Review | Morbid Metal

The story of Morbid Metal takes you to a future where humans are gone and machines have taken over everything. You play as the last AI created by a mysterious “Operator” to enter a simulation and destroy rogue robots that are causing chaos. You aren’t just one character because you have the power to swap between three different mechanical warriors called Vessels. These warriors are based on legendary fighters from the past and you must use their unique skills to survive the simulation and find out why humanity disappeared. Created by SCREEN JUICE, and published by Ubisoft, how does this hack and slash hold up against some of the more well known heavy hitters?

Things I liked!

• The Graphics | This game makes an amazing first impression because the world looks so good that it is hard to believe a small team made it. Whether you are exploring a giant rocky canyon or standing in a dark broken arena the atmosphere is very thick and beautiful to look at. I found myself just standing still for a long time just to admire the detail in the environment because it really is a visual masterpiece right from the start.
  

• Well Optimized | One of the most impressive things about this game is how well it actually runs despite looking like a big budget blockbuster. Even when playing in 4K Ultra settings, the game holds a rock-solid 90 FPS which is crucial for a hack and slash title where every millisecond counts. It is clearly built on a very stable foundation because even during the most chaotic fights with particles flying everywhere, I didn’t see any major frame drops or stuttering. This level of technical polish means you can push your hardware to the limit and still get a smooth as silk experience that makes the combat feel even more responsive.
  
  
• Fast & Satisfying Sword Combat | The actual feeling of the fighting is very fast and it feels great when your attacks land on a target. Every move feels like it has weight and the controls are responsive enough to make you feel like a high speed killing machine. It really hits that “badass robot” fantasy where you are cutting through enemies with ease and the core gameplay is fun enough to keep you coming back for more action.
  
  
• Shapeshifting Abilities | The ability to swap between your three different Vessels in the middle of a fight is easily the coolest part of the game. Since each robot has its own specialized fighting style you can change your shape in a second to handle whatever the game throws at you next. This means you are never stuck with just one way to play and it gives you a lot of freedom to experiment with different combos to see which one works best for your playstyle.
  
  
• Great Value for Money | For less than twenty dollars this game is completely worth it because the awesome graphics and fighting feel like they belong in a much more expensive game. It gives you a lot of fun right now and it makes me happy to think about what the creators will add to it later as the game gets bigger. It is a really good choice if you like sci-fi and want to watch a cool project get better over time.

Mixed & disliked!

• Pacing Issues & Weak Upgrades | One of the biggest issues is that the game feels very conflicted because you will have this amazing, fast paced combat for about five seconds, and then you spend several minutes just running around empty spaces for upgrades. It breaks the flow of the game when the high intensity action stops so suddenly and you are left searching for power ups that don’t really change how powerful you feel. It would be much better if the upgrades felt more meaningful or if the time between the fights was filled with more interesting things to do.

• Repetitive Runs with minimal variety | Even though it is a rogue lite, you shouldn’t expect every run to feel different because the variety just isn’t there yet. Because the upgrades are a bit monotone and the enemies act the same way every time, the “new” runs quickly start to feel like the ones you just finished. This makes the game feel a bit more repetitive than it should be, and since there are only two bosses in the game right now, you hit a wall where you feel like you have seen everything the simulation has to offer quite early on.
  
  
• Limited Enemies | Since the game is in early access, it is understandable that there isn’t a massive amount of content, but having only two bosses really limits how long you can stay hooked. The enemies also don’t have much personality or creativity in their design, so they feel more like generic targets rather than actual threats you need to learn how to fight. It still feels like a solid foundation, but right now it is more like playing the same few levels over again rather than having a deep rogue lite adventure.
  
  

How long did I play the review before publishing? 9 hours
How long to beat the story? 7 hours
How long to Complete the game 100%? 7 hours
How many Achievements did I earn before publishing? 12/13
You’ll love this game if you like these | Devil May Cry, Ghostrunner

CONCLUSION

Score: 75/100

Morbid Metal is a solid game that looks incredible and delivers a very polished technical experience. The performance and the shapeshifting combat feels great, even if the pacing is a bit weird and the runs feel too similar after a while. For less than twenty dollars, it is completely worth the money and stands as a great value for any action fan. It leaves me really excited to see how the future content expands this world, and it is definitely an early access project worth keeping your eyes on.

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