It’s sifting through those options, adjusting your build, pivoting from bad choices and ultimately overcoming the odds that serve as the foundation of rogue-lites/likes. And SCREEN JUICE’s debut effort isn’t quite there yet in terms of features and content, but it’s a strong start.

I’d be lying if I said I expected much story from Morbid Metal. Yet even then, the narrative is threadbare. It’s one of those motioning to the gameplay and then asking “what more do you really want” scenarios, but there is some semblance of a narrative. You’re an AI inside of a simulation, engaging in one battle after another.

"You can cycle between them throughout a fight, combining their abilities in rudimentary ways. For example, launch enemies into the air with Ekku and then slam them back down with Vekta."

There is some lore to gather throughout, and the simulation seemingly mimics a “brutal, dark sci-fi world.” If that – and your character being the “last AI” sounds kind of vague – it plays out in about the same fashion in-game.

Nevertheless, the prospect of escape is enough to push through while leaving sufficient room to build on. No more, and no less, and certainly not your main impetus for playing at this stage in early access.

The combat, warts and all, is. You start with Flux, a katana-wielding warrior that specializes in teleporting stabs and mid-range slicing projectiles. Ekku joins in short order, offering a powerhouse playstyle, launching enemies in the air when you’re not stunning them. Vekta arrives a fair bit later and offers more crowd control, pulling and pushing enemies, inflicting the Link status for shared damage, and so on.

You can cycle between them throughout a fight, combining their abilities in rudimentary ways. For example, launch enemies into the air with Ekku and then slam them back down with Vekta. Each character has alternate choices to their starting abilities, so you could just as easily swap out Vekta’s Ultimate that spins in place, daring anyone to touch it, for, say, levitating all targets for a few seconds. Enhancing these abilities and discovering all their permutations is definitely fun – like blade projectiles bouncing between enemies or implanting Echoes that blow up after a short duration (which can then implant more Echoes in a chain reaction).

That is, until you discover the “Leak” status effect. It’s essentially bleed and can be upgraded to stack up to nine times, dealing more damage over time to enemies and causing them to take additional damage. Activating it is simply a matter of successfully hitting an enemy with an ability, which can lead to mindlessly cycling through all characters without any need for coordination. Granted, you don’t need to lean too much into such combos for success, but Leak trivialises things all the more, to the point where you can outright phase bosses.

"As for the actual levels that you’ll traverse…well, if you’ve played Returnal, then much of this will look familiar. Nodes to grapple onto, but not necessarily during combat, which would be a miss if the double-jumping didn’t make up for it."

At least the other abilities synergize more with the hack-and-slash combat, which has your usual perfect dodges and counters (complete with a cooldown for the latter so you can’t just spam it continuously). It would be nice to have more tactics available, like temporarily summoning another character to fight alongside you, either to unleash an attack or provide a quick buff. There are some interesting perks and choices, but at this point, there’s a way to go when it comes to facilitating different builds.

At least the combat is on point in most circumstances. Dodging for that split-second slowdown before transitioning into a whirlwind of death as Flux feels pretty nice, as does discovering Ekku’s double slash can actually deliver a mid-air smash against flying enemies. If you’re not locked onto enemies, then there are occasions where the targeting can feel iffy – you might intend to utterly demolish a shielded foe with an Ultimate, only to nail a weaker threat instead. It requires some minor adjustments, especially in the heat of battle, but you get used to it.

As for the actual levels that you’ll traverse…well, if you’ve played Returnal, then much of this will look familiar. Nodes to grapple onto, but not necessarily during combat, which would be a miss if the double-jumping didn’t make up for it. Spinning lasers that you need to navigate past, with the only real penalty being health loss. Healing items and Corporas, which provide passive stat gains like increased air damage, are occasionally situated in slightly out-of-the-way spots that require the bare minimum of platforming. Once you enter a designated arena, there’s no way out until every enemy is annihilated, but otherwise, it’s full sprinting through, occasionally stopping to smell the virtual roses.

