The Outsiders, a small development studio that used to be based in Stockholm, Sweden, had an incredibly rocky start to begin with, but they gave the world a priceless gem in the form of a game. Their initial plan was to develop and release a game under the name of Project Wight, though luck was not on their side. Shortly after announcing the name and reveal trailer for the then named game, Darkborn, they had to halt development to begin work on something much bigger. Unfortunately, not much else is known on this matter.

The Outsiders eventually announced that they were working on Metal: Hellsinger in June 2020, and even though development was erratic along with receiving mixed reactions from gaming communities, they still pressed on to make their dream a reality. Metal: Hellsinger is a mix of metal rhythm, first person shooter and a lot of chaos. Shortly after the announcement of the game in 2021, Funcom, a game publisher based in Oslo, Norway, acquired The Outsiders and relocated the studio to Romania. Development still carried on while they still released teasers and gameplay videos to show progress. After delaying the planned release for 2021 to 2022, we finally got to experience work of art that is Metal: Hellsinger.

With the help of Two Feathers, Elvira Bjorkman and Nicklas Hjertberg, a composer duo who specialize in music and sound engineering for games, Metal: Hellsinger was brought to life. Among the things that got all of us extremely excited was the vocalist lineup, with infamous vocalists like Allissa White-Gluz from Arch Enemy, Matt Heafy from Trivium, and Serj Tankian from System of a Down, and many others, Metal: Hellsinger was destined to be mind-melting.

In Metal: Hellsinger, you start your rise to the top as a demon of sorts who is known as The Unknown, imprisoned in the Hells as a form of punishment. The thing about the Hells is that when you’re judged, you’re also punished in the form of losing the thing you love most. For The Unknown, the one thing she loved most was her voice. With an unholy determination and a demonic rage to fuel her warpath, you’ll have to make your way to the top to face off against the Red Judge, also known as The Devil. Though before you can begin the climb, you’ll need a little help, since the Red Judge imprisoned The Unknown with powerful and unbreakable magics.

This is where Paz, also known as The Pulse of the Universe, comes to your aid. He might just be the skull of a fallen angel but he showed The Unknown how to break the magic that keeps her trapped. Even though he’s the narrator for The Unknown’s story, he’s also a damn fine ranged weapon. With Terminus, her falx blade, and Paz at her side, you’ll have to cut down any demons that stand in your path along with the guardians of each realm in the Hells. The guardians are the Aspects of the Red Judge, and they also act as the wardens for each realm you pass through.

Metal: Hellsinger is first and foremost, a rhythm game. So you’ll have to play to the beat of the song, regardless of if you’re using a melee weapon like Terminus or a ranged weapon like Paz, each strike or shot has to be on the beat or you won’t deal as much damage as you can. Though you are rated based on how close to the beat you play and there is some margin for error, good strikes will deal moderate damage and allow you to at least somewhat get by. Perfectly playing to the beat will also be indicated and maximize your damage as well. In a game like Metal: Hellsinger, the beat is your lifeline and the damage you deal will all depend on your accuracy.

You won’t be limited with just Terminus and Paz on the weapons front. As you progress on your rampage to reach the Red Judge, you’ll find new weapons to add to your arsenal. Each one is incredibly unique in their uses and playstyles. Before jumping into each chapter, you get a chance to choose a primary and secondary weapon to have at your side. Paz and Terminus are naturally non-negotiable, but the ability to take 2 extra weapons gives you a lot more potential to work with. It opens up the potential to raise hell with the number of different loadouts you can create.

Another game changer for the weapons is that each weapon has its own ultimate ability. What set’s the ultimate in Metal: Hellsinger apart from any other game is that each weapon’s ultimate charges individually as you wield them. This means if you use all your weapons, you’ll have 4 ultimates at your disposal with which to raise hell and carve your way through the seemingly endless onslaught of demons. You’ll need to consider each weapon not just for the playstyle they bring, but the ultimates they can unleash as well.

The next part in your loadout would be Sigils. Sigils are like perks that give you passive bonuses, as an example – Ghost Rounds can give you extra attacks or ammo when you switch weapons. These can be unlocked by going back to completed chapters and completing Torments, and each chapter has 3 Torments that will upgrade its respective Sigil for an even higher passive bonus. Keep in mind that the Torments are similar to challenges and will be more difficult or have certain objectives to complete. Just like weapons, you will be limited to 2 active Sigils at a time. Even if it does sound very limiting, 2 Sigils can still make a considerable difference for your overall gameplay.

