Metal: Hellsinger Turns Doom Into A Rhythm Game And It’s Super Clever

Very angry pieces of music, inherited from metal, exacerbated violence fully assumed, a shovelful of demons, each more dreadful than the other… This is not a new episode of the cult saga Doombut from a slightly arrogant offspring baptized Metal: Hellsinger and developed by The Outsiders studio from Sweden. Where were born metal bands like Soilwork, Marduk or Dark Funeral.

Obviously, it is difficult to separate Metal: Hellsinger of its soundtrack. To like the game, you have to appreciate the big electric guitar riffs, the attacks of the drumsticks on the drums, machine gun style, and the singers who shout the worst insanities at the microphone (don’t judge me on these shots, I listening to metal). Worse, you have to know how to lend an ear to play well. Because Metal: Hellsinger transforms the Doom-like experience into a rhythmic experience, with a cast of stars that will speak to fans: Serj Tankian from System of a Down, Alissa White-Gluz from Arch Enemy or Björn Strid from Soilwork.

You have to know how to play with your ears

There’s something really confusing about this Metal: Hellsinger. In this type of shooter articulated around frenetic action, we tend to want to constantly empty our magazine so as not to lose the flow of the confrontations. Here, there is the notion of tempo which is essential. You have to learn to tame the rhythm of the song playing in the background (whether by ear or with visual indicators), in order to raise a gauge that makes attacks more powerful and raises the score much higher . Therefore, it is sometimes necessary to delay your shots, which might seem counterintuitive.

The gameplay of Metal: Hellsinger is therefore rather clever, keeping in mind that everything is an excuse to play on the rhythm. You will have to learn to place the dodges at the right time, to maintain your multiplier by shooting at a destructible element of the decor or even to execute the enemies in the right timing (which allows you to heal yourself, by the way). Metal: Hellsinger imposes to learn new reflexes and to rework one’s habits in a genre that we thought was very marked out – but which continues to be surprising, like the formidable Doom Eternal. The proposal of The Outsiders does not go as far as its elder in this epic and grandiose character of violence, but it makes up for it with a side step which makes sense and is akin to the obvious.

Apart from this distinction likely to make all the difference, but which could be just as repulsive, Metal: Hellsinger does not invent much. Her storyline—a demonic ex-singer must find her voice—is laughable (if a bit poetic). His gallery of enemies lacks a bit of thickness. Its artistic direction is arbitrary in its representation of the Underworld (it’s often very red and very dark) and its structure is rectilinear: we follow the chapters composed of arenas taking us to a boss (which is always the same, with a different).

Eventually, we can complete the few bonus events to unlock static advantages. An example ? Increased damage when low on health. Those who try to beat ever higher scores will struggle to achieve the perfect score and achieve the highest result.

We wish them good luck, Metal: Hellsinger can be very punitive, whether during the learning phase or afterwards. Opposing demons tend to hurt a lot, which forces you to be constantly on the alert. On this point, we find a feeling close to that offered by Doom Eternal : to be immobile is to be condemned to game over. This constraint turns into an exhilarating feeling. Especially since playing well allows you to honor the soundtrack, which is revealed as you increase your multiplier (up to x16 to hear the lyrics of the songs). You won’t be dancing in front of your screen while playing Metal: Hellsingerbut maybe you want to headbang your neck.