Some sections mix things up, like trials where you need to survive for as long as possible or switch forms every five seconds, for a payout. And while there seems to be an incentive to go off the beaten path, risking your life for potential upgrades, it’s usually not as dangerous, and at times, a little too straightforward. The second biome puts more work into its platforming and hazards, at least, and choosing to clear two branching sets of rooms or fighting the boss right away is a nice touch. The bosses – of which there are currently two – also feel unique enough, boasting multiple phases and some intriguing mechanics, like split-second dodging projectiles from afar or taking out connected minions.

It probably won’t take long to clear all three biomes, but Morbid Metal does offer a fair number of unlocks in The Void, your de facto hub. You can gather currency to alter starting abilities for each character. Earn enough Void Matter, and you can upgrade stats like basic attack damage, attack speed, critical damage, and so on in the Void Nexus. Various Enhancers can also become unlocked, allowing you to upgrade abilities and passives, or even receive limited enhancements between biomes. Of course, if you prefer a monkey’s paw-style deal to emerge during runs, that can also be arranged.

"For those who think its combat and movement look cool, or feel like it has potential, Morbid Metal is certainly worth a look."

The amount of customization here is admirable, if not super-imaginative, though modifiers that you can adjust pre-run, a la the Pact of Punishment, are sorely needed. I can’t imagine that SCREEN JUICE hasn’t at least considered it, even if it’s working more towards finishing the game.

Regarding performance, I had no trouble running the game on the highest settings with DLSS Quality mode on a Core i5-11400, 32 GB of RAM and an RTX 4060. The frame rate remained steady throughout, even if some iffy foliage and pop-in were occasionally noticeable. Native upscaling is a bad time, though; wouldn’t recommend it on the same hardware setup with similar settings.

For those who think its combat and movement look cool, or feel like it has potential, Morbid Metal is certainly worth a look. But what’s currently here needs more work, whether it’s adding more nuances to the combat, expanding upon different build opportunities, injecting many more unique rooms and challenges, balancing out different upgrades, or simply in terms of additional biomes and bosses. The price certainly helps (only $13.50 until April 21st), but if you’re looking for something meatier, it may be worth waiting until the roadmap’s reveal.

This game was reviewed on PC.

Well, it’s finally here, and a new launch trailer features Flux, Ekku, and Vekta wreaking havoc with their unique abilities. It’s a perfect showcase of what the game’s fast-paced combat system is going to throw at you, and even hints at potential story beats for you to pursue as you make your way through a world that’s looking quite interesting.

The game’s available on Steam as we speak, and the developers are offering a 25% discount on it if you pick up a copy before the 21st of this month. It offers three biomes, two bosses and ten different enemy types alongside numerous perks, upgrades, progression systems, and more.

You might be interested in our conversation with Felix Schade, the game’s solo developer, who dove into more details about development. More details on the game’s full early access roadmap will be revealed on April 17th at Find Your Next Game. In the meantime, SCREEN JUICE is gathering feedback to ensure the roadmap “reflects real player needs and priorities.”

The release trailer for its early access debut is definitely metal enough, and doubles down on a combat system that’s looking stylish but with enough substance to make us want to see what it feels like in action. We’ve been excited about this one ever since we had that sit-down with developer Felix Schade back in 2022, and are itching to dive in as soon as we can.

All three playable characters will be available, where they’ll be pitted against a limited pool of bosses and enemy types. There are also several modifiers and upgrades to work with across three biomes. Given the trailer’s penchant for bombastic combat, that’s probably enough to keep us all occupied for a while before the game’s full roadmap drops on April 17, 2026.

It’s probably going to take a while to master each of the three playable characters and get some builds going for them, after all. Morbid Metal is currently exclusive to PC, though a release for consoles isn’t out of the question.

You can request access on Steam right now, but dates have yet to be announced. The developer noted these will be “small, targeted playtests” to continue refining the title so it’s moving early access to a “later date.” Morbid Metal was initially planned to launch on August 20th, but faced a delay to Fall 2025 to incorporate feedback from its demo.

