Metal: Hellsinger Preview – The Beat of Hell

I’m hard to impress when it comes to the rhythm genre. Everything needs to be perfect before I would hesitate to call it a good time. However, Metal Hellsinger blends rhythm with the high-paced, frantic action of titles like Doom and makes it work, a feat I didn’t think possible.

There’s something addicting about listening to music and losing yourself to the violence of it all. The kills meld together as you feel the world’s pulse reverberate around you. I frequently lost myself in the gameplay, barely recognizing what was happening around me.

Few titles have that kind of pull, and I would attribute this to the track used for the demo and the genius pacing of the action. For example, Stygia, the demo song, has two phases of music: a general instrumental and a vocal version. The vocals only kick in once your fury meter has reached its maximum, pushing you to keep killing as the music intensifies.

This simple tool makes the game highly addictive. Even with only a single-stage available, I wanted to keep playing and push my high score as far as possible, finally reaching the sixteenth place among everybody who had played the demo. Of course, weapons play a significant part in the title’s draw.

Each weapon has a tempo to keep up with that makes it feel different while maintaining the beat. My favorite gun, the shotgun, feels heavy with every shot, blasting away most enemies. The next weapon is the twin revolvers, faster-paced weapons without much stopping power that can riddle enemies with bullets before they reach you.

The other two weapons featured are the sword and Paz, a skull that emits energy beams. These two have their place, but I found myself using them the least in favor of the two guns in my arsenal. Paz can help you execute enemies when low on health, but even then, it’s much faster to use the pistols or the shotgun in a crowd.

I am looking forward to seeing what other weapons could be in store in the full release, along with the soundtrack, which promises to stick in your head long after leaving hell’s pits. Even now, I can hear the Stygia pounding in the back of my head as I think about ways to increase my score.

It’s clear to me that developer The Outsiders has an apparent hit on their hands and is poised to capitalize on the premise of Metal: Hellsinger. Players will have difficulties putting down the title as they slowly lose themselves in hell’s rhythm. I know it still calls to me to push the lost souls and rock their faces off.