Our tool? A revolver. Our scene? Hell. The guitars, voices and demons of Metal: Hellsinger made us enter a satanic fever from which we did not want to wake up.
Blending the genres of first-person shooter and rhythm game, the second title from independent studio The Outsiders sits at the crossroads of two classics: doom and rockband. Armed with guns of all kinds inspired by beliefs about hell that have marked history, we shoot hordes of demons to the rhythm of the music to do ever more damage, ever faster.
The proposal is unique, but not unprecedented. One thinks, for example, of the well-received BPM: Bullets Per Minutepublished in 2020. But Hellsinger stands out for its original soundtrack featuring death metal stars like Alissa White-Gluz from Arch Enemy, Tatiana Shmayluk from Jinjer, or Matt Heafy from Trivium. We especially think of the intoxicating theme of the Stygia level, signed by the first. We were surprised to nod our heads to the rhythm of the music, even if we are far from being metal fans.
Think of it a bit like this: by getting Hellsinger, it’s a bit above all an excellent music album that we offer ourselves. Comes with it a game not stung worms.
Through eight frankly well thought out levels, you slaughter the demon at full speed, progressing as quickly as possible. Like a Doom: Eternalof the ” glory kills allow us to fill our life gauge, inviting us to always approach the enemies sent to attack our character. Each level ends with a duel against a boss.
Our goal ? Defeat the great patroness of the underworld, the Judge, who stole the voice of our infernal heroine before locking her in the depths of the abyss. On the banks of the Styx, the reasons behind our old quarrels fade away, leaving behind only the hatred that consumes us.
The main story ends in a few hours, five at most if you don’t die too often. But beyond lies an abyss of speed running which will please the most competitive among us. Each victory ends on a table of the highest scores which compares our performance with that of the other players… and which especially makes you want to try again our chance to climb to the top. The first seven levels also each have three “challenge” modes, during which you can unlock attributes that can help your character in his quest.
The developers also promise an update that will allow us to play the sound of our own music library, adding to the replayability of the thing.
Without being perfect – there would always be room for more enemies, more explosive toys and more different environments -, Hellsinger break the shack. The sequel that the grand finale suggests leaves us impatient to know the next great vintage from the Outsiders studio.