0 
0 Metal: Hellsinger is a first-person shooter from game developers The Outsiders and published by Funcom. The game was released on 15th September 2022 on PlayStation, Xbox and PC. I was pleased to see it arrive day one on Xbox’s Game Pass so I grabbed myself a copy! This shoot-em-up however has a unique side to it however. It’s a rhythm first-person shooter. Slice, dice, and explode demons in time with the almost tribal heavy metal music to your heart’s content!
MAKE A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL FOR EXPERT SKILLS? HELL YEAH!
With hype building up over this game’s unique playstyle I’m eager to delve into the underworld and see what it’s all about. I love rhythm-type games in the past from Guitar Hero to Rockband. Plus I love the supernatural style FPS shooters like Doom. I’m excited to find out more and if you are excited to play this game or want to share your love for it, let us know in the comments below!
Gameplay
Metal: Hellsinger opens up with a visually stunning 2d montage of animated pictures introducing us to the main character, The Unknown. Award-winning voice actor Troy Baker narrates and tells the story from the point of view of his character, Paz. Paz, we come to learn is a Skull that serves as the voice and companion of the main character throughout the game. The story cuts to the heart of the narrative and doesn’t spend too much time with exposition, which I appreciated. Let’s delve in!
An icy tundra of a view greets you as you are introduced to the mechanics of the game. Your first weapon, Paz himself. You wield his head in your outstretched hand and shoot fire from his mouth. Very metal. With the use of moving arrows surrounding the aiming reticule you quickly get used to the idea of shooting in time with the raw and almost hypnotic beat of the metal music. It was mostly hit-and-miss for the first part as you fought the urge to just shoot wildly at the enemies like with most FPS games. The game rewards the timing with pyrotechnics flaming upwards from containers in the levels and a quicker end for any demon who dares approach.
Soon enough I was pressing the trigger in time with the beat with ease and even nodding my head to improve the timing somewhat. It became mesmerising and felt almost trance-like. The difficulty increased at a fair rate once it gave you time to get used to the combat. It never felt like you couldn’t manage any situation you were put in as you come across improved weaponry throughout the game in the form of a sword, a shotgun dual wield guns etc. Convenient, but makes you think what sort of Devil leaves the tools to their demise just laying around? You are given some time to breathe before tackling the next section and this repeats with ever-changing scenery.
There is a linear style to the gameplay, but not so restricting that you weren’t able to manoeuvre around each level with ease to get that well-timed shot in. I found the special takedowns especially pleasing to pull off. The game also offers up boosts and health which come in handy, a lot, as you often find yourself being overwhelmed by the relentless waves of demons. Overall, the gameplay felt balanced. It knew when to up the ante and your skills in time with it still making it feel like a challenge, but always moving forward and manageable.
Graphics & Audio
The visuals, as mentioned earlier, were stunning from its amazing artwork storyline to the detailed work given to the game’s animation, characters, and scenery. At no point do you feel like you were playing anything but a well-polished game with time and care given to making it exceptional. On ultra settings on PC the graphics bring this home and are awesome to look at.
The soundtrack to the game is just as exceptional with actual musicians brought in to record songs for it. The game features contributions from vocalists Serj Takian of System of a Down, Mikael Stanne of Dark Tranquility and Alissa White-Gluz of Arch Enemy to name a few. The sheer amount of talent brought in to make the soundtrack special and diverse is amazing. I’m admittingly not a metal fan, but recognise some of the artists and appreciate their work. The music from these artists are incorporated into the game cleverly. Extra vocals and extra instruments are added into the backing music after successfully shooting along with the beat. This sent chills down my spine the first time this happened.
Longevity
You could easily spend a while practicing the timing and the game in general. Then there’s the game itself which boasts “five hells”. I completed the first quite quickly, racking in about thirty minutes of demon-slaying gameplay. Feeling burnt out from being tense through the pressuring constant combat and with a guttural man shouting down my ear while a quickening beat played through it, I called it a day in the first playthrough after about an hour. Some may live for this and could play it constantly, however.
The game does boast a leader-board giving an incentive to beat the top scores lengthening the longevity of the game to no end. The game is thoroughly enjoyable and may have a mental health aspect for those wanting to rage out after a hard day at work or something similar.
Final Thoughts
Overall, what you have is an quick, amazing linear first person shooter with twist of a rhythm game thrown in. It’s an exciting concept and even more exciting to play. The game left me wanting to play more as the pay-off for tackling the beasts is so addictive. It also made me want to see if I could beat my own high score. I would have liked to have had a bit more humour thrown in as it came across very serious. Not as much as Brutal Legend, but enough to balance it out somewhat. I’d recommend that you try this game at least once as it’s one of a kind.
I award Metal: Hellsinger the Thumb Culture Gold Award!
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
YouTube | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Discord | Podcast
[allkeyshop_widget_offers game=”56510″ template=”26″]
About Author
