Metal: Hellsinger puts players in the shoes of The Unknown, slaying demons in Hell to some appropriately heavy metal beats. The main goal of the game is to confront and defeat the Red Judge so that The Unknown can retrieve their voice. The game features 8 levels, and music from artists like System of a Down’s Serj Tankian, Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe, Trivium’s Matt Heafy, and Arch enemy’s Alissa White-Gluz, among others.

The VR release of Metal: Hellsinger will maintain the game’s manic pace, and will have players jumping and shooting their way through hordes of hellspawn, using a plethora of different weapons in the process. Last year, Metal: Hellsinger also got its first paid DLC, Dream of the Beast. It is currently unknown whether this DLC will also be released for the VR release.

Metal: Hellsinger is currently available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. For more details, check out our review.

There’s also Gigabash, GRIME, Tinykin, Prodeus, Shadowrun Returns, Shadowrun: Dragonfall – Director’s Cut and Shadowrun: Hong Kong – Extended Edition. The only PS4 title for Extra subscribers is Mega Man 11, which should be backwards compatible on PS5. Overall, it’s a solid selection of games, especially for those who never played the Shadowrun series or want to try Grand Theft Auto 5 before its sequel launches.

As for PlayStation Classics, available exclusively to Premium subscribers, there’s Mega Man Legacy Collection 1 and 2 on PS4, and Thrillville, Thrillville: Off the Rails and Buzz Lightyear of Star Command for PS4 and PS5.

Dream of the Beast also adds a new machine gun, The Red Right Hand, and three outfits with “unique” gameplay modifiers. These seem to add a new beat and playstyle, mixing up the experience in some interesting ways, but we’ll have to wait and see how.

Metal: Hellsinger is available for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 and PC. It’s about a soul called “The Unknown” who battles through Hell to retrieve her lost voice, ultimately facing The Red Judge to the beat of heavy metal. As of December 2022, it crossed one million players worldwide. Head here for our review to learn more about what makes it so much fun.

The Outsiders recently announced on via the game’s official Twitter page that Metal: Hellsinger has surpassed a million players worldwide across all platforms since it launched in September this year. Of course, with the game also having launched day and date for Game Pass and still being available via the service, that number doesn’t reflect its sales figures- but it’s clearly being played and appreciated by a lot of people, which fans will be glad to see.

In our review of Metal: Hellsinger, we awarded it a score of 9/10, saying, “Metal: Hellsinger is an easy game to recommend—the music’s great, it feels really good to play, and it looks great. The only real caveat to all of this is that, if you’re not a fan of metal music, Metal: Hellsinger might not have much for you. While its combat is great, the music is what truly elevates it from being just another boomer shooter.” Read the full review through here.

Metal: Hellsinger is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

https://twitter.com/MetalHellsinger/status/1605593986869215233

“Hot Wheels Unleashed – Game of the Year Edition is no longer coming on Dec 15, 2022 as previously announced. We will update with a new date when we have more information to share,” the update reads.

Original story follows:

Microsoft has announced the first wave of titles coming to Game Pass in December 2022, starting with the 2D adventure title Eastward and Telltale’s The Walking Dead: The Final Season. Both are available starting today for Xbox consoles, cloud, and PC. Totally Reliable Delivery Service is also available for PC subscribers.

As announced earlier, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga comes to the cloud, consoles and PC on December 6th. tinyBuild’s Hello Neighbor 2 is also available on the same day for the same platforms, followed by retro-style RPG Chained Echoes and Metal: Hellsinger (specifically for Xbox One) on December 8th.

On December 13th, High on Life and Potion Craft are available for cloud, consoles and PC. Hot Wheels Unleashed – Game of the Year Edition and Rainbow Billy: The Curse of the Leviathan follow on December 15th.

Of course, several titles will leave Game Pass on December 15th. Check out the list below:

• Aliens: Fireteam Elite (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Breathedge (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Dragon Quest 11: Echoes of an Elusive Age (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Firewatch (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Lake (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Neoverse (Cloud and Console)
• Race with Ryan (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Rory McIlroy PGA Tour (Console) EA Play
• Transformers: Battlegrounds (Cloud, Console, and PC)

Additional titles could be announced at The Game Awards on December 8th, so stay tuned.

