Metal: Hellsinger review: a rhythm-based fps with short-lived thrills

You will find your first enemy type when you are stumbled upon. Metal: HellsingerIt is also a good sign for things to follow. The Marionettes are erratic, moving as though being pulled by strings. Their rhythm is literally their only constant. System of a Down’s heavy metal artist plays the role of a puppet master, leading you through various stages of hell with double kick pedals. The course of the Metal: Hellsinger, it’s impossible to ignore the beat as you kill a multifarious tide of demonic abominations.

I’m done Metal: HellsingerIn a single session, I spent four hours racing through levels trying to keep the rhythm as long as possible. This isn’t the first game that has mixed music with a shooter — BPM = Bullets per MinuteThis new subgenre was launched in 2020. This was a way to listen to an album differently, and to be able to move on to the next stage. Hearing new tracks from known artists is the hook, but you’re also navigating their rhythm with your actions.

Your objective in each level is extremely simple: Shoot everything that moves until you’re granted access to the next room, and repeat it all over again until you face the boss. Imagine the arenas. Doom2016. Doom Eternal(2) Metal: Hellsinger’s crystal-clear influences) without the platforming sequences or any exploration. Instead, it’s a relentless lineup of fights, with new enemies and weapons introduced continually throughout. It’s important to keep a rhythm because it offers many bonuses.

Image by The Outsiders/Funcom

You will love the rhythmic quality and simplicity. Metal: Hellsinger’sBoth approaches are powerful in their own ways, but sometimes they miss the chance to lift each other up. It’s easy to identify enemy types. You have demons coming at you in large groups, as well as more difficult foes trying to pummel and attack you from close quarters. But then, when you least expect it, you’re getting shot with acid bullets from afar, or projectiles that slam the ground and create pulsating waves for you to jump over. Slowly, but steadily. Metal: HellsingerThis can quickly turn into a hell of a shooting gallery. It is difficult to survive the increasingly challenging encounters found in the later levels. However, you have the option of choosing from multiple difficulty options that will affect your ability to revive. This can also impact how much score you are able save.

There are many ways to make weapons. A sword and a fire-shooting head (the perfect care package for an upcoming trip to hell) are the starting points. Then you end up with two blades that can act as boomerangs. There are more rudimentary options like revolvers and a shotgun, but they’re merely useful, and nowhere near as creative as the alternatives, such as a crossbow with explosive bolts that excels at long range. You also don’t have to worry about picking up ammo, but there is a Gears of War-esque active-reload mechanic in which you can reload on a specific beat to finish the animation earlier. What’s more, the rhythm itself can also inform your choice of weapon — the speedy nature of the revolvers shines through in songs with a faster tempo, for example.

But while the arsenal initially allows for experimentation, there isn’t all that much strategy required in the long term. Sure, it makes sense to use long-range guns on distant enemies, but a shotgun is also useful if you don’t mind closing the gap. And considering that there’s a loadout involved — both the sword and the skull are always available, in addition to two slots for primary and secondary weapons — by the time I had found a combination that worked for me, I didn’t look back.

Image by The Outsiders/Funcom

Instead, it’s the incentives to stay on rhythm that tie it all together, and make it easy to get lost in the trance-like moment. Maintaining a high score streak doesn’t just get you more points, but also introduces vocals to the song you’re listening to, a la Devil May Cry 5 In general, the songs are integrated into pretty much everything you can do — dashing and shooting being the most obvious. Aside from the fact that jumping isn’t taken into consideration, which is an odd omission that oftentimes feels counterintuitive, getting into a flow state is pretty much automatic. It was effortless to recover my vocals and lose them when I had a score streak. Songs fade in and out seamlessly. The final boss in particular takes every kinetic element to its utmost potential, and it’s a spectacle that’s still stuck in my mind, days after beating it.

Overall, Metal: HellsingerThe story unfolds through short but vivid, yet ultimately unimportant cutscenes. This is a game that doesn’t take itself all that seriously, often parsing through sequences with humor, but it’s far from a Tenacious D. (I will say that the final cutscene, which I won’t spoil, is incredibly bizarre, and more evocative than any story beat leading up to it.)

Image by The Outsiders/Funcom

If you are looking for more, a game plus is the best option. But beating every level unlocks new challenges which can then be remastered, and these will in turn reward players with unique talents. There are also leaderboards, following in the wake of this year’s excellent Neon white, which made surpassing your friend’s score more compelling than it’s been in years. But, this was not the case with me. Neon white, I wasn’t motivated to immediately replay a level for a better score. It was too rewarding to move through the stages at such a rapid pace that it interrupted the flow.

It’s hard to picture Metal: HellsingerIt wouldn’t be as memorable without the help of a number of well-known artists. After all, the soundtrack can’t be divorced from the game’s main appeal. However, I’d like to have seen more risk taken by its core pillars (similar) BPM: Bullets Per Minute’s Explorations with roguelike weapons and elements Metal: HellsingerYou will feel a vibrant, pulsating synergy.

Metal: Hellsinger On Sept. 15, the game will be available on Windows PC and Xbox One. Funcom gave the pre-release code to review the game on PC. Vox Media also has affiliate relationships. They do not affect editorial content. However, Vox Media might earn commissions for products bought via affiliate links. Find out more. additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.