Metal: Hellsinger VR – Metal Madness in Hell

Metal: Hellsinger VR Review

Metal: Hellsinger VR is a collaborative effort from game developers Lab42 and The Outsiders. They took the flat version of the game from 2022 and made it virtual. Now your journey through hell blasting away demons in rhythm to metal music happens in full scale virtual reality. The VR version of the game is more than just a straight port of the game, however. The devs used the three dimensions of virtual reality to employ new gameplay mechanics. Every weapon is retooled for maximum effect in VR. Plus each weapon feels different to use.

The Terminus is a skull handled sword that you can use with a combination dash and slash attack to put down enemies. Other weapons are the Paz, a sentient skull that acts as a pistol. For the shotgun equivalent you wield the Persephone, better known as the Queen of Death. For two handed firepower, there are the Hounds, Cerberus and Orthrus. The designers gave each weapon a demonic overall and they look very cool.

There are eight ‘hells’ or stages in the game. Between stages you return to a hub created for the VR version. Dubbed The Unknown’s Lair it is a safe for players to regroup and strategize before tackling the next level. The hub also acts as the menu for the game. Here you will select levels – in the form of record album LP sleeves, choose weapons and change options for setting gameplay preferences. In keeping with the lair motif, the options take the form of arcane volumes to go along side volumes of Lore. The Lair is one of the coolest game hubs ever.

Lair Tuning Options

Additionally, you can review your statistics in the Lair too. All of these functions are designed to work in a VR manner where you reach and touch or grab items. The game devs included a host of VR options that in today’s VR game market should be standard. So there be options for vignettes, snap/continuous turning, turning speed adjustment, head vs hand directional movement and more. For this game in particular because it is a rhythm based game, there are options for video/audio latency, beat indicator, aim assist, automatic/manual weapon pumping and height calibration.

The Beat Indicator deserves further explanation. It is a reticule that overlays an enemy and shows the optimum moment to attack for maximum damage. String together enough maximum hits and you’ll get a prompt for the finishing attack.

Also worth a deeper look are the options to tune Video and Audio latency. These two options allow you to fine tune your inputs so that you can achieve the best possible experience, and scores, possible when playing the game. You respond in time with the attack input to either visual or audio cues to match up to them as closely as possible.

Movement is very important in the game too. Dashing is not only an important offensive move but it is also a great defensive one too. You can teleport away when surrounded by demons. Another great defensive move is an extended double jump. You can make a double jump longer by continuing to press the jump button which lets you glide on your wings even further. In order for such movement to work properly, the controls must be responsive and that is the case here. The controls are tight.

Graphically, the game looks impressive when played on my PSVR 2 using a AMD 7800 XT GPU. The level design is such that even though the game is arena based, each stage visually flows into the next one. Each level has upper and lower areas too. This combined approach gives a great feeling of more space than there actually is. The game depicts the hellish environments in an impressive array of colors, with the reds especially popping out.

Metal Music Baby!

If you plan to play the Steam version, the recommended PC specs are either an i7-7700 or Ryzen 5 3600 with 16 GB of RAM and a RTX 2080 or Amdahl equivalent GPU such as a 5600 XT.

The reds are notable because some enemies are winged demons that pulse internally with the red in time to the music. This provides a great visual aid when to time your attacks for maximum impact. There is a decent variety of enemy types that evoke, but do not copy, the Doom enemies.

Music is obviously a vital part of the game, and there is an impressive array of metal talent here. The soundtrack includes work from such artists as the composer duo, Two Feathers plus vocalists like Serj Tankian from System of a Down, Matt Heady from Trivium, and Randy Blythe from Lamb of God.

As you advance through a level, the music becomes more layered. It moves from simple rhythmic beats to add more instrumentation and then vocals. This is a great approach, as it heightens the tension as the enemies and action ratchet up.

Hellsinger impresses. The gameplay is tight. The world is cool and well thought out. The graphics are great. Even the story, while somewhat cookie cutter, kept my interest throughout. This is a well polished and optimized game.

Metal: Hellsinger Has Got The Beat

Metal: Hellsinger includes most of the content from the original game except for the Leviathan mode. The game officially supports the Quest 2, Quest 3, PSVR 2, HTC Vive and Quest Pro. There will be DLC to purchase upon game launch. The game releases Sept 26, 2024 on Meta and on Oct 3rd for Steam and PSVR 2.

Metal: Hellsinger comes across as a cross between Pistol Whip and Hellsweeper, both great VR games in their own right. Metal: Hellsinger VR is a kickass entry in the VR Rhythm game genre that gets your head banging in time to your trigger pulls.

****Steam Code provided by publisher*****