Metal: Hellsinger puts on one hell of a show

polygon.com:

The first enemy type you stumble upon in Metal: Hellsinger is an omen of things to come. Marionettes move erratically, as if being dragged around by floating strings. They are literally trapped in a rhythm. Heavy metal artists from bands like System of a Down and Arch Enemy play the part of puppet masters, taking you through multiple stages of hell itself with double kick pedals and guttural screams. Throughout the course of Metal: Hellsinger, it’s impossible to ignore the beat as you kill a multifarious tide of demonic abominations.

I finished Metal: Hellsinger in a single sitting, spending four hours rushing through the levels, trying to stay on rhythm for as long as I could. This isn’t the first game that has mixed music with a shooter — BPM: Bullets Per Minute kickstarted this new subgenre back in 2020. But here, the incentive to jump to the next stage, the sooner to hear each successive song, felt like listening to an album in a different way. Hearing new tracks from known artists is the hook, but you’re also navigating their rhythm with your actions.

Your objective in each level is extremely simple: Shoot everything that moves until you’re granted access to the next room, and repeat it all over again until you face the boss. Picture the arenas of Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal (two of Metal: Hellsinger’s crystal-clear influences) without the platforming sequences or any exploration. Instead, it’s a relentless lineup of fights, with new enemies and weapons introduced continually throughout. The key element at play is the challenge of staying on rhythm, since it provides several bonuses (more on that later).

The rhythmic aspect and the overall simplicity of Metal: Hellsinger’s approach are compelling in their own