Morbid Metal, a third-person action roguelite by SCREEN JUICE is available now in early access. With publishing by Ubisoft, become an agent of destruction while shifting between characters mid-combat, combining attacks and abilities to overcome sectors of machine foes. You can currently check it out only on Steam.
Metal Meets Metal in this Hack ‘n Slash Roguelite
This game originally caught my eye a few years ago. I added it to my wishlist after finding it, but believe I must have removed it after not seeing much news on development so I didn’t notice the news ramp back up over the last year. I think StarRupture was the last game I had a similar wishlist experience with. Was I just as impressed with the re-emergence of Morbid Metal? Find out below!
Gameplay
Morbid Metal is a third-person action roguelite with intense, combo-driven combat. Fight groups of mechanical enemies of various types and increasing difficulty. How many iterations will it take to prove to the mysterious Operator that you have what it takes to defeat their Simulation? After unlocking all three characters, each with their own playstyle, seamlessly shift between them mid-combat as you chain abilities together. Then prepare to overcome multi-stage boss fights while exploring dynamic biomes that bring a fresh path for each iteration.
One of my favourite movie quotes goes something like “The five D’s… dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge.” I couldn’t say it any more clearly here. Dodging is truly an essential movement in Morbid Metal. Not only does it keep you out of harm’s way, but timing it just right opens up an instant and fairly strong counterattack. The dodge/dash action is also useful for quick movement to close gaps and get into a sprint. One could argue that it is essential in almost every action roguelite. Especially these third-person ones like this and GODBREAKERS. If I’m able to get good at this game, that means I can finally go beat Elden Ring, right? Movement overall kind of makes me think of my very, very brief time in Warframe as well.
Some Notes
Morbid Metal has all the usual pieces of other good roguelites. Runs earn you different types of currency that can then be spent in the hub area to passively enhance your character. Starting abilities can also be chosen here for each of your characters. During a run, a skill enhancement that is either specific to a character or for all of them is earned after each group completion. Currency and repositories (chests) also are found throughout each run. It was rewarding to “follow my nose” on occasion to be led to a somewhat hidden area with one of these. Repositories can contain either an enhancement or often an ability to swap.
The character swapping mechanic is definitely the highlight of Morbid Metal. I am not yet able to play the third character but what I’m playing with just the two has been quite enjoyable. Swapping between characters allows you to chain abilities together from each, making for some intense fights and extra long combos. The cooldowns for your abilities also continue ticking when not on that specific character. This allows you to use more damaging attacks with a higher frequency than you would be able to otherwise.
Each of the characters has their own playstyle and strengths. I found the slower heavy hitter, Ekku (in the logo picture), was best with fewer opponents in these early stages whereas Flux, the starting character, made bouncing between and damaging multiple enemies quickly more manageable. Though without the third character, Vektra, yet in my arsenal, I can tell that I’m definitely missing out on some range. I’m hoping it unlocks somehow before defeating the first boss, because I can definitely see the use case scenario in that fight for sure.
Graphics & Audio
My time with Morbid Metal has mostly been on PC. Though it did just get recently verified for Steam Deck, I haven’t had much time to play it there though. The game looks very crisp on PC at default settings of 4k and likewise at 2k. The character animations and models are also top notch. Even the transitioning between characters looks just as smooth as the transition itself. The path environments also provide much detail of a worn down world void of natural life other than the overgrowth. I was also fond of the highly visible visual indicators that provide fair warning of incoming attacks. (Red equals dead is a good motivator, so don’t forget to dodge.)
A steady audio track also drives Morbid Metal through combat and moving you along the path constantly toward the next objective. The lines from the Operator don’t feel too repetitive. I’m sure a lot of the level design and randomness of the paths helps with that aspect. Connecting weapons with metal on metal combat is also as satisfying as you’d hope it would be.
Longevity
This is Morbid Metal‘s early access release, so there’s still plenty of content to come down the line. I definitely have enough to do as it is, just like most of the roguelites I’ve been drawn to. The team over at SCREEN JUICE has a road map in place as well with future content releases and additions to the game for the next year roughly. At this time they are currently planning for a one year window until full release.
Final Thoughts
If you enjoy hack and slash games with a third-person perspective, you’ll definitely want to check out Morbid Metal. The character swapping mechanic alone gives the game a leg up in my book on other roguelites. The implementation and smoothness to continue fluid combat is just spot on. Oh and the fact that you are consistently given a visual reminder of just how many times you die is a nice touch. I’m looking forward to the content that comes down the pipe as it works through community feedback and gears toward release!
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
If you enjoy this review, be sure to check out my other reviews here.
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