When someone says ‘Rhythm Game’ I think of Guitar Hero. I grew up playing that game which infused music (good music at that) and gaming into one. It was arcade-like and challenging and a whole lot of fun. Those games may have fizzled out but I will never forget Friday Night Guitar Hero sessions by friends’. Metal Hellsinger is labelled a Rhythm Game… but instead of sticking to the music notes on a plastic guitar, you are slaying demons to the beat. The best way I can describe this game is, “Remember the killer music in Doom? Well, imagine that was a gameplay mechanic in Doom.”
The game plays a lot like Doom, it feels like Doom and it sounds like Doom, so long as you time your attacks to the beat of the song.
During the demo (which I have played a dozen times over) the player gets the basics and then ventures off to slay. By the crosshair there are little lines that close in and flash, indicating now is the time to strike or shoot, this is also in tune with the beat of the song and it sounds so cool when your gunshots are in synch with the beat, and it looks cool as well because you do maximum damage when you nail the beat. Miss the beat, and your attack is nerfed into the ground. I find using the skull weapon while not in combat helps keep me in synch, and what’s cool is the higher your streak, the louder the song gets and I found that headbanging actually helped immensely.
The music is done by various metal musicians which you can see in the trailer below. The gameplay is fast, fun and brutal while the environments in the demo were hellish and cool. The game has a lot of promise and I’m looking forward to seeing what the full package offers.
