It was just last week that the news dropped that Morbid Metal was finally ready for the public. After enjoying the demo last year, I was eager to see what the finished product has to offer.
Developer Screen Juice is still not ready with the final game, as Morbid Metal is in Early Access for the time being; however, the iteration that I’ve been playing through over the weekend is already polished, razor sharp, and recommendable.
The version that is currently in Early Access arrives with three playable characters, two biomes, and the game’s first two bosses.
Morbid Metal: a fusion of styles
With publisher backing from Ubisoft behind it, Morbid Metal takes confident first steps into the arena. This is a hack ‘n’ slash actioner that borrows from some of the best in the business, and based on my time so far, the comparisons are potentially valid. In fact, I think this one has star potential.
Let’s deal with gameplay first, because that’s always my priority. In this regard, I’ve been impressed by the control scheme, as you direct your robot avatar through intense battles against other robotic adversaries. Screen Juice has taken inspiration from Devil May Cry, and has built a complicated but ultimately satisfying combat system that blends ranged and melee almost seamlessly.
The game’s big twist is the ability to switch between three playable characters at will (Flux, Ekku, Vekta). This further reinforces the elegance of the combat system as you can easily flick between your entourage and deal with certain threats. For example, Flux, the starting character is much more nimble and is able to easily engage airborne enemies, whereas Ekku is great at taking out heavies and knocking down shields. It’s all about using the right tool for the job at hand.
The comparisons elsewhere will likely mention Hades, but to me the arcade gameplay in Morbid Metal feels more like something Platinum Games might have crafted. I also thought the lightning speed of your character’s movement was reminiscent of Windblown, the next game from Dead Cells developer Motion Twin, and also a roguelite in EA.
Exploration and adventure
Another thing that really impressed me was the level design and world building. It looks good, which is always nice, but more importantly, it’s interesting to explore. Morbid Metal’s world is surprisingly detailed, with little nooks to discover and secrets to find.
At times, as I was speeding through its futuristic walkways and arenas, I was reminded of Destiny and Bungie’s vision of abandoned futuristic settlements. Another lofty comparison I realise, but the shoe seems to fit.
Between runs, when you inevitably succumb to a mob or a giant robot boss, you’re whisked away to a hub world, and here I was reminded of vintage Gen1 Transformers, not the main cast but the weird robot races that exist in the wider universe. It is here that you must engage with the game’s progression system.
This part of the game is, based on my time so far, the most traditional in terms of roguelite design. There are upgrades to make to yourself harder to kill (like bulking up your shared health points pool), as well as new abilities to unlock. These unlocks extend across multiple characters and it’s a slow burn process to access new stuff. Normally this sort of purposefully stymied progress can be a real chore; yet in this instance the combat is technically nuanced and requires an element of mastery up front, and so I didn’t mind the slower cadence of the metaprogression.
In fact, I’ve enjoyed pretty much everything I’ve experienced of Morbid Metal so far. It’s still only Early Access so I’ll wait for the finished game before I get really excited, but this work-in-progress is hitting all the right notes so far, and I await updates and future developments with great interest.
Morbid Metal is out now on PC (Win), and I played via access kindly provided by Screen Juice and their robot overlords at Ubisoft.