As an example of just what’s possible with the new mod support in Metal: Hellsinger, The Outsiders has released a trailer showing off a mod that replaces the game’s heavy metal soundtrack with a jazz soundtrack. Check out the trailer below.

While the music has been changed, the core gameplay remains the same. This essentially allows players to mod in their music of choice, completely changing the flow of the game depending on the time signatures, rhythm, and melody of the music they chose.

Metal: Hellsinger was released earlier this month on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. It is priced at $40 on the consoles and $30 on PC. It is also available through Xbox and PC Game Pass, and all platforms also have a free demo that can be used to check the game out.

For more details about Metal: Hellsinger, check out our review.

Surprisingly enough, just Metal: Hellsinger’s insane concept wasn’t enough; it also has a decent enough story to keep the action moving. The protagonist is the titular Hellsinger out for revenge against the hordes of hell as she battles to get her voice back. She’s accompanied by a talking skull with a cowboy accent that provides the bulk of the narrative, including details about how Metal: Hellsinger’s hell works.

The story, despite its simplicity, actually helps carry Metal: Hellsinger’s forward momentum quite well; it never really gets in the way, and it’s not going to stop the game to show you a cutscene. Instead, the story is largely told in cutscenes before and after every level, helping set the stage for what you can expect in the newest depth of Hell you’ve descended to.

Aside from that, there isn’t really much to talk about when it comes to the story. There isn’t going to be any major twist that completely changes up how you think about the game, and let’s face it, the story’s basically an excuse to listen to some heavy metal while blasting some demons anyway.

"The story, despite its simplicity, actually helps carry Metal: Hellsinger’s forward momentum quite well; it never really gets in the way, and it’s not going to stop the game to show you a cutscene. Instead, the story is largely told in cutscenes before and after every level, helping set the stage for what you can expect in the newest depth of Hell you’ve descended to."

When it comes to the basics of being a good fast-paced shooter, Metal: Hellsinger has the right ingredients. It feels good to move around and kill enemies, and the variety of weapons and perks available to the player adds a lot of nuances in the actual gameplay. Having to synchronise all your shooting to the beats of a fast-paced metal song, however, is what really elevates Metal: Hellsinger from being just another boomer shooter.

There are a few weapons available, from the basic skull and sword you start out with, to the more standard fare like dual revolvers, a shotgun, and even a crossbow that shoots exploding bolts. All weapons fit quite well with the general aesthetics of the game, and they play just differently enough to make experimentation worthwhile.

The skull you get early on is also one of the more unique weapons in the game. While it’s little more than a weak pistol-equivalent when compared to any other weapon in the game, the fact that you can shoot it without hitting enemies and still level up your combos is what makes it useful. You’d be surprised how easy it is to get into the rhythm of switching to the skull and blindly firing while you look for more demons to kill, all just to keep your 16x multiplayer going.

Each weapon also has a unique super ability that can be used once you’ve filled up the super bar by just playing the game. The shotgun’s super, for example, fires a massive blast that decimates just about anything you’re aiming at, while the dual revolvers summon a clone that fires at enemies alongside you, essentially doubling your firepower.

Aside from all of that, Metal: Hellsinger keeps its mechanics to a minimum, and that’s a good thing. Not having to worry about superfluous extra mechanics while trying to stay on beat feels great, and I’m not too sure if anything extra would’ve really added to the core gameplay. Metal: Hellsinger also promotes quite a bit of replayability, not only with extra difficulty modes, but also with the addition of modifiers for each level. The modifiers all have distinct effects that make playing with them enabled at least once worth it.

On a fundamental level, however, Metal: Hellsinger isn’t really the kind of game you’re going to play through once and then never touch again. It features a scoring system that, while not quite as in-depth as something like Ultrakill, does a great job of encouraging players to get better at the game. It tracks a few interesting things aside from just kills; staying on beat is highly rewarded, as is taking as little damage as possible, and most importantly, the time you spend with a 16x multiplayer—something only really possible if you play to the beats of the music.

"Metal: Hellsinger isn’t really the kind of game you’re going to play through once and then never touch again. It features a scoring system that, while not quite as in-depth as something like Ultrakill, does a great job of encouraging players to get better at the game."