It’s unknown whether this means a delay out of Fall and potentially 2025, so stay tuned. Currently slated for PC, the hack-and-slash title rogue-lite follows a group of warriors attempting to cut through a dystopian future. Each has unique abilities, and players can switch between them at any time to expand combos. Advancing through cycles will unlock buffs and Routines, and there’s persistent progression.

Flux is a blade wielder who can blink strike, unleash projectile slashes from afar, and rapidly slice enemies apart with Blade Form. Ekku is a heavy hitter, wielding a two-handed cleaver and tearing apart shields with Seismic Rift. Vekta is a ranged fighter who can magnetically grip enemies, push them away and fire a devastating Shuriken Shot. Each character also has a unique Dodge Counter.

Morbid Metal will release for PC via Steam Early Access this Fall. Previously slated for August 20th, the delay is to improve performance and refine “key systems.” You can check out the free demo right now on PC for a taste of what to expect.

The trailer for Morbid Metal has also revealed that a demo for the game is now available on Steam as part of its Next Fest event.

Morbid Metal is a fast-paced hack-and-slash game with a unique twist – the player is controlling four different characters at the same time. These characters can be switched between at any moment, with the developer comparing the action to being like switching between weapons, but the actual action itself being like switching to different playstyles.

Morbid Metal has been in development for quite some time now, and even got a trailer all the way back in 2022. For more details about the game, check out our interview with the developers.

Black Myth: Wukong

Chinese developer Game Science’s upcoming Black Myth: Wukong is based on the Chinese novel Journey to the West, and players embark on a grand quest to fight all sorts of monsters scattered throughout the kingdom. The combat is extremely fast-paced yet methodical, with boss fights obviously being a highlight of the experience. You can also turn into an insect or a giant monster to overcome difficult situations, and it looks absolutely gorgeous thanks to great use of Unreal Engine 5. Black Myth: Wukong will release for PC sometime in the near future.

Recently, we got to see some of that in action, thanks to a new trailer shown off at Future Games Show. Visually, it’s looking impressive, while the slick combat seems to be shaping up quite well as well. A shapeshifting mechanic is the central pillar of the game’s combat, making for more dynamism and variety. What’s truly surprising is that the game is being made by just one person- solo developer Felix Schade.

Morbid Metal is in development for PC. You can learn more about its combat, boss fights, progression, multiple playable characters, and much more in our recent interview with the aforementioned Felix Schade through here.

"Players can try to fight the enemies only using one character and that can be successful, but only up until a certain point. The enemies and encounters are designed in a way that requires players to make good use out of the team of characters they have chosen before the run."

Morbid Metal is looking like quite an ambitious project on multiple levels. As an indie developer, what have been the biggest challenges you’ve faced while developing the game so far?

So far I would say being a solo-developer definitely was the biggest challenge. And I do not necessarily mean the sheer amount of work required, but the limited amount of opinions from other people can, at times, make it very difficult to judge the own work and stay objectively. However, over the past year this has definitely improved a lot, not least due to the fact of showing the project to the world and receiving heaps of feedback.

How significantly do the multiple playable characters in the game differ from each other in terms of their abilities and how they play? 

They differ greatly from one another. Each character is supposed to feel unique and fulfills its designated role in the roster of playable characters. Each character has their own passive and active abilities, attack combos, specials skills, as well character-based dodge counter-attacks. In addition to that, they can also differ greatly when it comes to their movement and overall feeling when playing them. Switching characters is far more than merely switching a weapon.

How central is the shapeshifting mechanic to the game’s moment-to-moment combat?

It is the essential part. Sure, players can try to fight the enemies only using one character and that can be successful, but only up until a certain point. The enemies and encounters are designed in a way that requires players to make good use out of the team of characters they have chosen before the run.

You’ve described Morbid Metal’s levels as semi-procedural. Can you tell us what the extent of procedural generation and randomization in the levels will be?

