Metal: Hellsinger

It was a short reign for Neon White as arcade FPS of the year, but Metal Hellsinger is close to the total package. In some ways, the gameplay is just a shallower take on Doom 2016; however, the rhythm aspects really punctuate the flow of the fast-paced combat, a pace that also draws attention to the pummeling power of metal as a whole. When these two sides coalesce, it really puts you in the zone and creates a zen like few games do. This game gives me the Tetris Effect something fierce, though it can also be really exhausting as a result.

It also fares better than Necrodancer because it maintains some of the pseudo turn-based strategy of timing each action to your next beat, but it's a lot easier to visualize even at the frenetic speed the game demands because the mechanics are altogether simple to pick up. The challenge comes from stringing together combos and maintaining your flow without getting rushed by enemies, which hit hard and come in large numbers and multiple flavours. So the game still maintains a Doom mentality of threat assessment and priority, but gives a much stricter time limit with which to navigate these problems. All this really elevates what is essentially just another game about shooting demons. My only two complaints are a slight lack of gameplay entities, I wish there had been a couple more enemies and definitely more varied level designs, and the auto-aim is wonky with regards to environmental hazards, which I hope can be tweaked in the future.

Even the presentation scores very high marks, with the Hells being varied and distinct, sometimes hot and scalding, sometimes industrial and draining, sometimes cold and hollowed, but all fit our general interpretations of what a Hell could look like. The UI and enemy color-coding and so on is tweaked to perfection with no readability issues, and as a big metal fan, it's great to see a metal setlist that doesn't just rely on A7X or Slipknot as would be the normie picks (though the backing band could have been spicier overall). The story is also surprisingly engaging with a neat unfolding astral mystery and a few neat twists, though Troy Baker and Jennifer Hale are definitely mining past performances rather than being truly original. But I was interested in the story enough to keep playing, a far cry from the story of Neon White being a disincentive to keep playing that.

So while the overall experience could have used just a little more meat on its bones, I am very excited to see where The Outsiders go from here on the strength of this game alone. Great stuff.