If you asked anyone what two gaming genres they’d mash together, I’d wager absolutely no-one would pick rhythm and first person shooter for a variety of reasons. Could it work? Would it be fun? Do we actually need it?

Well, the team over at The Outsiders decided these are two of the exact genres they’d want to mashup, and they answer those three questions with a huge, resounding yes in Metal: Hellsinger.

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that a development studio made primarily of former Battlefield devs would have a keen understanding of exactly what and how to make a good FPS, but between pulling the trigger and killing your enemies, that’s where the similarities end between the two titles.

At first glance you’d be remiss to ignore the obvious Doom-like world and enemies the team have taken a great deal of inspiration from. Playing as ‘The Unknown’, the story takes a relative back seat to the fast and frenetic gameplay, with the classic and well-walked ‘wronged individual must avenge slight against themselves’. However, this is not a game where the story is front and centre.

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When booting up Metal:Hellsinger, the first thing that struck me was how immediate and easy it was to get straight into the action, with the tutorial itself taking a few minutes to ensure you know the basics, then straight into the demon killing action with a heavy metal background soundtrack spurring you on.

When booting Metal: Hellsinger up you may think this is just any other first person shooter, but you’d be wrong. Similar to how games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero have you hitting notes at the right time to play the song and make it sound its best version, Metal: Hellsinger rewards those who strike down or shoot their enemies in the right rhythm with a fantastic backing soundtrack with some of the best names in metal, including the lead singers of both Trivium and Arch Enemy, Matt Heafy and Alissa White. On a gameplay level, it is imperative to get to the rhythm quickly, with your score depending on a high hit streak, as well as the damage you’re dealing being far greater when in rhythm.

Mistiming those shots punishes you however, with your damage being lesser, you losing your hit streak, and personally the worst punishment, if you do it enough you’ll lose the vocals of the song. It’s far to easy to just play the game how you’d play any other shooter, but in doing so you’ll be handicapping yourself. Get to grips with the song and your weapon of choice, and watch as you dispatch your enemies with far greater ease when actually following the beat of the song. It is frustrating at first, and a hard adjustment to make after years of ‘normal’ first person shooters, but oh boy is it rewarding when you find your groove.

Metal: Hellsinger – Fast and Frenetic

Throughout the campaign you’ll unlock a variety of different guns, from the standard shotgun, to a pair of quick shooters out of the wild west, and right from the start you’ll have Paz, a companion who narrates your trip throughout the hells, who also doubles as a way to keep your fury multiplier up on the rare occasion you’re not hounded by enemies.

As well as the main, albeit short campaign, youll unlock different ‘Torments’ that act as mini challenges. With each campaign level completed, you’ll unlock a new Torment, and with each of those completed, you’ll unlock sigils which work as buffs to give your character extra bonuses, from allowing yourself to being hit without losing a streak, to not using ammo and more.

Whilst playing this for review I found myself losing track of time, trying different weapons and trying to master everything, which in the ten or so hours I’ve already played, isn’t actually possible. Unlike other games though, Metal:Hellsinger is one I’ll be playing for a long time to come. A fantastic soundtrack, tight, pacey gameplay and a simple enough premise which is easy to pick up and difficult to master means Metal: Hellsinger will give you hours of fun if you allow yourself to adapt to its different approach to first person shooters.

8.5/10

Metal: Hellsinger was reviewed on PS5 with a code provided by The Outsiders.

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