Rhythm games must be a tricky genre to navigate as a developer. Defined as they are by music, they tend to keep themselves to one musical genre or spectrum, which means that as well as having to appeal to people who like the rhythm games, the musical genre they opt for also needs to be to some extent aligned with their audience's tastes, which further restricts their potential market.
Judging by the success of games like Beat Saber, Just Shapes & Beats, Thumper, and others, something broadly within the 'electronica' region seems to be a safe bet, but to position yourself within a genre that involves screams and guttural death growls seems a little more ballsy; well' that's precisely what Metal: Hellsinger does.
The new rhythm-based first-person shooter is as enamoured with post-reboot Doom as it is with heavy metal, which left me conflicted about playing it. As a fan of Doom, I was attraacted to the single-button Glory Kills, the wonderful agility of the demonic protagonist, and the gloriously garish depiction of hell, but as a non-fan (but mainly ignoramus) of (heavy? Death? Black?) metal music I wasn't sure how I felt about being surrounded by that particular soundscape for multiple hours of my life. In fairness, I got a frisson of nostalgic excitement when I saw that former System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian did one of the songs, which at least gave me the slightest foothold in this unfamiliar acoustic territory.
Now, some hours into my redemptive mission to retrieve the singing voice of the she-devil protagonist (by tearing through hell's minions, apparently), I can say that the soundtrack is no obstacle for non-metalheads. Far from it, the baroque bombast of the music perfectly compliments a game that turns every circle of hell into a firework-filled stage for your gloriously gory exploits.
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While the musical leans towards the dark and heavy, the visual tone is more 'glam rock' or those 80s metal comics (though, honestly, its monster and environmental art could've done with being even more flamboyant). Everything about the game is geared towards momentum; a bit like the recent Nicholas Cage movie Mandy (also heavily intertwined with metal music), you get the sense that there won't be any ups and downs on this hero's journey, just a relentless, revenge-filled push towards their ultimate goal.
While the soundtrack is apparently a bit of a 'who's who' of heavy metal vocalists, it's actually produced by experienced game music studio Two Feathers, and designed specifically for the game. That means that every track is both thematically and rhythmically in complete harmony with the on-screen action. The music usually progressively ramps up throughout the level, introduced with ominous deep stomps of a bass guitar, before layering on the other instruments and finally those vocals that I was so wary about (but actually had no need to be).
You swipe, shoot, and slash to a driving four-four beat (which certainly helps a techno enthusiast like me find some grounding), and when you get into a flow you really flow. I still tend to get a bit lost when switching weapons mid-combat, which I understand can help rack up those point and damage multipliers, and the broken beat of firing then reloading a shotgun always results in me having to rediscover my rhythm, but once you merge with the music and mechanics, you get into a trance-like state where you come out the other side surrounded by the carnage of combat. When you pick up an 'Ultimate,' the music temporarily blends into a faster industrial riff that sounds like it could accompany a Terminator army rolling in their tech-tanks over a field of bones. The soundscape is so well integrated with the game, that any hangups about your genre tastes quickly get drowned out in this tight, self-contained package.
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I can't stress enough how much Metal: Hellsinger extrapolates on Doom's rhythmic and flow-based play, where Mick Gordon's lyricless techno-metal fusion soundtrack to that game was a huge part of its identity. Remember those Glory Kills in Doom where the soundtrack would actually adapt and punctuate you tearing a demon in half? Well, Metal: Hellsinger plunges right into that gaping wound and has made a whole game out of it. It makes explicit something that's always been implicit in Doom, which is that hell is worthy of a heavy soundtrack. It's a great hook, even if its superficial aesthetic similarities to Doom mean it inevitably pales in comparison on the art design front.
Metal: Hellsinger isn't going to turn me into a metalhead, but its seamless merging of heavy metal with a simple yet hypnotic game has helped me let go of some of my reservations, and not only appreciate but outright enjoy it. I've even listened to a few of the tracks independently of the game, but have to confess that when not playing the game I'm more drawn to those stomping ominous openings than the actual singing (again, the austere techno enthusiast in me is more drawn by raw underlying sounds than lyrics).
With that said, the fantastical theming of the lyrics, roaring about hellscapes and hatred and apocalyptic visions, works for me in the context of a game that really doesn't take itself seriously (as exemplified that the whole thing is narrated by a skull with the smooth lilt of a country singer). I can only assume that actual metal music isn't about inspiring real anger and hatred, but rather using aggressive lyrics and imagery them to ramp up a certain kind of mood, a raw energy that provides a unique kind of release to those listening to it. While I don't think I'd get that from the music itself, I definitely get it through this devilish coagulation of music and mechanics.
It's also worth adding that Metal: Hellsinger has been on Game Pass since launch day, so if you're a subscriber and are as wary of this game as I was, you have nothing to lose (except maybe your voice) in trying it.