Suda51 believes Shadows of the Damned is more popular today than it was in 2011: "Weirder and more non-standard games are more appealing to players now."

Grasshopper Manufacture, a Japanese game developer with a history of more than 25 years, has never been able to sell mega-sellers. Suda51, the studio's founder, has a knack for niche games like The Silver Case or Killer7. Almost every game released has received good reviews and enjoyed cult status. SteamDB shows that Killer is Dead has the highest peak in Steam sales with 4,255 players. Yoshimi Yatsuda, Grasshopper CEO at the time, claimed that Lollipop Chainsaw had been the studio's most successful game at 700K units.

Maybe this time it will be different. Since Grasshopper released Shadows of the Damned in 2011, a notorious flop game, games for us sickos are more lucrative - or at least have a better chance of finding people. Suda51 has high hopes for Shadows of the Damned Hella Remastered. It's out this week.

Suda told PC Gamer that "there are a lot of indie games now than there was back then." "Also," to use a phrase that has been used a lot in recent years, there are also a lot of diverse games coming out.

The number of indie references found in the two most recent No More Heroes games is a good indicator of how the scene has evolved. When Shadows of the Damned was first released, a game about a goose with no name probably wouldn't be a nominee for game of the year. But it's clear that player tastes have widened, even if the AAA market feels safer than ever.

Suda said: "I think that stranger, non-standard games are more natural for players today, allowing more diverse titles to come out." "I also think that Shadows of the Damned will be accepted and enjoyed more by players than it was when it first came out," Suda said.

Shadows of the Damned was my first Shadows of the Damned game, and I've been hooked ever since. It's true that there are about 50 puns in the game about your skeleton weapon using the word "boner", but it's still a stylish action-game with cool weapons and clever levels. Let's hope Suda is right and more people find this hidden gem.