Metal: Hellsinger explodes in Xbox Game Pass today, opening the gates for the Rhythm FPS to blow even more players’ socks off. Here’s what we thought after our first few hours in hell…
Metal: Hellsinger is intense. Sure, that’s probably the case when you’re playing a game in hell, but by tasking players with ripping and tearing their way through hordes of demons across time with an excellent original metal soundtrack, this is a game where every beat counts. , and boy, does it ever feel that way. Drop a combo or mistime a shot and you’ll find yourself dealing less damage – for example, weak enemies can die in one fell swoop when you’re at full power, but the moment you slip, that swarm of one-shot demons disappears for two taking shots, effectively doubling the length of the encounter, as you only shoot to the beat. It’s easy to get swamped or get your bearings in the midst of the chaos, but thanks to some nifty features to mitigate this somewhat, shooting through hell feels great even when you’re struggling.
Metal: Hellsinger Joins Xbox Game Pass
One thing to note is that Metal: Hellsinger is far from a long game. After clocking in the tutorial and the first four stages in a few hours, I’m already halfway through the game, although that only takes into account the main levels – each also unlocks a trio of extra challenges when you beat it, which in turn unlock powerful ones benefits once cleared, so you’ll probably want to take the time to beat these while you’re at it, otherwise it’s going to be tough. At this point in the game, you’ll also have access to your full arsenal and can choose your gear from a diverse selection of deadly devices for any journey to hell. You start out with just a sword and a fireball-spitting skull (weak in battle, but able to hold your combo even if the shots hit nothing) that you always equipped, later you get a solid shotgun, dual pistols, an explosive crossbow and a couple of bladed crow boomerangs… an interesting selection, but you can only take two of those extra weapons with you to a given level.
This turns out to be relevant not only with which weapons you click, but also how they deal with the different types of enemies that hell throws at you. These aren’t particularly varied, but cover the typical bases – swarming minions, hulking melee rushers, aloof annoyances, summoners, and so on – and the elites can give you quite a bit of grief if you’re not equipped to deal with them. The shielded brutes, in particular, are tricky to take out with the wrong gear, meaning you’ll either be shot at by them while working through other enemies first or clawed to pieces by the mob as you try to get rid of the shieldman and find an opening . Each weapon has an ultimate ability that can sometimes give them other ways to get through troubled enemies, but unless you know what to expect when replaying a stage, you can’t rely on those abilities to recharge when a stronger demon comes out to play.
In case a game about shooting demons in Hell wasn’t close enough to Doom already, Metal: Hellsinger also borrows its Glory Kill mechanic. Enemies glow when they’re near death and a well-timed click of the right stick will have you rushing towards them and dealing the deadly blow, regaining a bit of health in the process. That glow is all too convincing and the cure is often too good to pass up, but you still have to be smart about how you use these finishers – there’s no point in executing one minor enemy in the midst of a dozen others as they just go get a free hit at you to chop off the health you just gained for example, although conversely there will be situations where that dash will get you out of the way in a flash. You also have great mobility options in dash and double jump (the latter oddly enough is one of the few things in the game that not must be done to the beat) and just like in Doom you have to keep moving to stay alive, although that only makes it harder to land your shots consistently and keep combos alive.
It’s about time we discussed the multiplier system properly, as it’s an integral part of every aspect of Metal: Hellsinger. If you hit the beat successfully, your multiplier will rise, first to x2 and then double three more times if you keep playing well to max it out at x16. Not only does this increase your score – although that’s important in itself, since Metal: Hellsinger is essentially a score attack game – but it also increases your damage and, crucially, increases the intensity of the action by adding new layers to the soundtrack in each phase. Using music as a reward in this way is just ingenious, channeling the amazing evolving boss themes of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, but in a dynamic way. Efficiently blasting through an encounter to be rewarded with a wailing lead guitar solo in honor of your efforts never gets old, and the epic power fantasy of fighting through hell fighting the devil really comes into its own when you max out the multiplier and treated to booming vocals from some of the best voices in the business to round out the awesome action. This also means you’ll quickly find out what level your multiplier is at without even looking at the meter – a welcome bonus with how much else on screen will demand your full attention at any given moment. The soundtrack has been fantastic so far and I’m looking forward to hearing what Mr. Tankian has to offer…
As much as I love Metal: Hellsinger once I’ve played, one problem I’ve run into is that there seem to be inconsistencies with the beat timings from time to time. I’ve tried it on multiple screens and devices and performed the calibration dozens of times, but as close as I get to a good spot I’ll still have encounters where I find myself taking all the perfect shots until the timing just seems right for a moment out of step. Some of this may have to do with attacks, your most common timed inputs, being on RT and analog inputs are never ideal for rhythm games as they can cause consistency issues from accidental early/late presses depending on the threshold they’re using. Others I’ve talked to have had a similar experience, and it’s always frustrating to lose your flow and combo perks (and possibly even a run, if you’re trying a score attack) to something that doesn’t feel like it. your fault. I keep fiddling with the calibration to see if I can fix the problem.
If you’re only going to hell to grab some Metal: Hellsinger achievements, you’ll be happy to hear that this isn’t the most challenging list. There’s nothing specific about a difficulty setting, so you can try harder tasks on the easy Lamb difficulty, and you’ll probably unlock the most achievements while beating the game normally and going through all the Torment challenges. Even the more seemingly demanding ones aren’t that bad if you drop the difficulty setting, so most people shouldn’t have too much trouble going for the 1,000G. You can never have enough Xbox Game Pass quick completions, right? Right.
Overview
Metal: Hellsinger is a perfect match for Xbox Game Pass. It’s a short but sweet blast through hell and joining the service will give a much wider audience the chance to enjoy the intense action as the short nature makes it a hard sell at full price for anyone who isn’t a leaderboard addict or metal is devil (or both). The game’s only real lifespan will seemingly come from chasing high scores, and the levels are arguably a bit long for a classic score attack game – you’ll probably have a blast tearing the hell up as you progress through the story and while it’s good it won’t stay welcome any longer, it’s so full I can imagine a few people will come away wanting more. Still, it’s a great experience and a welcome to Game Pass, so it’s going to be a free pass from me.
Luke spent about three hours rocking Metal: Hellsinger and racked up 17 performances for his demon-killing efforts. A pre-copy was provided by the publisher.
0 Comments