Doom meets rhythm shooter: We tried out a demo of Metal: Hellsinger – and were absolutely thrilled!
I’ve opened the gates of hell! No, not in Shooter Metal: Hellsinger (there too), but by accident apparently in real life.
Just as I plunge headlong into the demo, pitch-black clouds gather outside, thunder rumbles and purple lightning bathes Munich in an eerie light. Coincidence? Well, I think to myself, then comes the end of the world. I still can’t stop playing this game!
No horde of demons could have pulled me out of my chair, because Metal: Hellsinger hits just the right note for me. It combines fun shooter gameplay with a wonderfully over-the-top hell setting and – most importantly for me! – a fantastic metal soundtrack that really makes everything even more epic. Watering flowers, washing dishes, whatever.
This one word almost put me off: rhythm shooter. I don’t know about you, to me it sounds like lame aerobics classes. But Hellsinger proves me wrong in the first few seconds and stylishly smashes the electric guitar on my stubborn head.
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Doom, but as a metal concert to play along with
The intro claws its way straight into my festival-influenced brain stem, awakening memories of the best concerts of my life. The stage set goes up in flames, individual notes interweave, the drums kick in. That’s how you create hype before the band- I mean, the tutorial even starts!
This explains to me in a few minutes how Metal: Hellsinger even works. I, a nameless demoness, pick up a skull that shoots fireballs and speaks to me in the voice of Troy Baker – and I’m already allowed to fire up the first demons. I shoot or strike to the rhythm of the music, which is conveniently displayed on the screen. The better I stay in time, the more damage I do, and I heal myself with precisely executed finishes.
In the process, my wrath meter fills up – and when it’s full, the chant blares and I become more powerful. In the demo, the fantastic vocals come from Arch Enemy singer Alissa White-Gluz, and genre giants like Matt Heafy (Trivium), Serj Tankian (System of a Down) and Tatiana Shmayluk (Jinjer) are also confirmed for the finished game. The line-up is something to be proud of!
But because keeping to the beat isn’t enough, Metal: Hellsinger also demands a lot of acrobatics from me, especially against larger hordes of opponents or powerful demon bosses that send my demoness to the boards at lightning speed.
If I forget to pay attention to the music, my weapons suddenly spit cotton wools. This is what my gameplay looks like live and in colour (be sure to turn it up loud so that the people around you get something out of it):
Personally, I’ve never been a big Doom fan, but this just shreds. Crushing demonic hordes with the power of the four-four clock is quite an excellent idea. The weapons have decent punch, feel varied and allow for different tactics. My favourites are the double revolvers, even though you have to reload them all the time. My least favourite so far is the sword, I just can’t get a feel for it – surely a matter of taste.
No sooner do I feel reasonably saddle-fast on my ride through hell than the demo throws the big end boss at me. With Slayer’s guitar shredding, I’m going to flatten them!
This is how boss fights should be!
The mighty Bat Demon makes Rammstein’s fireworks shows look like a child’s birthday party, hurling fireballs, laser beams and lightning bolts at me until I forget the rhythm and pass away. I can return twice per world, then I have to start all over again – Metal: Hellsinger knows no mercy.
Before the third attempt, I take a moment. Turn up the music. Rocking with my foot. I sink deep into the metal until I taste iron on my tongue and flames burst from my eyes. With a passionate primal scream, I throw myself back into the battle. And this time I unleash a murderously elegant dance that surprises myself. In the end, the demon lady disintegrates into her component parts and I bang the headset off my head.
In most shooters, you have to be focused and meticulous about making every shot count. Not so in Hellsinger. The less you think about it, the better you play. Dodging, shooting, takedowns – the fluid gameplay is addictive. If the developers can maintain this level in the finished game, we’re in for something big.
What do we like about the demo? What remains unclear?
This is what I noticed positively about Metal: Hellsinger
- The rhythmic shooter gameplay is really fun.
- The difficulty is crisp, but you learn very quickly (it should be customisable in the finished game).
- The soundtrack is great. And I’d bet my festival ribbon collection that the rest of the tracks are at least as kick-ass.
- The game bleeds love for metal like I last experienced with Brütal Legend.
What is still unclear
- How high is the frustration factor? In the demo, death wasn’t that bad because you could easily fight your way back to the boss fight in fifteen minutes. But if the levels get bigger later on, it could get annoying if you keep losing your progress. Maybe this can be solved with an optional setting.
- How good are the boss fights? The finale of the demo was cool, but of course the later bosses should improve. I guess at the end of each hell a new incarnation of the head demoness is waiting, hopefully they all bring their own skillset.
- How much variety is there? According to the developers, we can expect several very different hub worlds, including an ice hell. I only saw a few sections in the demo, so I can’t judge that.
French fry to the heart, overall I’m very optimistic that Metal: Hellsinger will be a really good game. It will probably take at least one more festival season until the release, so far it’s only roughly planned for 2022. Originally it should have been released in 2021, but honestly: For a real headbanger I’m happy to wait a little longer!
Editor’s verdict
Actually, games like Metal: Hellsinger are way too stressful for me. And I don’t need to expect a deep story here either – but the whole thing is so cool! I forget that I always want a strong story and that Doom-like shooters don’t really appeal to me.
In the demo, I even developed an ambition that is quite unusual for me, of getting better and better times. After my clumsy first steps, I became more and more confident. I’ll jump in your face with my fire skull, demon spawn! In the meantime, I managed to complete the demo in under 15 minutes, which is probably easily doable for Doom veterans. But for me it’s a real success!
I’m afraid I’ll have to take a few evenings off as soon as Metal: Hellsinger is released. Even at the risk of triggering severe storms with it again.
