Metal – Hellsinger Preview | GamersGlobal.de

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Anyone who thought that Doom was already the spearhead of hard-metal hellshooters could be taught a lesson by Hellsinger. After the allusion, however, we still have unanswered questions.

All screenshots and video scenes are from GamersGlobal

Metal has become an integral part of today’s music landscape. As early as the 1960s, pioneers such as Jimi Hendrix, Steppenwolf and The Who laid the foundations for what is meant by the collective term today. In the last few decades, metal has constantly evolved and can be found in a wide variety of styles. Be it in classic heavy metal, which Black Sabbath helped to become popular with their album of the same name in 1970, or in more extreme varieties such as thrash metal, whose “Big Four” are recommended to all beginners: anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica and slayer. Metal’s cultural influence cannot be denied and many video games have also been deeply influenced by guitar-heavy music.

For example, there is the doomseries, which made it clear, especially with its 2016 reboot, how tough it really is. Because the soundtrack by Mick Gordon drives you as a player mercilessly through the arenas of the shooter and spurs you on to new peak performances with his brisk guitar riffs. Gameplay and music go hand in hand and so can Doom and its sequels Doom Eternal can definitely be seen as the spearhead of the hard-metal hell shooters.

With Metal – Hellsinger However, the Swedish studio The Outsiders now wants to take the power from the speakers of the top dogs from id Software. Because the first-person shooter approaches numerous singers from well-known metal bands as collaborators and focuses on music as the central element of the game. I was able to play a level and was rewarded by Alissa White-Gluz from Arch Enemy sung. I’ll share my impressions so far in the preview video attached above or in the free text preview below.

Now it’s time to be quick and hit the rhythm. Otherwise the slaughter won’t work.

Multi-layered background music

Shooting through demonic hordes in time, that doesn’t really sound like a sensible concept at first – but it works surprisingly well in Metal – Hellsinger. One indicator of proper timing is a meter in the center of the screen that you’ll need to match your shots, slaughter, and even dodge dashes against. Also, you’ll reload faster when you’re on beat – similar to Gears of War you have to press a second time at the right time.

The slaughter mentioned are essentially the glory kills known from Doom. If you perform such a finisher on an orange glowing demon, you get some life energy back and a lot of points – because Metal Hellsinger wants to force the high score hunt as a central element. By the way, neither the finishers nor the general designs are as strong as in Doom.

The better you keep the rhythm, the more damage you deal. But the music also adapts to your performance. Because even if the singers come from real bands, all tracks were built especially for the game – and the higher your multiplier, the more complex the musical background becomes. But only at the highest level does the singing start, before that more and more instruments and melodies join in.

There are also bosses, but the design I saw was not very exciting.

Under the spell of metal

I don’t want to sugarcoat it here, tact is not my forte. Anyone who has experienced rhythm games with me knows what I mean. My personal boss was, for example Cadence of Hyrule – Crypt of the NecroDancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda. So Hellsinger was quite difficult for me at the beginning. Because in contrast to Doom, I couldn’t just start shooting wildly, but had to time my mouse clicks exactly – but after the first few battles it went surprisingly well.

Even if the term “flow” is used far too loosely these days, on Metal Hellsinger it just fits like a sword into a demon’s skull. Because once you get the beat, reload at the perfect time and blast your bullets out in sync with the guitar riffs, it’s just immensely satisfying. Combined with what I thought was a fantastic soundtrack, this is a true feast for any Metal fan.

Paz’s head isn’t strong, which is perfect for setting up enemies for slaughter.

controls and weapon selection

By the way, I would strongly advise you to use a mouse and keyboard. I’m not a bad controller player by any means, but following the rhythm with the gamepad is really not easy. In addition, this input method seemed to me to be a bit less precise overall. Maybe that will change before the final release. As of now, however, the controls can’t keep up with Doom Eternal, which I rocked through even on the highest level of difficulty with the Xbox Elite Controller.

Weapon selection wasn’t overly creative in the one version I played, but was good genre standard. Aside from dual revolvers and a shotgun, you can only use a sword and the Skull of Paz – the latter deals little damage, making it ideal for preparing enemies for slaughter. Here, in later levels, a few more creative shooting clubs can be installed. Unfortunately, the ultimate attacks of the weapons, which charge up over time, are nothing more than particularly powerful shots.

Author: Dennis Hilla (GamersGlobal)

Opinion: Dennis Hilla

If you look at the squad of musicians involved in Metal – Hellsinger, as a fan of the heavier sounds, your heart can already melt. Matt Heafy, Serj Tankian, Randy Blythe, Tatiana Shmailyuk and many more guarantee an amazing soundtrack and are some of my current favorite vocalists. According to my first impression, the adaptation of the songs to your playing performance works more than well and the dark style, which is not only remotely reminiscent of Doom, gives the audiovisual design the finishing touch.

I’m not quite sure how motivating the gaming experience is in the long run. Because once you’re in the beat, Hellsinger just feels terrific and creates a real pull – at least until you click once and have to find your way back into the beat. This is where players like me, whose musical ability is at the level of a rock, could well get frustrated. However, the developers promise several levels of difficulty, so there is hope. If you’re not averse to metal of any kind and enjoy fast, brutal shooters, then you should definitely keep an eye on the title. Unfortunately, there is currently no release date.

Metal – Hellsinger