It’s available on: PC, PS1, XBOX, and Series S.
The Outsiders is a developer and publisher.
Rock Band, Guitar Hero and Beatmania are some of the most popular music games. These sought to replicate a sense of what it feels like to jam out onstage; players tap buttons on plastic instruments or controllers to cascading notes on the screen, and are rewarded for smashing the right notes as close to thetempo as possible. While keeping to the pace is important for musicians to play in sync, these games lacked a crucial aspect of live music.
These games don’t really require dexterity and skill, but they don’t allow you to noodle around on your instrument, compose riffs on the fly or experience a live jam session. It is possible to be booed in Rock Band if you don’t play the right notes all the time. The drummer is the one who sets the pace andtempo of the songs, and this is something I have learned from playing in amateur bands. The rest of the band would have to remove their notes if I sped up or slowed down. An overly strict adherence to the beat can make a performance feel a bit too mechanical.
In doing so, “Metal: Hellsinger” strays surprisingly close to the heart-palpitating sensation of live performance, infused with the sort of off-the-rails improvised that’s not usually captured in rhythm games. The Unknown, a fallen archangel and feared nemesis of the infernal pits, will rampaging through the eight levels of hell with a sword and a couple of demonic weapons in his arsenal. You are going to the Underworld to get your lost voice, and you are going to assault heavy metal music.
At the same time, you are encouraged to line your kills up to the songs underlying beats, as you are guided along by the heavy pounding drums. The more in sync you are with this beat, the more damage you can do. As long as you can slaughter demons to the beat, what begins as an instrumental reverie will eventually turn into a full-blooded onslaught of melodic, aggressive metal.
The progenitor of “Metal: Hellsinger” is almost certainly “Doom”, given the heavy metal stylings and how it popularized the idea of Glory Kills. A lot of concepts from “Doom” are borrowed by “Metal: Hellsinger”, but it adds a twist with its rhythm-based mechanics.
Even though it is about keeping time while slaughtering bloodthirsty fiends, “Metal: Hellsinger” also offers room for experimentation through its array of weapons. Paz, a fire-belching talking skull, is a gun that lets you fire shots consistently and rapidly, but Deals minimal damage per shot. Paz is a perfect weapon for learning to shoot demons to the beat of the game’s heavy metal accompaniment because it doesn’t need reloading. More weapons, such as the game’s version of a shotgun, and a heavy crossbow, will be unlocked later in the game. It is slightly more challenging to wield as it requires some time to reload, and it has a lower fire rate, so you can only shoot the gun once every two beats.
This changes the way you view the show. Do you stick to Paz throughout the level, or do you use a slower but more powerful weapon? This dilemma and the need to stay on the beat can throw a wrench in the works. It isn’t a shift that everyone can quickly adapt to, as you’re going from firing your gun every beat to every other beat. If you do switch up your guns and go offbeat, you will need to adapt in a way that feels like a stark contrast to most rhythm games.
You will probably end up failing and reset your run a couple of times because the game expects virtuosity from its players. Any good performance is supported by hours of practice. You don’t always have to kill everything perfectly in sync, but practicing can help you discover your own rhythm and play style.
Since I would prefer not to complicate matters by using another gun with a slower fire rate, my approach was to rapidly alternate between Paz and the Hounds, a pair of revolvers. Not every drummer enjoys laying down relentless tides of cymbals washing over machine gun-esque blast beats; some prefer pirouetting around the tom drums to keep the pace going Interpretation and imagination are values of metal: Hellsinger. The game acknowledges the thrill of performing music or executing hellspawns.
The sounds of guttural barks and soaring vocals gradually being mixed into the rest of the instruments is particularly euphoric. It’s the part of the performance where you relax into your rhythm, as you feed off the blissful energy of every part of the music finally coming together. There is an intense physical aspect to the game, as your fingers race across the controller, and you try to ease yourself into the game. The shooting of these satanic zombies makes them feel very real.
You shouldn’t come into “Metal: Hellsinger” expecting to learn anything; it’s a first person shooter and you’re mainly here to rip demon flesh and crack infernal skulls with a big gun. What the game has shown is that there is a thread that connects the genres. When heavy metal is used in a game, it can result in a performance that is deep and theatrical.
The freedom and exhilaration of performance is something that rhythm games haven’t been able to offer in the first person shooter genre. The act of shooting bodies and popping heads form a pleasing rhythm when you execute kills to the beat of your internal pulse. It feels like you are holding the drumsticks yourself as you fire through demon hordes with a percussion flow of your own.
Khee Hoon Chan writes on the internet. You can ask them about the weather on social media.