Metal: Hellsinger Review – A Rhythmic Symphony Of Destruction

Reviewed on: PC
Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Publisher: Funcom
Developer: The Outsiders
Rating: Teen

Metal: Hellsinger knows precisely what it is from the second it begins: a love letter to fast-paced first-person shooters, especially Doom, and a tribute to metal music and the culture surrounding it. It’s a no-frills shooter that asks, “What if you had to blow bodies to pieces to the beat of a metal album made by genre greats?” It excels at answering that question. It’s not perfect – the bosses are uninspired at times, and it could use an extra dash of variety in combat design – but my criticisms mattered little to my overall enjoyment of my 11-hour playthrough. What the game gets right far outshines what it doesn’t, and the developer, The Outsiders, has created what I hope is just the start of a new FPS franchise set in Hell.

Metal is the name of the game here, literally. Music plays throughout your experience, whether it’s in the game’s fantastic campaign that takes you through realms of Hell or its trials, which unlock sigils used to strengthen your loadout during the story mode. If you like Trivium, Lamb of God, and other bands like this in the genre and guns with a fiery kick, Metal: Hellsinger is already worth the price of admission. I gunned down a massive skeletal boss to the beat of a near-operatic song backed by iconic vocals from System of a Down’s Serj Tankian. I ripped through hordes of enemy mobs and behemoth demons to the rhythm of Arch Enemy’s Alissa White-Gluz’s death-metal melodies. It was as enthralling as it sounds, in no small part, thanks to precise and punchy shooting mechanics.

 

You use one of six different weapons to attack hundreds of demons, and the game rewards you with extra damage if you fire each bullet in perfect match with the on-screen metronome that doubles as your reticle. Streaks increase your damage output and score modifier. What’s unique about this streak counter is that each new level adds a new layer to the music track. At 2x, you might hear a bass rumbling and a guitar’s subtle whine, rearing for what’s to come. At 4x, the drums might kick in. Reach 8x, and the song begins to roar, missing just the vocals, which complete the track at 16x.

Climbing from 2x to 16x, made easier by streak multiplier pickups littered throughout a given stage, remained as exciting the umpteenth time as it was when I first did it. It feels like bringing a song to life, like a producer, except you’re doing it with weapons that rip Hell’s demons to pieces.

All of this is happening because of The Unknown, the playable character in Metal: Hellsinger, banished to the deepest realms of Hell where only ice and lowly demons remain. The Unknown progresses from the iciest domains to the fieriest alongside a talking skull voiced by Troy Baker. He brings a southern drawl that matches the game’s almost Western-like tone, all to find and kill The Judge, a slithering ruler losing her grasp on Hell, excellently voiced by Jennifer Hale.

 

There’s not much else to the game besides this campaign, but that’s okay because what’s there is outstanding. There are nine levels and 21 associated Torments that will test your mettle with time trials that task you with killing enemies a certain way using specific weapons and methods. There’s also an in-game codex for additional Hell-related information and extras that let you listen to the game’s tracks, but that’s it. Metal: Hellsinger is short and sweet, but it ends at exactly the right time when it reaches the climax of both its story and its built-in metal album.

I have minor gripes with the game, like its Torment time trials, which either feel cheap and unfair or brilliantly designed in an almost puzzle-like way, and its boss and combat design, which could use a touch more variety, but these critiques are barely worth mentioning. My admittedly small criticisms mattered very little to how much I enjoyed playing Metal: Hellsinger.

I likely won’t remember my minute frustrations with the game a few months from now, but I will remember “Dissolution,” a Two Feathers track with cathartic vocals from Bjorn “Speed” Strid of Soilwork, the realm of Hell known as Nihil, and the way my shotgun obliterated waves of enemies there. I’m so glad Metal: Hellsinger ends with the promise of more to come because I already want more from this series.

Score: 9

About Game Informer's review system

Purchase

Read More

Ooblets Review – A Cheerful Grind

Reviewed on: Switch
Platform: Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Publisher: Glumberland
Developer: Glumberland
Release: 2020
Rating: Everyone

Ooblets offers a smile-inducing amalgamation of monster collecting, farming simulation, and relationship building. However, this delightful chill pill becomes tougher to swallow thanks to a tedious, grind-heavy progression that tests your patience in less enjoyable ways.  