Let’s talk about the second most important thing about Metal: Hellsinger—the music. Featuring artists from a variety of popular metal bands, Metal: Hellsinger‘s music definitely doesn’t feel like an afterthought. Which is a good thing considering the quality of a rhythm game’s music has a lot to do with how enjoyable it can get. How the music works in the game is quite clever. When you start a level, you’re only really going to get some drum beats and maybe a bassline. Start killing enemies and building your multiplayer up, however, and you’ll get extra layers added on, be it a sick guitar riff, or more complicated drum beats. Hit the highest multiplier levels you can, and the vocals kick in, driving the game into overdrive.

These crescendos when the vocals are at their most epic are the moments that make Metal: Hellsinger feel great. There’s just something special and indescribable about the moment when the game is belting out melodic vocals with some sick drums and guitars playing as you mow down hordes of demons, and even take on a boss. And yes, these layers also work the same way if your multiplier starts going down. The worse you play, the more layers of the music that get stripped away until you’re left with nothing but some basic drums and a bass line.

Graphically, Metal: Hellsinger looks great. While keeping things looking sharp, nothing is too detailed so as to just make important targets, like enemies, blend into the environment. These kinds of minor things end up being lifesavers in fast-paced shooters; the fewer the distractions, the more fun the game’s going to be.

Sure, it’s not going to become the new standard by which to benchmark the newest graphics card, but more important is the fact that enemies are clearly visible, more “game-y” mechanics like healing crystals are difficult to miss, and levels make it very clear about where you can and can’t go. When it comes to fast-paced shooting, these aspects are way more important than shiny graphics.

"Metal: Hellsinger is one of those rare games that I’d recommend to just about anybody… as long as they like metal."

Aesthetically, however, Metal: Hellsinger is a huge success. Essentially modelled after every metal album art ever created, the game’s visual style focuses on exaggerating the fact that you’re in hell. There are skulls and fires just about everywhere, and the demons you fight have been designed with just the right level of attention to detail that makes them identifiable at a glance just from their silhouettes, even from a distance.

Metal: Hellsinger is one of those rare games that I’d recommend to just about anybody… as long as they like metal. That’s going to be the only real downside; if you’re not a fan of metal music, you’re not going to find much to enjoy in a game literally titled Metal: Hellsinger. It plays fantastically, looks great while not getting things too muddled in detail, and most importantly, its music is phenomenal. Seriously, I can’t wait for this game’s soundtrack to become available; it’s the kind of music that’ll live in one of my playlists forever.

This game was reviewed on PC.

The showcase will start off with a pre-show by Black Girl Gamers, who will be showing off gameplay for Eville. The pre-show will have a run time of around 30 minutes, and will lead directly into the main show.

The main show will showcase several indie games coming to Xbox and PC, including Metal: Hellsinger, and You Suck at Parking, among others. It will also feature developer interviews, and gameplay for the upcoming Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed.

The event in its entirety is set to run for 90 minutes, and will also feature news and debuts of indie games.

Of the games being shown off during the event, Metal: Hellsinger is the closest game to release with a release date of September 15, set to hit PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. The game will also be coming to Xbox and PC Game Pass.

The most eye-catching inclusion is Function and The Outsiders’ upcoming rhythm-based first person shooter Metal: Hellsinger. Recently confirmed for a September 15 launch, it’s now been announced that the game will be available day one via Game Pass on PC and Xbox Series X/S.

On the same day, the subscription service will also add roguelite tactics title Despot’s Game (on PC and console), while the day before that will see the addition of You Suck at Parking (on cloud, console, and PC), “the world’s most extreme parking game.” Meanwhile, on September 13, RTS Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation (on PC) and DC League of Super-Pets: The Adventures of Krypto and Ace (for console, cloud, and PC) will be added to the service.

Meanwhile, starting today, Disney Dreamlight Valley: Founder’s Edition (for cloud, console, and PC), Opus Magnum (for PC), and Train Sim World 3 (for console and PC) are also available.

The story sees you as The Unknown, slaying demons in Hell to some sick heavy metal beats. Your mission is to defeat the Red Judge and retrieve your voice, venturing across eight levels in the process. Gameplay-wise, you need to shoot to the beat. Time your beats properly and wreak more havoc.

Along with voice-acting talents like Troy Baker and Jennifer Hale, the game boasts an original soundtrack with a plethora of artists like Trivium’s Matt Heafy, Arch Enemy’s Alissa White-Gluz, and much more. There’s also a Challenge Mode for garnering high scores on each stage and leaderboards to compete in. Stay tuned for more details and gameplay in the coming months.