Levels in Morbid Metal (or rooms, how I call them) are hand-crafted to make sure the quality as high as possible from a visual, as well as level design perspective. However, the rooms are then procedurally stitched together. The way this is structured is very much inspired by games like Returnal and partly Risk of Rain 2.

"As the combat system is already quite complex, most of the upgrades that can be found during the runs will likely be passive."

What can players expect from Morbid Metal in terms of how many biomes it will have and how varied they will be?

I am currently aiming for 3 (and a half) biomes.

What can you tell us about how progression works in Morbid Metal during runs? Outside of runs, how will permanent upgrades and unlocks work?

While these aspects are currently still very much under development and might change in the future, the player can, during runs, earn a currency by defeating enemies and clearing rooms that they can spend on random assortments of upgrades after each room. Similar to the permanent upgrades, the upgrades during the run are supposed to make an impact on the combat beyond just giving stats like damage or health, but instead visually and mechanically change the way players might approach fights. As the combat system is already quite complex, most of the upgrades that can be found during the runs will likely be passive, however. For the overarching progression, unlocking and upgrading playable character is, while not the only way of progression, definitely the most important one. Here the emphasis is the same: upgrades should feel meaningful and actually have an impact on how players play the game to keep things fresh and let them feel their increase in power.

How much of an emphasis is Morbid Metal placing on enemy variety?

Enemy variety is of course very important to keep the game fresh over longer periods. As players are supposed to play through it multiple times, it is important that encounters have enough variety and depth. It also helps to motivate players to switch up there team of characters as not all characters are effective against all enemy types.

Can you share details about the boss fights in the game?

Bosses are supposed to be more than just bullet sponges that take forever to kill but have relatively limited interactions with the player. Instead, I am aiming for bosses that actually challenge the player and require them to make full use of their character team and combos, not only offensively, but also defensively. Generally, they are inspired by games like NieR: Automata and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, having multiple phases and a wide range of attacks and moves to always keep the player on their toes.

Do you have any plans to bring Morbid Metal to the PS5 and Xbox Series X and S?

While I cannot promise a console release at this point in time, I think Morbid Metal is likely to release on next-gen consoles, as well.

"Bosses are supposed to be more than just bullet sponges that take forever to kill but have relatively limited interactions with the player. Instead, I am aiming for bosses that actually challenge the player and require them to make full use of their character team and combos, not only offensively, but also defensively."

What can you tell us about the game’s weapons?

Players cannot really switch different weapons rather than switching the full character. In a way you could look at a character as a sort of weapon, although of course way more advanced than that. Over the course of the game, players will be able to unlock new playable characters that they can then chose to play with at the start of each run and upgrade over time. When it comes to upgrades in Morbid Metal, it is very important that they actually make a difference during gameplay rather than just giving slight stat increases (as that is incredibly boring). I want players to look forward to upgrading characters as something they want to unlock and experience and have something to work towards.

What can you tell us about Morbid Metal’s narrative premise?

I do not want to go too much into detail here to aviod any possible spoilers. I can say however, that Morbid Metal plays in the far future where machines are now the dominant lifeform on earth, with humanity being on the brink of extinction forever. The player has to uncover the mystery of this dark, futuristic and hostile place.

Is there anything else you want to tell us about Morbid Metal?

Morbid Metal is, while also my full-time job, a passion project and I love working on it. I am not only a game developer, but also gamer myself and Morbid Metal started out as a project for a game I felt was missing on the market and I wanted to play myself. So my most important goal with the project is to create a game, that players actually really care about and want to play.

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide

Developer Fatshark’s upcoming Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is a co-op survival game set against the backdrop of the Warhammer 40k universe. Assuming the role of Inquisition soldiers, players have to take the charge of defeating waves upon waves of cultists before they shatter the planet of Atoma Prime to pieces. Gameplay primarily revolves around defeating enemies using long-range weaponry, although players will also have the option to get up close and personal with enemies using melee weapons.

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide releases for all major console platforms and PC sometime in 2022.