Grasshopper Manufacture Reveals Pop-Inspired Horror Title Lollipop Chainsaw

Shadows of the Damned and No More Heroes developer Grasshopper Manufacture has announced its latest project for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3: An esoteric horror-action title dubbed Lollipop Chainsaw. The latest title from Goichi "Suda 51" Suda, as revealed by Famitsu, will take place in a high school infested by the undead, and players will control a cheerleader named Juliet Starling as she slashes her way through the zombie hordes with the game's titular chainsaw. As with Grasshopper Manufacture's Shadows of the Damned, famed video game musician Akira Yamaoka will oversee the game's score, which studio lead Suda 51 says will have a distinct "pop" theme. "Part of the reason we established Grasshopper in the first place was so we could work on every part of a game in-house, and we treat sound especially importantly in this outfit. The sound team for Lollipop is led by Yamaoka and they're working on a whole array of pop tunes right now," he said, as reported by 1up.com. "Part of the gameplay might involve sound as well, although exactly how we're still keeping a secret," Suda continued. Suda says that the pop inspiration will extend beyond the soundtrack and into the game's visuals as well, providing a light tone to the game's otherwise gruesome subject matter. "Instead of sprays of blood, we have the zombies emitting bursts of pink light," Suda said. "When it comes to gore, we can certainly go that way if we want, but we wanted to give the game more of a 'pop' feel," Suda said. Grasshopper Manufacture has yet to announce a release date for Lollipop Chainsaw, though Yoshimi Yasuda, president of the game's Japanese publisher, Kadokawa Games, says that an overseas publisher already has plans to release the game in English.