel that I need to change the setting for each game.”

From there, the duo discuss the differences between the process of developing games and writing manga, with Ito noting that while he generally gets to do what he wants, he also has editors that voice their opinions. “I still get to directly convey the image I have in mind.” In contrast, Toyama says that you need to “explain” your game in order to make it.

“I always start from somewhere unreal,” says Ito. “From there, I need to make that idea convincing, which is why my drawing takes on a realistic approach.”

Rather than spoil the nearly 30 minute discussion, check out the video below. As for Slitterhead, hopefully we hear more about it at The Game Awards this year, seeing as the game was officially revealed at the event back in 2021.

Slitterhead is currently still in development for PC and consoles.