The adventure whisks players to Badgetown, a quirky village where residents harmoniously live alongside Pokémon-esque creatures called Ooblets. Despite your newcomer status, the townsfolks turn to you to restore the city to its former glory. That involves tasks such as reopening buildings and cleaning up trash, all while making friends along the way. In many ways, Ooblets feels like a more purpose-driven Animal Crossing, which appealed to me as someone who prefers working towards tangible goals. 

Checking off your to-do list requires the help of Ooblets. These critters serve as partners and protectors and come in many species and rarities. Though cute, some of their designs feel uninspired. For every spring-legged jellyfish, there’s an Ooblet best described as a “mushroom with a smiley face” or “a plain bird.” Instead of catching Ooblets, you must obtain their seeds, then grow one on your farm. How do you get seeds? By defeating Ooblets in dance battles, the game’s humorous spin on turn-based combat.

Dance battles pit squads as large as six Ooblets against each other. Commands take the form of cards, adding an element of randomness. Many cards sport a point value, and the goal is to play enough to reach a total value, represented by a meter, before your opponent. However, you can only play a certain amount of cards each turn based on how many Beats (basically mana points) they require. You don’t build your deck; instead, you have a permanent selection of general-use cards with Ooblets bringing unique abilities, thus dictating your line-up. One Ooblet burdens the opponent’s deck with useless cards, another focuses on weakening their attack power, while others raise your card’s power by generating Hype. 

Despite the strategic elements, dance battles are a walk in the park. I never lost one in over 30 hours of playing, and it never mattered what combination of Ooblets I used since the A.I. rarely plays aggressively. I wish dance battles challenged me more because they became an uninteresting formality, especially during quests where you must complete multiple bouts in a row. However, I respect the battle system as a cute, non-violent introduction to turn-based combat for younger or inexperienced players.

Thankfully, the bulk of the experience unfolds on your farm. In addition to growing new Ooblets, you cultivate crops by plowing land and keeping it watered. This became my favorite part of Ooblets. I enjoyed designing my farm and concocting systems to produce crops as optimally as possible (which sometimes takes days). It gets even better once you construct tools to make the job more autonomous, such as automatic sprinklers. You can also assign extra Ooblets to your farm to tend to responsibilities like pulling weeds or harvesting the ripe yield while you’re away, providing a nice incentive to obtain as many of these little helpers as possible. 

 

Farming crops and gathering materials, whether plucking them from the earth, fishing them out of the sea, or recycling them out of trash, is pivotal to Ooblet’s progression. Every major task requires players to deliver bundles of materials, whether you’re restoring Badgetown’s clubhouses, repairing a hot air balloon to travel to new cities, or fulfilling a ton of fetch quests. Having a bit of everything on you at all times matters; you can’t even challenge Ooblets to dance battles unless you’re carrying a specific crop or a dish made from them. Running into new Ooblets loses its excitement when they require a vegetable you left in storage, forcing you to trek back home. 

Quests began to lose their appeal once I realized they’re the same, sometimes lengthy, exercise of growing or scavenging materials. This often left me at the mercy of meters and the clock, creating stretches where I meandered with few substantial options until a vital resource sprouted or replenished itself. Additionally, these progression roadblocks sometimes go overboard. One campaign mission required me to grind hundreds of precious Gummies, the game’s currency, to pay an arcade hacker. Another job repeatedly forced me to climb up and down a mountain path gated by NPCs whose requests could only be satisfied by returning home. Having some tasks rewarded with Wishies, a secondary currency spent on upgrades, helps but it’s not enough. 

Other elements and activities don’t entirely click either. Running a shop feels needlessly tedious since batches of items can only be sold in single quantities, making restocking a hassle. Making the rounds to chat up the same group of citizens each day to build friendship meters, which unlock decent rewards, also loses its appeal. I began to avoid the Dance Barn, which hosts dance battle tournaments to win a daily prize, due to my boredom with the combat. Locations beyond Badgetown offer little incentive to revisit them once you wrap up their campaign quests, outside of collecting missing Ooblets. Given how crucial eating food is to keep your energy up, a meter that drains throughout the day and fuels many basic actions, I was annoyed that snacks couldn’t be consumed without entering the menu, even when equipped.  

Ooblets offers solid fun, and I enjoy its cheerful tone. I only wish playing it didn’t feel so much like work. Despite the pride I had in my farm, clearing checklists eventually felt more laborious than satisfying. There’s fun to be had as long as you’re willing to work for it.