Thanks to the latest Metal: Hellsinger - Dream of the Beast DLC that was released on 29 March 2023, you’ll have one extra weapon to choose from that can change the course of the fight in the best way possible. Though you’ll also have access to outfits for The Unknown like the Dark Devotee, Morning Star, and Angel Eyes along with her standard outfit. Each outfit, while changing her appearance, has a unique passive that will also aid you in reaching the Red Judge. Though if you’re looking to stand out with something more appealing to the eye, or if you need a change to help you get your game on, the DLC will give you that and more.

The biggest driving force to stay on the beat in Metal: Hellsinger is your Fury counter. Since Metal: Hellsinger is also score driven for leaderboards, your Fury counter works as an incentive to hear more of the music. Your Fury counter starts at 1x, which will give you very basic background music with only the beat, keeping consistent with slashing or firing at demons will raise your Fury to 2x, 4x, 8x, and 16x, each tier of Fury adding more and more to the music you can hear. Though you’ll need to hit 16x if you want the sick vocals too, maintaining 16x is a different struggle. Fury is easily generated but getting hit will also take a toll on your Fury, so you’ll need to watch your health bar and your Fury counter at the same time.

As can be expected in a first-person shooter, you’ll have some form of health bar, but you’ll need to restore life too. Still running with the general brutal and bloody theme, you have options. Your first option and the easiest one is, Styx Crystals. You’ll find these strange green crystal formations on walls as you progress but they are limited in the sense that once broken, they don’t regenerate. So it’s best to save those for when you need them. Though you’ll also have the more brutal option, Slaughter. Bringing a demon’s life down just enough will give you a prompt to use a finishing attack, provided it’s on the beat, Slaughters will also reward you with a full heal and a gory but satisfying kill.

So, you have a crystal that can restore your life, but what about a crystal that takes life? Metal: Hellsinger has you covered there too with Chaos Crystals. You’ll find these scattered throughout the chapters, sometimes with demons around them and other times you can use them as traps. Chaos Crystals act like bombs, but with a lot more power. With you being the main target, leading a small group of demons to a Chaos Crystal is a relatively easy task to take down a multitude of them in one shot. Luckily, the Chaos Crystals don’t affect your health or Fury meter negatively, but they can give you the much needed boost you need for your Fury counter.

Metal: Hellsinger might seem like a knock-off of Doom, but The Outsiders took it several steps further with visual aspects. The attention to detail is clear and it really looks like you’re fighting your way through hell. From the environment to the various demons you’ll have to face, it’s all extremely appealing to the eye. Normally you’d expect an ungodly amount of brimstone and fire in a game that takes place in a hellscape, but Metal: Hellsinger has more visualized chaos than just fire which makes the overall visual design just so inspired. While some of the demons you face will have similarities to each other, they look more related in a familial sense than just copying and changing the design. Though you’ll also come across completely different types of demons on your path that balances everything out as well. Another thing to note is that even the weapons in your loadout menu are incredibly detailed and connect quite well to the lore that comes with each of them.

This game is a must play for audiophiles and metalheads alike. If you like to feel your bones rattle as you cause a demon to explode with your top-of-the-line home theatre system, or if you live for metal music through a decent headset. You will not be disappointed with what you’ll get to hear in Metal: Hellsinger. The game might not have the full bands for each vocalist in the lineup, but Two Feathers helped make a masterpiece with their musical abilities and the talented vocalists who gave their voices to make this game a reality, both sides played their parts to the fullest and you can really hear it, sometimes even feel it. You’ll also hear that each song ties quite well into the story, and the vocalists who sang in each song have left a lasting mark on this work of art.

While Metal: Hellsinger might be a rhythm-based game, it will be fast-paced but not to the point where you’d have to be a professional to play. Players of any skill can indulge in this game and experience the rich story, gameplay, and epic music in Metal: Hellsinger. The Outsiders might have had a rocky start but their first release wasn’t as rocky, and instead left us thrashing to the beat as we thrashed hordes of demons without having to worry about any bugs that could ruin the gameplay. Though there are bug-like demons that are a hell of a time to squash.

Jay Claassen
Editor, NoobFeed