REVIEW: Your heart and head will get into the rhythm of Metal Hellsinger

I haven't played for a long time. Doom Eternal and, due to preferences that are worth discussing at another time, I had a rather frustrating experience. Surprisingly, Metal hellsinger, which has its many similarities and influences from the title of Bethesda, won my eyes, ears and heart. Yes, perhaps a large part of this merit lies in the involvement of renowned heavy metal artists and in the musicality of the work, but this mashup a rhythm game with FPS it put together all the elements capable of transforming a cliché trip to hell into a unique hellish journey.

Come check out more details about Metal Hellsinger!

In search of your own voice

For those who aren't familiar with it, Metal hellsinger is a game developed by the Swedish studio The Outsiders. I would put the following keywords related to the work: heavy metal, demons and a rhythm of diabolic proportions. Yes, the musical genre known for its density generated by highly distorted guitars is the most important piece of this set, for it is he who will guide your shots.

First-person shooters and heavy metal have a good relationship history – the first Doom, from 1993, already placed Alice in Chains e Panther to accelerate the flow sensation of the players. However, here the music stops being an atmospheric addition to the game to dictate the rhythm at which you must kill enemies.

Before we get into the gameplay details, here's a brief introduction to the story: we take on the role of enigma, a demon whose voice was stolen before being locked away in the deepest level of Hell. In some ways, we are uniquely attuned to the natural rhythm of the cosmos, able to draw power from it. Upon escaping from his cage, the journey of revenge against the Judge (Red Judge) – the capiroto, beelzebub, bad thing, tranquera, seven-skin, cramunhão – in other words.

Sound-ruled shooting

As you might expect, our objective is to shoot all kinds of demons and devils that we come across, until it's time to defeat the boss at the end of each level. What makes this one different from the other FPS you've been playing around is that its Hearing will be one of the most important senses to perform well.

A metal song, which starts calmly, accompanies you and increases in intensity according to the hits. Layers of fullness from the instruments soaring in your ear means greater punching power, and to build that, you have to run, carry, shoot and shoot enemies in time to the music. Hit streaks will help you sustain the attack multiplier, a system very similar to the Guitar Hero - the more sequential hits, the more points. This mix of genres has already been implemented in BPM: Bullets Per Minute, but nothing that matches the level of polish and intensity achieved in this title.

And it's not just the sound-governed gunplay. Quick reloading of a weapon can be done with an opportune second press of the key, having a positive impact on the attack multiplier. Even a dodge can be useful in 4/4 time music. If this sounds technical, don't worry, let your ear and heart guide you. In minutes you will be "head banging".

As for the variety of weapons, they hit the nail on the head, as the game offers different ways to play and attack to the rhythm, but not too much to overwhelm players with an unnecessary amount of options.

Just don't forget to check out the game calibration mode, which allows Sync the sound with the taps of your controller. That way, the shots come out at the right time and there's no danger of you thinking that the mechanics don't work. Well, if it's still not clear, yes, it works and very well, because even people inexperienced in FPS are able to enjoy the rhythmic action. I, for example, still need to eat a lot of rice and beans so I don't repeat the same level dozens of times, but once you get the hang of it, you can't go wrong. Beside the magic hit successive beats and feel the music grow!

heavy voices

Each of the levels has a song made especially for him, with vocals that only start when the player reaches 8x the multiplier. That way, we have an extra incentive to keep the beat. In the list of vocalists of these songs, we have illustrious names like Randy Blythe, Alissa White-Gluz e Serj Tankian, who deliver incredible performances.

Speaking of dubbing, we only have two voices in action: Jennifer Hale and Troy Baker, great veterans of the gaming industry. Hale is great as Red Judge, while Baker is ok as a narrator, without much prominence. Sometimes it's even boring to hear. We want the music soon!

Well, as nothing is perfect, a criticism is in order before we reach the conclusion. As long as we have a impeccable sound, Hellsinger's look isn't a big draw. Perhaps the fault lies in the director's marketing, who put it as "a metal album cover come to life". They are common demons in environments painted in shades of brown and gray, that is, normal. The levels are extremely generic, having only one layer of hell different enough to remember.

Metal Hellsinger worth it?

First, the game meets our musical ambitions with the impressive range and quality of artists involved. As a person who finds it therapeutic to have guttural vocals constantly in my ears, I might be suspicious to say that the demon slaying in double pedal time is invigorating after a stressful day! 

Even though it's shorter than other FPS games, the game's depth and music sets it apart from the rest. We recommend Metal: Hellsinger mainly for shooter fans e heavy metal. Don't you have a refined taste to the point of liking metal? Alright, he deserves your attention just for the adrenaline.

The game is available for PC, PS5, and Xbox X|S (Game Pass).

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