Score: 6.75

About Game Informer's review system

Purchase

Read More

Splatoon 3 Review - Multicolored Mayhem

Reviewed on: Switch
Platform: Switch
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Rating: Everyone 10+

Since its debut in 2015, the Splatoon series has delivered unique, colorful gameplay cribbed by scarce launch content and disappointing time restrictions for specific modes. While post-launch content greatly bolstered both games to this point, I’ve always been disappointed by how little was initially on offer. Now on its third entry, the series may feel a bit less fresh, but Splatoon 3 remedies the series’ long-standing launch content woes while retaining all the fun that made the series such a success.

Stepping back into the stylish shoes of your custom Inkling feels great; splattering your brightly colored ink looks, feels, and sounds satisfyingly messy, particularly when you’re splatting an enemy. Few games match the smooth, intuitive mobility Splatoon gives you while submerged and cruising through a map. While Splatoon 3 provides more modes than ever, those core gameplay tenets carry over regardless of which one you play.

Splatoon’s competitive multiplayer, where two opposing teams battle to cover the map (and each other) with their color ink, is the destination for most, and that is where the added content feels most impactful. While maps unfortunately still operate on a timed rotation, the pool from which they are pulled is much deeper than previous launches; the 12 Turf War maps, consisting of both old and new stages, nearly match the launch total of the first two games combined.

Splatoon 3 also carries forward the weapons from past games while introducing fun arsenal additions like a useful multi-target bow with rounds that explode when fully charged and the Splatana, which makes you feel like an ink-slinging ninja. Meanwhile, Splatoon 3 gives high-skill players new tools in the form of Squid Surge, a new wall-climbing burst, and Squid Roll, a shielded jump that lets you turn on a dime while swimming. Squid Surge is less valuable unless you’re climbing a tall wall, but Squid Roll, with its ability to chain together multiple moves in rapid succession, can alter the outcome of nearly any encounter if used effectively.

Much like previous games, the frantic pace of these three-minute matches makes them ideal for bite-sized gaming sessions while also appealing to those who fall into a “just one more match” mindset. The final minute, where the music ramps up and everyone tries to cover as much ground as possible (literally), remains an adrenaline rush in the race to splash more ink than the opposing team. That rush amplifies in the revamped Splatfests, which now include three distinct teams. Most of the experience remains unchanged, but the new Tricolor Turf Wars, where the four-player first-place team must defend the center position against two squads of two, shake things up. These intense matches require new strategies for everyone involved since the groups converge from opposite sides of the map.

While the series is rightfully known for its competitive multiplayer, the other two main modes are also worthwhile components. Splatoon 3’s Salmon Run evolves the exciting wave-based cooperative PvE multiplayer experience by adding more bosses (all of whom require unique strategies to defeat) and the ability to throw the eggs you retrieve from them into the goal basket. Working together to defeat minions and retrieve enough eggs from fallen bosses to progress to the next round never ceases to excite. However, the biggest boon to this mode is that the arbitrary time restrictions from Splatoon 2 are gone in favor of the mode receiving the same 24/7 availability of the other pillars.

 

This iteration also continues the series’ tradition of providing enjoyable single-player missions that take advantage of the various mechanics of the franchise. Splatoon 3’s single-player Hero mode is a great way to familiarize yourself with the game’s controls, strategies, and weapons, but it’s far more than a glamorized tutorial. The story is inconsequential, but thanks to various gimmicks introduced at a rapid clip and puzzles involving your new companion, Smallfry, Hero mode’s levels present largely satisfying explorations of how the developers can stretch the core gameplay in surprising and exciting ways.

I loved missions like one where I grinded on rails while participating in a fast-paced shooting gallery or another where I navigated through an enemy-filled maze with a big twist at the end. While I loved almost all the time I spent in Hero Mode, there are a few misses, with some missions serving up more frustration than fun, and others veer too close to missions I played in Splatoon 2. The boss battles, which were among my favorite parts of past games, serve up a mixed bag, though they're mostly disappointing. The ones that do hit, though, are among the best the series has ever presented.

Splatoon 3 doesn’t reinvent the wheel, nor does it need to. Instead, it improves nearly every franchise element in sometimes small but meaningful ways. With an already-robust set of content available at launch and at least two years of free and premium content on the horizon, Splatoon 3 is simultaneously the series’ best entry to date and its most promising.

Score: 8.5

About Game Informer's review system

Purchase

Read More