Awe Interactive had already attempted it a couple of years ago with its BPM, releasing a product of real merit but perhaps lacking a bit in personality. Metal: Hellsinger, on the other hand, is brimming with personality, even while remaining firmly anchored to fairly clichéd metal world tropes. The idea of such an unexpected pairing — FPS with rhythm games — gave the team at The Outsiders the opportunity to offer players fresh sensations by playing an FPS title. . This genre, among the most overused and stale in the video game landscape, is also compounded by its understandable “age”. We tried Metal: Hellsinger thanks to a copy kindly provided by the publisher, and we can already tell you that the developers appear to have truly hit the mark, launching a product that is fresh, fun, but above all brutally satisfying right to the core.
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React, rebel, resist
Although the plot represents a decidedly secondary and peripheral element in Metal: Hellsinger, it’s worth saying a few words about it. The Unknown, the anthropomorphic demon we take control of, has lost her voice. The culprit behind this ignoble theft turns out to be none other than the Queen of the Inferi, the Red Judge, who believes this will limit our contribution to a mysterious and apocalyptic prophecy. And since we’re not in a Disney film, The Unknown, unlike Ariel from “The Little Mermaid”, is determined to recover the vibratory capabilities of her vocal cords using, as one might expect, brute force, sweeping aside any demonic entity (and not just) the Judge throws at her.
To accompany us on this pilgrimage to hell, narrating our deadly deeds, the indispensable Troy Baker, who lends his warm voice—from the vaguely redneck accent to the skull Paz, a mysterious character whose deeper story we’ll uncover as we proceed through the game, and who we’ll use as a gun (yes, we’ll use a skull as a firearm). The eight levels that make up the game depict eight different representations of hell, namely various conceptions of hell that evolved over the centuries: Stygia and Acheron refer, for example, to two of the five rivers present in the ancient Greeks’ underworld; Sheol is the term used in the Old Testament to denote the realm of the dead, which sees Gehenna as its equivalent in the New Testament.
The levels are all well-inspired artistically, though less so when it comes to pure level design. On the other hand, this is not DOOM, where deep exploration of various locations guarantees rewards and easter eggs; in Metal: Hellsinger, we are often so immersed in the game’s frenetic pace that we barely have time to appreciate the desolate infernal landscape. Essentially, it’s a repetition of broader sections, true arenas where battles take place, connected by “breath” corridors, as brief interludes between shooting phases.
Each level will feature one of the eight original songs composed exclusively for the game, thanks to the collaboration of Two Feathers, a duo of composers primarily responsible for creating video game soundtracks, with some of the modern metal’s most revered figures. We’re talking about people like Randy Blythe of Lamb Of God, Mikael Stanne of Dark Tranquility, Serj Tankian of System of a Down and many others. Robetta, in short...
The game concludes, at medium difficulty (or “Capra difficulty”, as Sgarbi would say), in about 4-5 hours. You can still choose, once each level is completed, to tackle 3 challenges to earn Seals, which are unlockable perks that can be equipped in standard levels to gain real bonuses. These challenges, called Storms, present time-limited challenges with specific conditions that gradually make us more difficult, yet reward us with increasingly powerful Seals upon completion. The journey culminates in a boss fight of epic proportions, leaving a faint glimmer of hope for a sequel. We hope for it, or rather, we desperately need it.
Heavy metal is the law
The most seasoned will remember that, in cereals, biscuits or children’s snacks, you could often find a video game copy included in the packaging (often of dubious quality). Metal: Hellsinger can be viewed in much the same way, as a video game (this time, absolutely not of dubious quality) bundled with a magnificent metal album.The gameplay, combined with the soundtrack, are indeed the core elements of this title, capable of giving shape and character to an FPS that would otherwise have risked being forgotten.
From the very first moments of play, we’ll have to get used to a gameplay decidedly different from the usual one, in which we must manage to kill the infernal abominations while keeping pace with the background song. To help us with this task, apart from the NECESSARIO E INEVITABILE HEADBANGING (damn neck! ndr.), there’s a visible crosshair on screen, with arrows that light up in time. This mechanic might discourage less coordinated players or those who aren’t musically inclined, but we assure you that after just a few minutes, executing those poor devils in all four directions will become part of your gaming repertoire.
As for the variety of enemies and weapons, one could certainly have done more: throughout the game, there are 4 unlockable weapons (pump-action shotgun, bow, double revolver, and flying blades), of which only two can be carried at once per level, plus Paz, which acts as an "emergency pistol", and an indispensable Katana when vital spaces are no longer respected. Executing timed kills will guarantee an increase in the rage multiplier, resulting not only in score boosts but also in amplified damage dealt to enemies, and will allow us to fully appreciate the background track with the vocal line.
A shame also for the limited variety of final bosses, who in reality are simply two, one of which repeats with minor variations on the theme across seven levels. Good, but not outstanding, the final boss (even though his identity is clear after only a few minutes of play).
Technically speaking
We tested Metal: Hellsinger on the following setup:
AMD Ryzen 7 3700x @ 3.60 GHz
Gigabyte RTX AORUS Master 3080 Ti 12Gb
Corsair Vengeance RGB RT 32GB DDR4 3600MHz
LG 34GN850 Monitor at 3440x1440 (21:9)
In a title of this kind, where rhythm and timing become indispensable, the game’s fluidity is also fundamental, something The Outsiders’ team has certainly achieved thanks to a commendable optimization. While not shouting miracles, the quality of models and visual effects is notable, alongside the already mentioned aesthetic clearly inspired. At maximum detail, the title never misses a beat, maintaining a high frame rate almost as steady as the bpm of each song.
On sound we’ve already spoken at length, but combining Troy Baker’s voice with those of various metal artists who contributed to the soundtrack, The Outsiders wins by a narrow margin.
In Conclusion
Metal: Hellsinger is a vibrant, visceral, violent title. A succession of deadly choreographies, accompanied by the relentless pounding of the drumbeat, ensures a flood of adrenaline for the player. An experiment that, despite some flaws—likely also due to necessary budget trimming during distribution—can be said to have succeeded. Overall, a title that entertains and, although it could be completed in a handful of hours, will reward the most dedicated players with hours upon hours of grinding to reach the highest scores. Now, however, in the meantime, while awaiting a future sequel that The Outsiders have tantalised us with, it is urgent to leave room for the community to flourish, allowing mods and custom songs to unlock the full potential of this wonderful hybrid game.
