Metal: Hellsinger Reviews
Metal: Hellsinger is a furiously fun rip through Hell with some of Metal most icon talent.
Metal: Hellsinger manages to remain entertaining despite its lackluster story due to its great soundtrack and well-integrated rhythmic combat.
Metal: Hellsinger might not be the greatest demon-slaying shoot 'em up in the world, but it's certainly a stirring tribute.
A lean and tightly-restrained mashup of more than just Rock Band and Doom, Metal: Hellsinger captures the earnest spirit of an underloved genre.
When you hit a streak on the beat, enemies melt before you and you race across the map, racking up eight- or nine-figure scores with ease. Sometimes you fall off a little, though, and start missing every shot as you struggle to find the rhythm. This is frustrating, but it’s meant to be. Once you stop, take a breath, and start shooting again – to the rhythm, this time – you soon find your groove again and everything makes sense. The shooting feels great again, the game flows perfectly again, the toughest enemies are felled again. In these moments, Metal: Hellsinger feels really special.
I likely won’t remember my minute frustrations with the game a few months from now, but I will remember “Dissolution,” a Two Feathers track with cathartic vocals from Bjorn “Speed” Strid of Soilwork, the realm of Hell known as Nihil, and the way my shotgun obliterated waves of enemies there. I’m so glad Metal: Hellsinger ends with the promise of more to come because I already want more from this series.
The rhythmic interplay between Metal: Hellsinger's rip-roaring soundtrack and frenetic action is a magical concoction.
It’s hard to picture Metal: Hellsinger being as memorable as it is without its lineup of popular artists. After all, the soundtrack can’t be divorced from the game’s main appeal. But even though I would have liked to see more risks being taken with its core pillars (similar to BPM: Bullets Per Minute’s experiments with roguelike elements and more varied weapons), Metal: Hellsinger achieves a pulsating, vibrant synergy, and it knows how to pull your strings.
Metal: Hellsinger is a good time, if not a short time. Hard as nails, rewarding as they come, and fuelled by some of the best names in heavy music, The Outsider and Funcom have made a game that’s worth every second of your time it takes up – even if that’s only about the length of one of the more epic prog albums out there. A knowing and fun take on the rhythm shooter genre, plagued with some calibration and UI issues, this romp through Hell is as satisfying as it is frustrating – and not even hearing the dulcet tones and throaty growls of Trivium’s Matt Heafy can offset that.
Metal: Hellsinger is the first-person shooter/rhythm game mashup I had no idea I wanted.
A rhythm first-person shooter in which bursting demons to the beat makes your weapons more powerful.
Metal: Hellsinger features a perfect blend of frantic FPS action and rhythm, utilising different skillsets to make your way through hell. The music is excellent, the range of weapons are fun to use, and the gorgeous level design and visuals make this a must to play.
Metal: Hellsinger merges rhythm, violence, and the fury-laden chugs of metal to create a unique kind of carnage that's a pleasure to conduct despite, at times, feeling repetitive.
Metal: Hellsinger is exactly what I hoped it would be – a balls to the wall, headbanging, visceral experience that nails the aesthetic and feel of the premise. The soundtrack is superb and perfectly suits the setting and narrative, and everything is carried along by an interesting and well-voiced narrative. Even if you are not a big fan of metal (and why the Hell wouldn't you be?) this is an excellent rhythm shooter that absolutely slays.
Doom comparisons aside in style and tone, Metal: Hellsinger is one of the most unique, refreshing video game offerings I’ve seen in a while thanks to how it caters to fans of metal music, and its approach to rhythm mechanics. We could use more heavy metal-focused rhythm games, and I hope to not only see more games like Metal: Hellsinger in the future, but to see more from the talented developers of Metal: Hellsinger, The Outsiders, as well.
In a way, it’s the FPS genre that grants players a kind of agency that rhythm games haven’t — the freedom and exhilaration of performance. You can execute kills to the beat of your internal pulse, with the act of shooting bodies and popping heads forming a pleasing rhythm. That’s why playing “Metal: Hellsinger” can almost feel like you’re holding the drumsticks yourself, as you blaze through demon hordes with a percussive flow of your own.
Metal: Hellsinger is a raw and old-style FPS with a frantic rhythm mechanics that make the rhythmic-musical element a valid support for an otherwise derivative gameplay.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Metal: Hellsinger is a devilishly fun shooter that puts the focus on a vertiginous action to the rhythm of the music and wraps it with mechanics that give it depth. It does not have many levels and everything revolves around repeating them to achieve the highest score and climb in the ranking, something that will not convince all players.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Metal: Hellsinger will be a hit with metalheads thanks to its killer soundtrack, but its lacking as both a shooter and rhythm game.
More than just a Doom clone and despite faltering during what should be the game's highlights this is an enjoyable romp for both metal and shooter fans alike.